Best in show...

I do not understand this at all. I cannot begin to imagine how Lauren Myracle is feeling, but I also now wonder whether the remaining finalists wish they too were on another planet. What a mess.

What is it with awards at the moment?  Have all the changes in the publishing world made people's brains melt. Or is it a case of too many egos spoil the broth. It loses sight of the fact that the best books – the books that last – are born of necessity, not just of the need to fill a gap in the market and give us an easeful few hours. Book prizes should be about writers, not readers. I agree. Book awards should be about writers, not readers. Book awards should be about ego. There should be prizes for what writers consider the best of their breed (smart tail, balanced stance, ideal muzzle, glossy coat, best in show). Readers already get to elect their favourites everyday and the winners are those authors who sell the most copies and reap the most royalties. While some readers will check out finalists and winners of book awards, they aren't standing by not purchasing anything in the meantime. Sometimes the two (best written, best read) coincide, but this should not be the expectation. Debate and disagreement is healthy. Of course some years it will be harder to select a clear winner than others as the book experience is the result of the unique relationship between author and reader. We should not have it any other way. Sometimes a book is so breathtaking every reader is touched and concensus is easy and the writers can't help but agree but that too is a miracle. Debate and disagreement raises the profile of all those titles discussed. As Oscar Wilde said "The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about."

Thank (optional deity ) for this post which had me laughing til I cried. I would like this tattooed on my body as a permanent reminder of the sanity that lurks out there on the internet.

Why thank you...

I have been nominated for a blogging award by excellent writery blogger Justine Windsor aka Welshcake. This is a first for me and is a bit exciting and surprisingly for me I am a bit lost for words.

Thank you Justine!

Like being crowned Miss Bay of Plenty or Class President there are responsibilities attached to this award and these are:

1. Copy and paste the pretty picture which you see above onto your own blog.

2. Thank the person who gave you the award and post a link to their blog.

3. Write 7 things about yourself we do not know.

4. Choose 7 other bloggers to award.

5. Link to those 7 other bloggers.

6. Notify your 7 bloggers.

So now I need to spill the beans on those things I thought I could keep secret from you forever

1 - I love tarty shoes and would wear them way more often if I was brave enough

2 - I have a secret stash of chocolate - the dog has his suspicions about where it is

3 - I love the Harry Potter books in all their under-edited glory. How bad can it be that all those extra words make the book last longer!

4 - I have a bad habit of teaching folk how to suck eggs - sorry! I'm trying to retrain myself

5 - I'm also a chronic interrupter - sorry again, but I don't know whether I can cure myself of this one. I only seem to become aware of it after the fact.

6 - the only movie that ever gave me nightmares was Lost in the Desert about a small boy and his little dog who have to fend for themselves in the desert after a plane crash which I saw when I was about 8 or 9. It still haunts me...

7 - I believe there are some things about writing which you just can't teach.

I hope I haven't traumatised you too much with my revelations. So here now are my nominees for this award - some excellent folk that I love hanging out with in person and/or on the internet - in no particular order:-

1. Fifi at Fifi versus the World

2. Maureen Crisp at Craic-er

3. TK Roxborogh at Banquo's Son

4. Tania Hutley

5.Nicola Morgan at Help I Need a Publisher

6. Maria Gill at Kids Books NZ

7.Thomas Taylor at That Elusive Line

Do we need more awards...?

Still have dribbly horrible cold, brain still MIA, children still off school on holiday. I have sent my inner writer away to sulk in a closet somewhere. Justine Larbalestier asked if book awards influence people's reading. I wondered this too after a friend said yesterday that there should be more awards for children's writers in New Zealand. I think there should be more attention paid to children's writers in New Zealand but I don't know if there should be more awards. Commenters told Justine that yes they were influenced by short lists and winners and others told her that no they weren't. One commenter said, some brilliant books don't win anything and some rubbish does. As with any judgement of a book, it comes down to opinion.

In New Zealand the awards we do have for children's literature don't make a huge media splash. The books shortlisted may enjoy greater sales but sadly I don't think these are always vast quantities. I worry that adding more awards would only dilute the effect of each individual award. The current awards don't garner enough attention. Maybe in the short term we should be working to increase the public awareness and interest in those awards already available. Doing this may generate enough positive spin-off to benefit all children's writers. What do you think?

New Zealand Post book Awards

I didn't win at the NZ Post Book Awards (see here for results www.booksellers.co.nz/nzpb_main.htm ) last night. Sigh. Probably because I wasn't a finalist which was probably (but I'm just guessing here) because i didn't have a book published last year (except for my short story in an anthology, Dare and Double Dare) so no surprises there really. Its probably a blessing because i'm bad at giving speeches. Big congrats to all the finalists and the winners. What a buzz. I was especially pleased to see the awards mentioned on TV3's late news last night. Children's literature doesn't get the press it deserves in this country so some news coverage (with Ruth Paul-winner of the children's choice award-being interviewed - yay!!) is brilliant. Couldn't find the winners mentioned in this morning's Herald sadly but there was a nice piece on supreme winner Joy Cowley. That woman is a writing goddess. maybe one day I'll get to go to the award ceremony.