WCBA November newsletter

You can now read this at our new online newletter archive. Enjoy!

The Jack Lasenby Award Winner 2009

'The Big Hairy monster’ by Raphael Kidman

From Armageddon to Zombies, 149 entries took fanciful flights of the imagination in this year’s Jack Lasenby Award for Wellington’s year 7&8 students. The Judges, authors Eirlys Hunter, Maureen Crisp and Fifi Colston are pleased to announce the winner; Raphael Kidman age 12 from Hataitai with his story ‘The Big Hairy Monster.’

‘Funny, with great alliteration and clever use of geography, Raphael’s story was complete and he obviously enjoyed playing with language.' 
Raphael wins $200 for himself and a set of Jack Lasenby books for his school, Scots College.

The judges also had praise for the following entries, feeling that they deserved special mention.

‘Te Rauparaha’ by Clara Sinclair of Mt Cook; sophisticated use of language telling an interesting piece of New Zealand history.

‘Hamburger ‘by Anna Atkinson of Eastbourne; a short but great little story with a novel point of view.

‘Ruaumoko’ by Jore Toa Temarama of Karori; a dramatic story about Miramar’s past.

‘Wellington’s Underground Trams’ by Yianni Bares of Ngaio; a wonderful idea for adventure under the capital city.

‘The Phone Call’ by Tom Withnall of Karori; a convincing situation with an honest emotional response and great use of dialogue.

Well done, you will all receive a certificate in the mail soon!

The judges had the following advice for aspiring writers based on the entries received:

·   - Write a ‘complete’ story; we saw many great beginnings which were followed by a brief summary of action and a hurrried ending. “And then I woke up” is not a good way to finish a story!

·   - Don’t be afraid to self edit. Read the story aloud to yourself and see if it makes sense and follows through.

·   - Use your spell check or ask an adult to read it through for mistakes.

·   - Write an appropriate sized ‘bite’ of a story; for instance if you want to write about a disaster or rescue in 500 words, concentrate on just one part of the saga.

Raphael’s story will be published on this blog in a few days time. Look out for it, and happy reading and writing everyone!

Quiz Night- book it in now!

Yes, it's that time again- our highly popular and hugely fun quiz night,

testing your trivia for Children's Literature. This is an evening for grown-ups with a cash bar, free tasty nibbles and some great spot prizes! 

Come along and join in- if you don't have a team organised, you can make one up with others venturing out for a night of sociable laughs and head scratching.  

Storylines Online Auction!

Lots for Literature
 
Bid now and support Storylines. Storylines Trust’s fundraising auction is online from 15-29 October. Held entirely online through www.storylines.auction4charity.co.nz, it features donated artworks, books and a range of once-in-a-lifetime opportunities and experiences including an original watercolour sketch of Hairy Maclary, a cartoon by Ant Sang, one of Bro’ Town’s creators, a manuscript assessment by Fleur Beale and the typewriter used by Maurice Gee from the 1950s to 1970s. Other items include a complete signed set of all Margaret Mahy’s books in print in New Zealand in 2009, a walk-on part in TV2’s Go Girls, and a visit to Weta Workshop. The auction opens on 15 October at 9am and closes at 9pm on 29 October. Bidding takes place through a secure online system developed by author and Storylines’ supporter Brian Falkner. Offline bids can be made in special circumstances by contacting Storylines. For see details of the full list of auction items visit the Storylines Auction website.

The Jack Lasenby Award 2009

Calling all Years 7 and 8 students:
WRITE A STORY
and win $200 and a set of books for your school!

Yrs 7 & 8 students from the Wellington region are invited to submit a story for the Jack Lasenby Award. This is a biennial award offered by the Wellington Children’s Book Association.

For an entry form please email

the.wcba@gmail.com

Wellington City Libraries – “Stories Aloud CD”

Wellington City Libraries is calling for a selection of well-known local Wellington children’s authors’ to either: write a short story to be read aloud on a CD for children or read an existing short story for a Community Project. There is also an opportunity for illustrators to submit proposals for the CD cover.

The Idea and Concept.

Wellington is a city with a strong contemporary culture of arts and literature and is home to a number of children’s authors.

The objective is to connect young readers/listeners with this body of exceptional talent. Wellington City Libraries intends to create a truly authentic storytelling experience for children, their parents, grandparents, and the wider community by inviting authors to tell their own stories on CD.

Recording a CD will involve either the author writing a short story especially for the CD or reading a short story that they have already written and agree to record. The CD may also include a short interview and questions about the author, the story they read, about their growing up, or why they love writing. Authors and their stories will become more alive, real and authentic and ignite a love of reading and writing in children.

Project Objectives

The ‘Stories Aloud’ CD will:

· connect young people and their families with the rich local tradition of story telling

· target the 5-12 year old market

· develop auditory skills and imagination in children

· promote literacy to children by connecting the written and spoken word

· give children a sense of identity and connection with local authors

· connect authors to children, their primary audience

· demonstrate how libraries value local authors, stories and story telling

· continue the oral tradition of stories being passed down to the next generation.

The selected authors will work with Wellington City Libraries to either write or use an existing children’s story, then record the story in their own voice at a studio. The sessions will be videoed and the footage may or may not be used at a later date. We aim to start recording by the end of September 2009.

Story requirements:

• 5-6 minutes reading time in total
• a New Zealand story with an element of, or reference to Wellington
• appeal to the target market
  

Local children’s authors are asked to submit a sample of their work for the proposal above. In return, a small remuneration will be offered to the successful applicants. The copyright of the story and the audio rights will remain the author’s. Wellington City Libraries will use the story with the author’s permission on CD. The CD will be sold within Wellington City Libraries and potentially bookshops. No royalties can be offered for this CD. Wellington City Libraries may also at a later date place podcasts of the CD on their website.

Local children’s illustrators are asked to submit a sample of their work for the proposal above and quote for their work. In return, a small remuneration will be offered to the successful applicant. The copyright of the illustration will remain the illustrator’s. Wellington City Libraries will use the illustration with the illustrator’s permission on the CD, website, and any promotional material that Wellington City Libraries may choose too. The CD will be sold within Wellington City Libraries and potentially bookshops. No royalties can be offered for this CD.

Author criteria

Interested authors will:

• Be a children’s and/or young adult writer
• Be living within the greater Wellington region
• Use a New Zealand and/or Wellington theme

Artist’s criteria

Interested artists will:

• Be a children’s illustrator or professional artist
• Be living within the Greater Wellington Region
• Use a New Zealand and/or Wellington theme

Submissions of interest

All expressions of interest may be submitted to Wellington City Libraries, P. O. Box 1992, Wellington, or email your application to ella.martin@wcc.govt.nz by 5pm, Friday 11 September. Please include:

• A one-page written summary about your story’s theme, or a small sample of existing work.
• A current CV or author’s biography
• Up to four images of your work

Selection Process

Wellington City Libraries will select 8-10 local authors. Successful authors will be notified by email or phone.

For more information please contact

Ella Martin (04) 803 8222 or email: ella.martin@wcc.govt.nz or

Rose Barker (04) 803 8285 or email: rose.barker@wcc.govt.nz.

Storylines Family Day this weekend!

Come to Te Whaea in Newtown on Sunday for the Storylines Free Family Day. There are writers, illustrators, storytelling, crafts, Weta Workshop, book launches, coffee, gelato, facepainting and more. The best value for (no) money you'll get this recession!
For a full programme of events for all the centres click here