27 vs 17
Notable Books … In comparison with last year, ten more non-fiction titles to read and scrutinise. The Fab Six panel ploughed through a wealth of New Zealand related topics and subjects, some better known than others, some close to our hearts, others fascinating and surprising, some fiercely debatable, some disappointingly marked by factual errors ……
how to rebuild a library
Kenya, Nairobi, McMillan Memorial Library, the oldest library in Nairobi. Opened in 1931 and built by the wife of Englishman William McMillan in tribute to him, with British books and only for “whites” until sometime in the sixties Africans are allowed access to this monumental building of a library and its collections. It’s been run…
notable books
Oh! Being asked again for the Storylines Book Awards filled me with pure joy! Did I have to think long and hard about my answer? Haha! I’m in the six strong panel for junior non-fiction literature, like last year, with one person new (to me) and the others the same great bunch of reading/teaching/librarian enthusiasts…
tea in the bookshop
He offered to make me a pot of tea and disappeared to the small kitchenette at the back of the shop. It was our second visit to this delightful place of old and new books, curious mixtures on bulging shelves and above, left on chairs and in the creases of comfortable couches, stacked on and…
Exit jury
Let’s start with the end. The end of being one of six judges. The six judges of the Storylines Notable Book Awards. Discovering books worthy of the adjective notable amongst 17 submitted NZ non-fiction books for children. And reading and re-reading we did! Shared reflections, comments and hesitations in a spreadsheet, articulated in, and…
judge and reader
We, the non-fiction children’s books panel, are in the middle of it, of the reading, of the re-reading, the thumbing backwards and forwards through each book, peering over the illustrations, admiring the design, frowning at the cover, delighting in the language, being engrossed in the story, learning about Aotearoa’s creatures, environments, history, sport, te reo…
the jury is out
Six women managed to meet online, on a weeknight, at the shortest of notice. I was duly impressed. A sign of enthusiasm and dedication to the task of judging New Zealand children’s non-fiction books? My guess is yes. Rosemary, our panel convenor, organised our first introductory meeting. She and we (Helen, Penny, Celeste, Emma…
i am judge
I am stoked! I am elated! I am excited! I am smiling! I have been accepted as a judge on the non-fiction panel of the Storylines Notable Book Awards! Five other people and our panel convenor join me on this exciting journey. To be honest, over the years I have applied many many times for…
cain’s jawbone
In a Radio New Zealand radio interview in early December last year I listened with increasing interest and growing excitement to Jesse Mulligan speaking with UK-based Kiwi publisher John Mitchinson. He is the co-founder of Unbound Publishing. In 2019 this crowdfunding publishing house rediscovered and republished Cain’s Jawbone, a complex literary puzzle originally published in…
languageless
Reading A man without words by Susan Schaller introduced me to the concept of languageless. This refers to a person, who is born deaf or loses their hearing shortly after birth, having absolutely no idea or concept of language, that language has something to do with words, with speaking and communicating, that words carry meaning,…
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the wonder of language 