New Residency Announcement for Children's Writers and Illustrators

Wellington Children’s Book Association (WCBA) Inc

New Pacific Studio Working Residency

Illustrators and Writers for Children:

You are invited to apply for a free, seven-day residency at New Pacific Studio, Mt Bruce, Wairarapa, funded by the Wellington Children’s Book Association (WCBA) Inc. The WCBA will also offer a stipend of $300 to cover travel and food costs.

New Pacific Studio, a beautifully restored 1912 villa, is located on a 5-acre property on State Highway 2, just 1 km north of the Mt Bruce National Wildlife Centre, 5 minutes south of Eketahuna and 20 minutes north of Masterton. This is the perfect location to forget everything else you HAVE to do and just get on with the work in progress with no interruptions. 

The residency is self-catering in a communal farmhouse kitchen, with a resident director and at the time this residency is being offered, two Danish artists will also be in residency: a children's book illustrator and a writer. The working spaces in the villa are quiet and private with broadband. There is free pick up from Masterton railway station.

Rules:

Applicants must:

• Reside in the Greater Wellington region
• Be over 18
• Be a current member of The Wellington Children’s Book Association
• Have a minimum of one published work (in a recognised trade or educational publication for children eg: School Journal) or a Writing Award.
• Be available to take the week offered (either 22nd- 28th October or 29th October-4th November 2012)

Applicants are invited to send their Writing/Illustration CV along with either -

• (Writers) Up to 10 pages of a work in progress or previously published work.
• (Illustrators) Colour copies of two illustrations from a work in progress or previously published work.

Please include your name, address, phone, and email contact details in your covering letter and state what you hope to get out of the residency.

Entry deadline:

Please submit your covering letter, CV and sample pages by 24th August 2012 to

NPS Residency

Wellington Children’s Book Association

P O Box 1242

Wellington

The Judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

The successful applicant will be personally notified and may be asked to participate in media publicity.

(Note: Wellington Children’s Book Association committee members and their immediate families are ineligible to enter.)

For more details about the WCBA see:

http://www.the-wcba.blogspot.co.nz/

For more details about New Pacific Studio see:

http://www.newpacificstudio.org/home/home.html

Next Club Night!

Calling storytellers, poets and other performers or promoters

Wellington's annual Spring Festival is a two-week festival (18 September - 3 October), which kicks off at the end of Conservation Week. It has plenty for everyone with almost 40 events and activities.

This year organisers have decided to put more of a creative spin on celebrations.

There is a poetry corner, drama corner, a soap box and music corner that will rotate round Midland Park, and Grey Street. The performances in these places should last for 5 -10 mins and will take place at lunch time between 12 noon and 2pm.

All events are free for the public and these perfomances are not paid. It's an opportunity to perform - or promote a book,  event or organisation to the general public. You are also more than welcome to hand out flyers at the venues.

If you are interested, please email katrina@fairytrina.com 

The FABO Story

What started off as a bit of fun (a bunch of well known NZ children's authors being silly together ...) is turning into something of a phenomenon.

The FABO story is a collaborative novel, with each chapter written by a different author. Every week, a new chapter goes online. Guess which author wrote it - or contribute your own chapter for the following week. There are prizes up for grabs!

This is fun for adults and children alike.

The authors are up to chapter 2 this week - but you can jump in anytime. Everything you need to know is clearly laid out at the FABO site.

Note that amongst the authors there is a strong contingent of WCBA stalwarts!

Calling children's authors ...

Children's Authors in Libraries Week

The NZSA (New Zealand Society of Authors) Wellington branch has got together with Wellington City Libraries to hold a Children's Authors in Libraries Week during the week of October 4 - 8.

If you would like to be a part of this, please contact Kevin Boon at k.boon@clear.net.nz to receive more information and a short questionnaire.

This initiative is open to all children's authors, not only members of NZSA.

Technology used to connect authors and readers

BookTalks – an initiative using online technology to link authors and readers, will be launched on May 10 to coincide with the New Zealand Post Book Awards.

Organised by research and professional development organisation CORE Education, BookTalks will utilise the internet video telephone system Skype to allow readers, initially in schools across the country, to talk online with their favourite authors and illustrators.

Already nearly 30 prominent authors from around New Zealand have signed up for BookTalks, and internationally renowned author Margaret Mahy has agreed to be the BookTalks Patron.

Using the www.booktalks.org.nz website, schools can go online and select which author they would like to connect with.  CORE Education will then look at availability and match up authors with schools. Authors will receive a fee for their session and a small charge will cover administrative costs.

“It’s wonderful to be able to talk live over the internet, and it adds a coolness for the kids to say they talked with an author using Skype,” The Wonky Donkey author Craig Smith says.

Craig skyped a pilot BookTalks session with children at Outram School near Dunedin.

“I’ve skyped heaps, but this is my first performance via Skype.  It was fantastic,” he says.

The Outram children asked Craig why he wrote the story, how long it took him, whether he had other stories and even how to pronounce “hee-haw”. 

Outram School Principal Greg Carroll says BookTalks is a highly valuable programme because it brings people into the classroom who can't actually physically be there.

"It is a good opportunity for the kids to engage with a real person, to be able to see them, someone who can't obviously visit our school but the children can still talk to them, engage with them, have a conversation with them about their book and about the process and about what it means to be a real author. It was great. The kids had a ball; they really enjoyed it," Mr Carroll says.

CORE Education Project Manager Matt Tippen has received support from Booksellers New Zealand and the New Zealand Book Council, and encouragement from many educators.

“BookTalks will provide real-time, meaningful conversations about NZ literature – that can only have a positive effect on our next generation’s interest in literacy and literature. And it’s a way of modeling how effective online communications can be in education,” Mr Tippen says.

He envisages that book clubs, writing course organisers and writers’ groups might also be interested in BookTalks. 

“We’re initially targeting educational settings, but we’d love to hear from others who would like the chance to talk to their favourite authors,” he says.

To get the details, visit the BookTalks site www.booktalks.org.nz.