Ka pai! Cool stuff from around the internet


Every two weeks we compile, for your browsing pleasure, cool children’s book happenings (and peripherally related news) from around Aotearoa, the world and the internet.

The enticing children’s book section at Nelson bookstore VOLUME.

A little US-centric but here are some great ideas to get your whole family thinking about feminism. And here’s an article about feminism in YA books. And from closer to home, Nelson bookshop VOLUME have put together a great post about their feminist titles.

The shortlists for the UK’s Carnegie and Greenaway Medals have been announced – just in case your to-be-read pile wasn’t big enough…

Drool over the programme for this year’s American Booksellers Association’s Children’s Institute, happening in a couple of weeks in Portland, Oregon.

Books have always outstripped e-books in sales, but last year was the first time that physical books look to have cannibalised e-books – by 4%. And it’s kids’ books that are driving it.

As we celebrate Margaret Mahy’s life and legacy this week, here is Tessa Duder’s speech from the Margaret Mahy Symposium in 2006.

We love the idea of the ‘illustrators’ survival hall’ at Bologna – makes it sound a bit like the Hunger Games. The biggest book fair in the world is on in the first week of April: here are the highlights and trends for children’s & YA, according to agents.

How one dad learned to love non-fiction books for kids.

And by no means least, the Storylines awards: the Storylines Notable Books (download a poster here), the Margaret Mahy Medal, and the shortlists for the Tom Fitzgibbon & Joy Cowley Prizes. You can buy tickets to the prizegiving event, too!