Writing is hard. Writing and editing, designing, publishing, marketing and distributing your manuscript is even more difficult. Annelies Judson looks at self-published books in Aotearoa and offers some pearls of wisdom to authors looking to take on all those roles…
A lithe superhero with infinite power in the hands slides beneath to the underworld, guided by the hypnotising eyes of a Pīwakawaka. A tuatara locks it in a death grip, but she manages to break free by finger-spelling the magic…
Achieving international rights is the ultimate dream for any writer. However, in New Zealand, achieving that dream is almost impossible. Author Melinda Szymanik looks at why international rights are so elusive in Aotearoa, and what opportunities our authors miss out…
Following Part 1 of the discussion about the lack of children’s picture books focused on Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Barry McLernon (Te Āti Awa & Pākehā Scottish, Dutch ancestry) and Kay Benseman (Pākehā German, Irish, Scottish, Spanish, English ancestry) kōrero…
In the first of a two-part series with Kay Benseman (Pākehā German, Irish, Scottish, Spanish, English ancestry) and Barry McLernon (Te Āti Awa & Pākehā Scottish, Dutch ancestry) about Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Kay shares her thoughts about the lack…
Chinese-Kiwi author and illustrator Nessie Sharpe struggled to find bilingual picture books that represented mixed-culture families like hers—so she wrote her own. I was watching the kids playing tea parties one rainy afternoon. They were serving each other wooden cupcakes…
In the wake of various opinions about the state of children’s literature, Hannah Marshall tells us why we should be centring the voices of young people and moving on from the tired rhetoric of PC madness and literary elitism. Two…
A fleeting comment on Radio NZ about books set in Aotearoa made student and book reviewer Hannah Marshall uneasy. She sets out on a quest to figure out why it is that we don’t want to set our books here,…
Where are the young trans heroes fighting dragons? Kylie, Rey, and Mindy Parry recount their experiences of trying to find trans role models in literature. As the parent of two transgender kids working as a school librarian, I’m keenly aware…
We all have that one book; the one that turned us on to reading, or reached out and grabbed us by the heart and squeezed.