I'm Back! ...

I'm back! And I have lots to tell you. But while I shrug off my jet lag and catch up on all the admin that awaited my return, here are a few snippets of news to keep you going. 

My new picture book Sun Shower/He Tārū Kahika, beautifully illustrated by the amazing Isobel Joy Te Aho-White, translated into Te Reo by the very skilled Pānia Papa and published by Scholastic NZ has arrived in bookstores. It looks fabulous - I am so pleased - I love the colour palette and generous detail in these books. And there have already been some lovely lovely reviews, on Bob's Book Blog here, and on the KidsBooksNZ site here. 

And I am thrilled to say Lucy and the Dark is a 2023 Storylines Notable Book!! Below is today's announcement and the complete list of 2023 Notable Books. Congratulations to all the creators!!

Storylines Children’s Literature Trust Te Whare Waituhi Tamariki o Aotearoa is delighted to once again celebrate excellence in New Zealand publishing for children and young adults with the announcement of this year’s Storylines Notable Book Award winners.

“Congratulations to all the creators and publishers of this year’s award winners,” says Storylines Trust chair Christine Young. “These are impressive lists of excellent books in all categories; testament to the strength and depth of local children’s and young adult publishing.

“The strength of publishing in te reo Māori remains evident, with books from a number of publishers. The non-fiction category covers everything from wildlife to environmental issues; sports to New Zealand and Pasifika history. I was particularly delighted to see an anthology of Pasifika student poetry highly commended in this category.

“As ever, the young adult, junior fiction and picture book categories are strong, with books by new and established writers impressing the judging panels.

“Clearly the commitment from New Zealand publishers and authors to producing quality books for young people remains strong, and I’d commend these lists of award winners as providing excellent choices for whānau or friends looking for Christmas gift ideas, or for teachers and librarians looking to add to their school or early childhood centre libraries.

“It is so important that our tamariki and rangatahi enjoy reading – and equally important that they have access to high quality books that reflect and broaden their experience of growing up in New Zealand.”

Storylines Notable Books are selected in five genres (picture books, junior fiction, young adult, non-fiction and books in te reo Māori) by expert panels of teachers, booksellers, authors, academics, and librarians from across the country.

The 2023 awards cover books published between 16 November 2022 and 15 November 2023.

Storylines’ Notable Book Award winners provide adult buyers and young readers with lists of the ten best New Zealand books published in the latest year in each genre, that will inspire tamariki and rangatahi and their whanau to share and enjoy reading.

The lists are excellent reading and buying guides for anyone wanting to encourage young people read for pleasure and information.

The 2023 Storylines Notable Books are: 

Non-Fiction

Critters of Aotearoa: 50 Bizarre But Lovable Members of Our Wildlife Community, Nicola Toki, Lily Duval (Penguin Random House NZ)

The Observologist – A handbook for mounting very small scientific expeditions, Giselle Clarkson (Gecko Press)

Good Sports: A Storybook of Kiwi Sports Heroes, Stuart Lipshaw (Penguin Random House NZ)

My First Words About Tikanga Māori, Stacey Morrison, Kurawaka Productions (Penguin Random House NZ)

Patu: the New Zealand Wars, Gavin Bishop (Penguin Random House NZ)

Those Magnificent Voyagers of the Pacific, Andrew Crowe, Rick Fisher (Bateman Books)

Mangō: Sharks and Rays of Aotearoa, Ned Barraud (Te Papa Press)

Tuatara, a Living Treasure, Katie Furze, Ned Barraud (Scholastic NZ)

Wot Knot You Got? Mophead’s Guide to Life, Selina Tusitala Marsh (Auckland University Press)

Ultrawild an Audacious Plan to Rewild Every City on Earth, Steve Mushin (Allen & Unwin)

Highly Commended

Pasifika Navigators – Pasifika Student Poetry Collection How Did I Get Here? Soliloquies Of Youth, Darcy Solia (Illustrator) ***Note: The poetry includes 52 Pasifika student contributors (Mila’s Books) 

Te Reo Māori

Te Rā Kura ki Aotearoa, Donovan Bixley, Darryn Joseph (Translator) (Upstart Press) 

Tōku Whānau Rerehua – My Beautiful Family, Rauhina Cooper, Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Oratia Books) 

