Eileen Merriman has published three books for young adults, and one for adults in the past three years, including her March release A Trio of Sophies. Pamela Morrow has just published her first book for young adults, called Hello Strange. The books are completely different in content, but what they share is a respect for the emotions of teenagers. We asked them to discuss that aspect of each of their work for The Sapling. Eileen: Congratulations on the publication of your deb

October 2017 saw Sunshine Coast local Jessica Townsend hit the big time. Her children’s novel Nevermoor was the biggest-selling Australian children's debut since records began. It swept the world into a frenzy and propelled her into literary stardom. The second instalment, Wundersmith, has been eagerly anticipated and the magic and mystery will hold readers in its grasp until the very last page. Jessica Townsend at an Auckland school visit Having passed a series of dangerous

Two of New Zealand's most celebrated, funny and prolific author-illustrators let us eavesdrop on a chat they had recently. Here are Ruth Paul and Donovan Bixley, sharing their thoughts about making money, embarrassing art, hard work and hats. They have both had stellar years. Ruth's I Am Jellyfish (Penguin Random House) won the Best Picture Book Award, she's illustrating the new picture book series by the bestselling Stacy Gregg, Mini Whinny (Scholastic), and is the author/il

Paul Jennings is a legend of Australian children's literature. He burst onto the literary scene in 1985 with his first anthology of short stories featuring weird, spooky and humorous tales with a twist, and never looked back. He has countless titles to his credit and drawers full of awards. From Unreal: Eight Surprising Stories, to the Rascal and Gizmo series, his stories have captured the imagination and inspired generations of kids around the globe. In his latest, thematica

Humour authors Scott Tulloch and Myles Lawford interview one another about their careers, and about their most recent books - Where’s Kiwi Now? for Lawford, and Keep an Eye on that Kiwi, for Tulloch. The two do quite different things within the medium of (mainly) picture books, and this piece gives great insight into how each of them work. Myles Lawford and Scott Tulloch Scott Tulloch: I’ve just been looking through some of your books, and it’s the Where’s Kiwi? illustrations

Australian author Sue Whiting has written numerous books in a variety of genres: fiction and nonfiction, picture books through to YA, including the best-selling The Firefighters, and the award-winning A Swim in the Sea. As well as writing for children, she is an editor, writing coach and mentor, and a tutor for The Australian Writers’ Centre. In March, she released her 65th book, aimed at kids aged ten and over, called Missing. In it, Mackenzie’s bat biologist mother has been

The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye tells a tale encompassing stories strewn over decades of the creation of Singapore. The apathetic yet significant cartoonist, Charlie Chan, has documented the era of agitated independence that the Lion City faced at different times during its history. Richly illustrated with differing artistic styles, the graphic novel captures the quiet space of political turbulence and personal hardship, introducing Charlie as the hero Singapore truly needs

Terri-Rose Baynton, the New Zealand-based illustrator of much-talked-about new picture book Room On Our Rock, interviews Kate and Jol Temple, the Australian authors of Room On Our Rock… The book has one story that can be read two different ways. When read from front to back, the seals believe there is definitely no room on their rock for others. But when the book is read from back to front, the seals welcome others to shelter on their rock. TB: Room on Our Rock seems simple a

R. A. Spratt is an award winning author and television writer, best known for her two series' Nanny Piggins and Friday Barnes, Girl Detective. Her first book The Adventures of Nanny Piggins was published in 2009 and she has continued on to publish 17 books so far, and a brand new series called The Peski Kids just around the corner. R A Spratt at Dymocks in Canberra Rachel was born in England and now lives in Bowral, Australia with her husband and two daughters when she’s not

Australian author Zana Fraillon is an observer of the unseen: ‘As an author, I am drawn to the absences and the silences in our world.’ She is drawn in by those voices that aren’t being listened to, the stories that aren’t being heard. Sarah Forster had the opportunity to interview her as The Ones that Disappeared (Hachette) hits bookshop shelves in New Zealand. Zana Fraillon Zana Fraillon began her writing career writing picture books, then moved on to Junior Fiction series

David Riley is a Reading Warrior. The biographical niche-cramming South Auckland teacher-turned-author’s mission: to get books into the hands of those for whom reading hasn’t come easily. A sense of urgency regarding his students’ needs compelled David to pursue a writing career. 'I had no choice but to do it,' he says. 'The young people I was working with couldn’t find books that were written for Maori and Pacific teenage boys. It forced me, which was cool, because there was