The 4.45pm news from the desk of Melinda Szymanik ...

Yay!!! Finally an occasion when judginess is desirable accompanied by glorious access to a mountain of the best local kidlit. Yes folks, it's time to put your hat in the ring to be a judge for the 2021 NZ Book Awards for Children & Young Adults. The call has gone out and applications close 5pm Friday 30 October. You can check out the application details HERE.

It's been a busy old time over the last fortnight, what with giving a workshop on writing children's picture books to an adult audience at Selwyn Community Education and then running a week long creative writing camp for children on the north shore. It was especially challenging last Tuesday when the harbour bridge was closed due to high winds (first time ever in the history of the bridge!!) and my 30 minute drive turned into a two hour long one as all the bridge commuters joined me on my usual route. I was super lucky that my teacher sister had agreed to help out for the day as I ended up being late and she stepped in and got the class started - thanks Halina, you were a life saver. And I have discovered that driving long distances in first gear is very boring. Oh for some audio books stashed in the car - I will have to invest in some.

There are just a few events I am involved in over the rest of this month and what remains of the year is looking pretty quiet. I have a few writing projects I am noodling away on, and I have some planning to do for next year. This all feels rather nice. Despite the fact that covid has put paid to around half the gigs I had lined up for 2020, working from home is my ultimate happy place as I get to focus on my core practice - writing new books.

Last week I had an email from the publisher with final proofs for one of the picture books coming out next year. Its heading off to the printers and I am thrilled with how it all looks. It is gorgeous. Here is the front cover art by illustrator Malene Laugesen.

It is called Moon and Sun, and is due to be released by Upstart Press in March 2021. I can't wait to have it in my hands and show you how wonderful it looks inside. There have been a few delays with this title, partly covid based, and I am so happy it is now on its way.

Finally I hope you are all busy polishing your manuscripts for the Storylines manuscript awards - Joy Cowley for picture books, and the Tom Fitzgibbon for junior fiction - submissions close October 31st. The Tessa Duder Award for YA fiction is biennial and will be open to submissions next year. With Scholastic currently closed to regular submissions, don't miss this great opportunity to have your story read by them. Good luck peoples!!

Giving thanks...

When I first wrote Made With Love, I submitted the manuscript for the Storylines Joy Cowley Award. I was short-listed for the award and while I didn't win I was advised my story had been Joy Cowley's favourite and she subsequently helped me with editing and promoted it to several publishers. I had a few nibbles but ultimately it remained unpublished until Duck Creek Press came into being. When I received my author copies about a month ago I sent one to Joy to say thank you for her help and support. In her reply she said "...I thought this was one of the best manuscripts I've read and am so delighted to see it in print. at last. It's a gem that needs to be out there in the shops every Valentine's Day, and in between." I felt deeply touched and honoured by her words. I have needed to re-read them a few times in recent days. I hope she doesn't mind my repeating them here. Thank you Joy Cowley for your very generous encouragement and support for many new writers for children, including myself.   Thank you too to Gabriella Klepatski, for her wonderful warm and touching illustrations that have brought my story to life.

and grateful too my eldest is being so well looked after in USA. Here she is on Spring Break in Key West

Your chances are as good as ever...

In response to my last post, Kath lamented that getting published in NZ today as a newcomer seems impossible. What are the chances?

From where I sit Kath I have to say the chances seem as good as ever. Chances were never good, but newcomers still do get published every year. In the wake of the recession, publishing lists were cut and several boutique publishers (Mallinson Rendel, Longacre) were absorbed by a couple of the big international publishing names (Penguin and Random respectively). Publishers across the board were tightening purse strings and Scholastic NZ, the biggest children's-only publisher here closed to unsolicited submissions, an uncommon position in this country. And it certainly may appear that the same names are turning up on the covers of the books in the bookshops.

However if you know your local authors well you can spot the new ones too. Anna Gowan and Leonie Agnew are new faces in the junior novel area. Juliette MacIver is new in picture books as is Chris Gurney and Belynda Smith. I'm sure there are others that have slipped my mind.

Several avenues exist for new writers such as the Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon and Tessa Duder Awards for junior and YA fiction. You cannot enter for these awards if you are previously published. While the Joy Cowley Award for a picture book is open to the previously published, this is how many new writers are noticed by Scholastic who participate in judging the entries and publish the winners of the Joy Cowley and Tom Fitzgibbon (Harper Collins publish the winner of the Tessa Duder Award). Scholastic have published the books of other finalists as well. I was twice a finalist in the Joy Cowley Award and while this didn't result directly in publication of my entries at the time, it was a huge boost for me as a writer and resulted in some fantastic feedback which has seen both stories being published more recently. Entries close on October 31st for these Awards every year.

And we now have new boutique publishers springing up. David Ling's Duck Creek Press  has taken on a new picture book writer and new illustrators in the last few years and Pear Jam Books, just launched by author Jill Marshall, is publishing 14 titles this year of which 5 are by previously unpublished authors and another couple are by newish authors.

I got my break with Learning Media and Australia's School Journal who first published several short stories I had written during a Writing for Children paper I did at Massey University as part of my English Degree. One of the most important things I did to help myself along was join several writer's organisations (Storylines, NZSA, Kiwiwrite4kidz) which introduced me to other people experiencing the same difficulties and challenges that I was on my quest for publication. We share triumphs, disappointments and tales of survival. We also share tips and information that make our journey easier.

So don't despair. A blog I follow in the UK by the much published author Nicola Morgan recently featured a post in which she spoke about her twenty year journey to publication. She was first published well before the global recession but it still took her twenty years to reach that first contract. It is very tough to get published. Sometimes it takes a while to find your niche, your voice, your style. Sometimes it takes a while to find the right story for the right time - the one that starts you off. If you are serious about being published as a children's author then you have to hang in there. Keep writing. Take heart. Join with the rest of us and we can hang in there together.