Ko Ngā Whetū Takirua o Matariki, Ko Waitī rāua ko Waitā, Miriama Kamo, Zak Waipara, Ariana Stevens (translator) (Scholastic NZ) 

Ko Tama me te Taniwha, Melanie Koster, Monica Koster, Pānia Papa (translator) (Scholastic NZ) 

Riwia me te Mātai Arorangi, Linda Tuhiwai Smith, Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Huia Publishers) 

Ko Te Wai, Ko Tama Me Te Marama, Linda Tuhiwai Smith, Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Huia Publishers) 

Ka Wehi Au Ki Ngā Wenerei, Linda Tuhiwai Smith, Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Huia Publishers) 

He Reo Iti Noa Ahau, Linda Tuhiwai Smith, Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Huia Publishers)

He Mahi Taunga Kore, Linda Tuhiwai Smith, Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Huia Publishers)

Young Adult

The Sparrow, Tessa Duder (Penguin Random House NZ) 

Catch a Falling Star, Eileen Merriman (Penguin Random House NZ) 

The Other Brother, Jax Calder (OneTree House) 

The Edge of Light: New Dawning, AM Dixon (OneTree House) 

Iris and Me, Philippa Werry (The Cuba Press) 

Flying and Falling, Lynda Tomalin (GlitterInk Press Ltd) 

The Impossible Story of Hannah Kemp, Leonie Agnew (Walker Books Australia)  

Junior Fiction

Tūī Street Legends, Anne Kayes, Craig Phillips (Wildling Books) 

Below, David Hill (Penguin Random House NZ) 

Pipi and Pou and the Tentacles of the Deep, Tim Tipene, Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (OneTree House) 

The Hudson, the Hunt & the Helicopter, Joan Joass (Copy Press Books) 

Jason Mason and the Flightless Bird Fiasco, Jason Gunn, Andrew Gunn (Bateman Books) 

Once Upon A Wickedness, Fleur Beale, Lily Uivel (Penguin Random House NZ) 

Children of the Rush – Book 2, James Russell (Dragon Brothers Books) 

Lopini the Legend, Feana Tu‘akoi (Scholastic NZ) 

RockyBottoms! Big Little Blue, Book Two, Raymond McGrath (Scholastic NZ) 

Like The Wind, J L Williams (Ocean Echo Books) 

Highly Commended

Caged, Susan Brocker (Scholastic NZ) 

Picture Books

Lucy and the Dark, Melinda Szymanik, Vasanti Unka (Penguin Random House NZ) 

Matariki, Gavin Bishop (Penguin Random House NZ) 

Granny McFlitter’s Eggcellent Easter, Heather Haylock, Lael Chisholm (Penguin Random House NZ) 

At the Bach, Joy Cowley, Hilary Jean Tapper (Gecko Press) 

The Great Kiwi School Day, Donovan Bixley (Upstart Press)

E Oma, Rāpeti: Pō Mārie / Run, Rabbit: Goodnight, Norah Wilson, Kimberly Andrews, Pānia Papa (translator) (Scholastic NZ)

Duck Goes Meow, Juliette MacIver, Carla Martell (Scholastic NZ) 

Grandpa’s Dashing Dessert, Tania Sickling, Lael Chisholm (Scholastic NZ) 

Tama and the Taniwha, Melanie Koster, Monica Koster (Scholastic NZ) 

Dazzlehands, Sacha Cotter, Josh Morgan, (Huia Publishers)

A Hero is Born ...

Today!!! It's today!!! Our new picture book Batkiwi is out today!! This book was a lot of fun to write and Isobel Joy Te Aho-White's illustrations capture it all perfectly. Many thanks to Scholastic NZ for doing a Te Reo translation and for making both books such lovely products.

It has everything - action, pathos, humour, heroism and happiness. If you don't believe me you can check out this super duper review on Radio Kidnappers by ace reviewer Lou from Wardini Books.

I had it in my mind for a long time that I wanted to write a story about a kiwi. Its New Zealand's national bird, with so many qualities that reflect New Zealand's own culture and uniqueness. However my mind is a disobedient, feckless thing that generally ignores my wishes and does whatever it feels like. Cue several years of no decent kiwi-centered story coming to mind. Of course once the word batkiwi popped into my head I thought things would change, but cue another few years of no decent kiwi-centered story coming to mind. I guess things were percolating in my subconscious after all though because eventually an idea began to take shape and as is usually the case once the heart of the story turned up the body of it quickly followed. It took a while to tweak it all into place. I've talked about it before, but it always bears repeating - patience is a necessary quality for a writer. I work best when I allow the story to develop organically and let the mental engineering take it's time to create a fully functioning story, so here we are. 

