• Hamilton Book Month happening again this August

    It’s August and Hamilton Book Month is underway again with the biggest ever programme with 21 different events and a grand total of 35 (including repeats) across August at various Hamilton venues. Almost all events are free with only four having a charge. Co-organiser Catherine Wallace says ‘There’s so many authors we wanted to include […]

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  • Dean Koontz’s Jump to Amazon Publishing: Will Other Authors Follow

    The five-book deal and a collection of Amazon Original Stories from Dean Koontz is good news for Amazon Publishing. The real suspense story: could this signal defections from major houses ahead? (First published in Publishing Perspectives) Dean Koontz: ‘Where Change Is Understood and Embraced’ In what some will see as a potential harbinger of what’s […]

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  • Space to breathe

    22 Jul 2019 The latest offering of grants and awards in one of our key creative industries is rightly seen as something to boast about. [In partnership with NZSA and CLNZ] There’s less than a week for would-be or established writers in New Zealand to apply for $20,000 worth of research grants on offer. From August 2 there’s […]

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  • A wealth of literary talent at Writers on Mondays

    16 July 2019 Popular readings series Writers on Mondays returns to Wellington from 22 July, featuring a stunning array of local, national, and international writers. _________________________________________________ Presented by Victoria University of Wellington’s International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML) in conjunction with Te Papa Tongarewa, the series runs each Monday from 22 July to 7 October, […]

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  • Government Making Plans –

    Encouraging signs for transformation of the sector By Keri Malthus Making plans  The Government has put a firmer timeframe around its planning to transform the creative sector. In a statement to The Big Idea, a spokesperson for newly-appointed Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford says the Government will begin to develop a formal Industry Transformation Plan […]

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  • NZCYA AWARDS SHORTLIST SHOWS STRENGTH OF NEW ZEALAND CHILDREN’S PUBLISHING

    New Zealand’s children’s publishing is in fine health. That’s the verdict of the judges for the 2019 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults after they faced the daunting challenge of whittling down a shortlist for this year’s awards. “The quality of submissions was impressive this year,” says convenor of judges Crissi Blair. […]

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  • Auckland Writers Festival Continues Its Record-Breaking Run

    People of all ages flocked to the 2019 Auckland Writers Festival this week, which broke its previous attendance record with more than 82,000 seats filled across seven days of tremendous conversations, inspiring performances and theatres filled with laughter at venues throughout the city’s centre. The Festival, which has seen year-on-year growth in the last eight […]

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  • NEW ZEALAND BOOK AWARDS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS LAUNCHES 2019 AUTHOR EVENTS PROGRAMME UNDER EXCITING NEW BANNER

    The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults has announced the 2019 dates for its successful nationwide series of finalist author events under an exciting new banner – Books Alive. Large scale Books Alive events for school children will take place in Dunedin, Christchurch, Hamilton and Wellington in the week leading up to […]

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  • SECONDARY SCHOOL BOOKLIST – NZ Books

    NZSA and NZBC have prepared this list for teachers with links to teachers notes, that are appropriate for use in the classroom. NCEA examiners bemoan the lack of local content, so this link, with resources, reading ages and themes will give our schools an annual GO TO list of what is in print. This link has been […]

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  • Storylines ‘What Now’ TV2 Kid’s Pick announced

    Congratulations to Stacy Gregg! The Fire Stallion by Stacy Gregg (published by Harper Collins) was announced on TVNZ2 on Sunday 14th April as the Storylines Kids’ Pick of the Storylines Junior Fiction Notable Books on What Now. The response to the competition was ‘unprecedented’ according to the What Now producers. Lyla by Fleur Beale (Allen & […]

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  • Honorary doctorate for literacy champion Dame Wendy Pye

    Educational publishing entrepreneur and literacy advocate Dame Wendy Pye, who received an honorary Doctor of Education. ‘Teaching the world to read’ has been educational publishing phenomenon Dame Wendy Pye’s mission and mantra for 35 years. Now, Massey University is celebrating the life-changing impact of her early literacy resources to children all over the planet, from […]

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  • A wave of women’s voices carry Best New Zealand Poems

      The latest edition of the online anthology Best New Zealand Poems is now live, featuring 25 poems chosen by Dunedin-based novelist, poet, playwright, and non-fiction author Fiona Farrell. The International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML) at Victoria University of Wellington has published the anthology annually since 2001, with support from Creative New Zealand. While […]

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