Alistair Hughes searches for the formula for good science communication for kids. Ernest, Lord Rutherford is famously credited with proclaiming: ‘If you can’t explain your physics to a barmaid, it is probably not very good physics.’ These days hospitality workers…
There is something very special about having your favourite book creator come and talk at your school, or meeting a new author or illustrator who shares their stories and makes you laugh. They are definitely favourites at schools and libraries,…
Last month drag performers Coco and Erika Flash took Brian Tamaki to court over his protests and public comments against rainbow storytimes which caused them to cancel their storytime tours. Education researcher Kate Morgan writes about the importance of children…
The announcement last week that the Year 7–13 English school curriculum is being rewritten by a select group of just five educators has drawn a strong response from the education and creative sectors. Following high school teacher Susan Briggs’s response,…
The New Zealand English school curriculum is undergoing a rewrite and some of the changes suggest a move backwards rather than forwards. High school English teacher Susan Briggs questions who this rewrite prioritises, and describes how English teachers are perfectly…
It was an exciting day at the Storylines Margaret Mahy Awards last weekend. Sapling editor Hannah Marshall was not only the winner for the Unpublished Writer Award in the young adult manuscript category, but captured her reflections of the day—both…
The Sapling loves Aotearoa’s thriving children’s book industry. We also believe that a robust reviewing culture can allow it to grow and blossom even further, by providing opportunity for reflection and improvement. Editor Linda Jane Keegan writes about The Sapling’s approach to…
Continuing with our coverage for Mental Health Awareness Week, Sapling editor Hannah has some hard truths to share about the representation of mental illness in YA literature—and the harm that is caused when these representations are done poorly. Content warning:…
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…
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…