Storylines Family Day coming soon!

Sunday 23rd August is the Wellington Storylines Family Day. Amongst the talent lined up are Joy Cowley, Weta Workshop's Martin Baynton and Richard Taylor, Ruth Paul, Melanie Drewery and Apirana Taylor. Watch this space for more news!

And the winners are from....

Our patron, Jack Lasenby and Old Drumble at the podium!

Wellington Children's Book Association can be justly proud of their members who scooped up awards at the 2009 New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards tonight.

Best Picture Book
Roadworks by Sally Sutton and Brian Lovelock.

The Honour Award going to Piggity Wiggity Jiggity Jig by Diana Neild and Illustrated by our own talented Mr Phillip Webb.

Best Junior Fiction
Old Drumble, written by our much loved patron and all around Good Bloke ...Jack Lasenby.

Best Non Fiction Award
Back and Beyond- New Zealand Painting for the Young and Curious by Gregory O'Brien

Best Young Adult
The 10 pm Question by former convenor of the WCBA....The lovely Kate de Goldi

Children's Choice Award
The Were-Nana by Melinda Szymanik and Sarah Nelisiwe Anderson

Best First Book
Violence 101 by Denis Wright....(we can claim him, he lives in Wellington)

and the Book of the Year....
The 10pm Question by Kate De Goldi (Well Done Kate)

Congratulations to all the Winners... and the finalists from Wellington, Fleur and Pippa,(who have had a big week as they are on the Spinning Gold Conference Team.

Guest posted by Maureen from the update texts of Fifi during the ceremony....

Well, it was like selling tickets to the Rolling Stones- they went within minutes. Well to be precise, 4 hours, which means that the conference is now fully subscribed with a waiting list. The team sat in my studio last night, with celebratory bubbly and watched the spreadsheet fill up. Even we were surprised by the response- and we had a fair idea of how many people were keen. Thankyou to all who registered- it meant finding an internet connection at 7.30pm and telling the people around you to go away until you had finished (not always easy).

Due to all the hard work and planning and our stellar line up of speakers and workshops, we think this will be a conference to remember and the start of many (did I say that? will the committee throw things at me now?).

Fifi Colston- (proud) Convenor WCBA 2009.

Many thanks to all of you have who expressed your interest for the Spinning Gold Conference. You should now have recieved an email with details on how to access the full programme and how to register.

Due to high demand for this conference, those who have emailed us over the past six months will have the first opportunity to register on Monday 18th May. No further expressions of interest will be added to our data base from today.

Kind regards
The Spinning Gold Team

Fundraising book fair for Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation

A book fair will be held in the Ngaio Town Hall at 10.30am on Saturday 27 June as a fundraiser for the Blue Dragon Children's Foundation in Hanoi, Vietnam. Ngaio writer Iona McNaughton, who visited Blue Dragon in January, is organising the fair. Some of you may know former Wellington teacher Alison Kember (wife of the New Zealand Ambassador in Hanoi), who teaches English as a volunteer at Blue Dragon.

Iona hopes to raise at least $2000 to help Blue Dragon in its work to support kids in crisis in Vietnam and provide education and training.

Here's how you can help:

1/ Please donate any unwanted books, DVDs or CDs to this really worthwhile cause. Just save the books, DVDs or CDs in the meantime until a week before the book fair - when hopefully, you can deliver them to Iona's house. Even better, you could deliver them to the Ngaio Town Hall before 9am on the day of the fair. Email or call Iona if you have some books to donate. If necessary, she can pick up the books.

2/ Please spread the information in this blurb to your email networks.

3/ Offers of help in setting up the book fair and/or helping to sell the books (8am to about 1.30pm on Saturday 27 June) gratefully received. It's lots of fun on the day and if you help, you get first pick to buy the books.

4/ Come to the book fair and buy some books. There will be some great bargains.

Iona's contact details:

51 Crofton Rd

Ngaio

E: ionam@clear.net.nz
T: 04 970 5591 M: 021 799 059

Children’s Writing Workshop : Creative Writing at Victoria University

“The child reader I was….wants a world she can see, taste, smell, feel, and hear. And above all she wants characters who will make her laugh and cry.” Katherine Paterson

This creative writing workshop, convened by Eirlys Hunter, encourages you to reach that reader. You’ll explore different forms of writing for the pre-adolescent child: picture books, plays, short stories and the novel, and begin to develop your own clear voice.
Applications for the Second Trimester close 3 June.

For information, application forms and course dates, contact:

International Institute of Modern Letters
Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand.
Phone 04-463 6854

Email modernletters@vuw.ac.nz
Website www.victoria.ac.nz/modernletters

Spinning Gold - Lineup Announced

International children’s writing sensation Martin Baynton launches the Spinning Gold Conference of New Zealand Children’s Writers and Illustrators in Wellington in September.

The writer/illustrator of Jane and the Dragon, is one of four star speakers at the conference, which includes creative guru Laurence Green, writers’ agent Fiona Inglis from Curtis Brown Australia, and New Zealand children’s/young adults writer and commentator Kate De Goldi.

Spinning Gold, organised by the Wellington Children’s Book Association, is the first such national children’s writing conference in 16 years. The programme includes more than ten workshops and a Pitch Slam – giving writers and illustrators the opportunity to pitch their work, for an intensive five minutes, to publishers and agents. There are also panel discussions, an Illustrators’ gallery, networking opportunities and mystery trips. Spinning Gold is a not to be missed event for the New Zealand Children’s Literature community, happening over three days on 18-20 September at Capital House, Melrose, Wellington.

Programme Highlights

Martin Baynton is opening keynote speaker on Friday night. Martin has been writing and illustrating for more than 25 years, and collaborated with Weta workshop to bring Jane and the Dragon to the screen in a hit TV Series. He is currently working with Weta on new pre-school progamme WotWots.

Saturday morning speaker Lawrence Green is a widely regarded business mentor and coach. He specialises in working with people in the creative industries helping them to market and develop their business successfully.

Fiona Inglis from the Curtis Brown agency in Australia will be talking about publishing now! Fiona has been with Curtis Brown for over 15 years becoming Managing Director in 2002. Curtis Brown represents both writers and illustrators. Hear first hand about the opportunities available for New Zealand children’s writers and illustrators.

Speed date the publishers: Saturday afternoon is turned over to the publishers and is filled with panel discussions and - in a first for New Zealand’s children’s writers - a Pitch Slam. You have a five minute speed date to sell your new idea or synopsis to an agent or editor.

Kate de Goldi on Sunday will collect us all together and launch us into the future with more workshops and panel discussions. Kate brings her in-depth knowledge of children’s publishing to the conference. She is well known for her award winning books and her national appearances as a children’s book reviewer on radio and television.

The Workshops reflect the four main strands of the conference: new technology, business, professional development and marketing. A wide range of expertise from the New Zealand children’s literature community is leading the workshops, which offer great hands-on learning opportunities for every attendee. Dialogue, print making, web sites, and illustration trends are just a small taste of what is on offer in these intensive sessions.
All major publishers will be represented, along with booksellers and marketing specialists.

Nuts & Bolts
The conference opens at 2pm on Friday 18th September. The cost of $300 covers all lunches, breaks and dinners for the two and a half days. Optional master classes - one for writers, one for illustrators - are aimed at experienced published practitioners, and limited to 15 participants per class at $50 a head.

For those requiring onsite accommodation, Capital House has a bed and breakfast option: single $90 +gst, or share twin $55 + gst per night. You will be able to book accommodation on the registration form.