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New survey shows continued drop in Kiwis reading – Annual NZ Book Council report
442,600 adult New Zealanders didn’t read a book in the past year, according to new research out today. Books are competing with television and computer screens for our leisure time, and 45-54 year olds had the lowest percentage reading of any age group. The study also found that fewer Kiwi men are reading books. […]
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National Schools Poetry Award celebrates New Zealand’s poets of the future
A year 13 student at Wellington’s Queen Margaret College has won first place in the 2018 International Institute of Modern Letters’ (IIML) National Schools Poetry Award, with her poem ‘Vignettes’. Ilena Shadbolt receives a prize of $500 and the opportunity to attend a poetry masterclass with poets James Brown and Hera Lindsay Bird at the […]
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Illegal book download site Oceanofpdf.com has been taken down
Piracy website Oceanofpdf taken down Published August 1, 2018 by Charlotte Eyre in the UK magazine The Bookseller Oceanofpdf, a website that was giving away pirated e-books, has been taken down. The website, in operation for seven months, had a US domain name and offered users free PDF or Epub downloads of thousands of books, angering […]
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WIN A WEEK AT THE MICHAEL KING WRITERS CENTRE AND A ONE-ON-ONE CRAFT SESSION WITH PAULA MORRIS
Writers attending the National Writers Forum in September can enter to win a package of two valuable prizes offered by the Michael King Writers Centre, Aotearoa New Zealand’s national writers’ facility and literary centre. The two prizes are a week’s accommodation at the centre; and a one-on-one craft workshop with the award-winning writer Paula Morris, […]
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Menton Fellowship open for applications NOW
The Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship allows a writer to spend no less than three months in Menton, France, with access to a writing room beneath the terrace of Villa Isola Bella, where Katherine Mansfield did some of her most important writing. The Fellowship has been offered annually from 1970. Previous recipients include Carl Nixon, Kate […]
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Judges announced for 2019 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards
An experienced panel of 12 judges – including prize-winning writers and poets, as well as historians, academics, curators and one of the country’s most respected booksellers – will select the best books published this year for the 2019 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. The Acorn Foundation Fiction Prize, which will bestow $53,000 on its 2019 winner, […]
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Ashton Wylie Awards:Book Revealing the ‘crisis of human habitat’ Wins Major Award
A Dunedin-based architect who retrained as a theologian has won this year’s $10,000 Ashton Wylie Mind Body Spirit Literary Award. Murray Rae, who completed his PhD in theology at King’s College, London and is Professor of Theology at Otago University, was honoured with the award for his book Architecture and Theology: The Art of […]
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MEDIA STATEMENT: The New Zealand Society of Authors (PEN NZ Inc) Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa Supports Women Writers
New information detailing that women writers in New Zealand are targeted for abuse is a cause for concern. Writer and publisher Lani Wendt-Young recently tweeted about a history of Facebook abuse she has been subjected to, including rape and death threats. In an interview published in Stuff, the author of the Young Adult series Telesa, […]
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NZSA Oral History Podcast Series Launching at National Writers Forum
Spanning thirty years, involving four interviewers and including over twenty writers, the New Zealand Society of Authors is opening its audio history. Hear authors tell their story of fighting institutions, government and sometimes each other to advocate for writers rights. Hosted by Karyn Hay, the series will include interviews from the late 1990’s with writers […]
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Joy Cowley to give the annual New Zealand Book Council lecture – Oct 4 Te Papa
This year’s Book Council Lecture will be given by beloved children’s author Joy Cowley at Te Papa on October 4. In her warm and engaging talk The Power of Story, Joy will draw on a lifetime’s experience of inspiring children to read. Entwining practical advice on how to spark a love for reading with her thoughts […]
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Michael King Writers’ Centre – applications for residencies open
Applications for the MKWC 2019 Residency Programme have opened. Fifteen residencies for periods of two to five weeks each are on offer. Four of the residencies are specifically for Maori or Pasifika writers. New in this year’s programme is a change to the University of Auckland Residency, now split into four time slots across the […]
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“LANDMARK TITLE” TAKES TOP HONOURS IN NEW ZEALAND BOOK AWARDS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS
“A landmark title which will stand the test of time” has been crowned the country’s best book for young readers. Aotearoa: The New Zealand Story by Christchurch writer and illustrator Gavin Bishop received the top honour at the 2018 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, announced tonight at an exuberant event at […]
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