Lots of other native fauna insisted I include them in the story and it makes me very happy to see New Zealand's own natural environment reflected in the book. I will be reading the book at St Helier's Community Library on July 17th at 10am and there will be books available for purchase and signing if you are in that neck of the woods. I will also be doing a giveaway of a signed copy soon on this blog, so keep an eye out.

I hope young readers take heart from the book and the layers of ideas get discovered anew everytime the book is opened. Fly high little Batkiwi - with love, from one of your creators xxx

How to Train Your Patience ...

2020 seemed rather unformed when it started back on January 1st, but I am happy to say things are beginning to take shape and give some structure to my year.

One of my picture books, Sharing with Wolf, (with the lovely and talented Nikki Slade Robinson and published by Scholastic) is off to the printers and oh-my-giddy-aunt, it has endpapers!! You know what that means!! :-) This book is set to take off on June 1st and tells the story of a lamb keen to rent a room at Wolf's place. It is very gratifying when you have tried to write something funny and you hear people laugh out loud as they read it. And there is humour and much more in the illustrations besides.

Look how delicious it is!! I can't wait to show it to you.

Illustrations are also coming along for Moon and Sun (illustrated by the amazing Malene Laugesen and to be published by Upstart Press). I have had a sneak peek and they are dreamy and divine and just right for a story of sibling rivalry and sisterly relations. This book could not be more different to Sharing with Wolf. Was it written by a different part of me? Maybe. You will need to judge for yourselves. I hope to give you a glimpse of this soon. It is all very exciting.

In other news, I was approached by an Auckland Council Community Group to run some creative writing workshops for intermediate and high school aged students and this is now all on at Te Oro: Music and Arts Centre for Young People in Glen Innes. There will be five 90 minute workshops covering different aspects of writing, run weekly on Mondays at 5pm, starting March 2nd. I'll be running the course again in May as well. You can check out details here

And I am now the New Zealand Soc. of Authors representative on the Book Awards Trust. I'm also working on a new junior fiction project which is a very different form to anything I've written before. Please hold caller, while my old brain works out these new tricks. Crikey, folks, it's all go in the muppet labs.

I still have manuscripts out with some publishers both here and overseas and as always I remain hopeful of a good outcome from someone. I mean, why submit if you don't have hope, eh? The challenge, as always, is to keep the career alive. You might point out that I had a book out last year and I am about to have two books out this year, but I would then remind you that publishers are working two years ahead and whatever is accepted now is unlikely to be out until 2022 (or maybe even later). And an acceptance, if it happens, may still be months away or perhaps even years. Or it just might not happen and whatever I am working on now needs to be finished and polished before it too can begin to try its luck out there, rinse and repeat. Training your patience is one of the best things you can do for yourself as an author. So, how do you train your patience?

1) Your patience will function better if it has deadlines to work to. Always ask when a response/result can be expected and keep your patience informed. Although once deadlines have come and gone I have nothing for you and all bets are off 

2) Your patience can sometimes be talked down with a mantra of rational reasons for delays, silences and deadline blowouts. Memorise this mantra

3) Distraction is a useful tool that will help your patience remain up to the task. I find frequently shouting 'over there' and pointing into the distance can keep your patience disoriented enough to perform twice as well as it thinks it can

4) Reward your patience regularly. Your patience will work harder for you if it feels loved and respected. 

5) That ugly relation impatience is always lurking, trying to muscle in on the action. Be vigilant. A good treatment for impatience is to give it something else to do - for example, when will my basil seeds sprout?

10 Tips on writing and submitting a picture book...

I have a new picture book coming out in a few months. Last week I received my advance copies. The Song of Kauri, published by Scholastic NZ,  illustrated by Dominique Ford and designed by Vida and Luke Kelly, will be hitting the bookshops June/July, I believe, in hardback and a Maori translation in softback. I love this book and hope you will love it too.

It is the story of a Kauri tree that begins to grow when New Zealand itself is a new land.It is a myth, a fairytale, a history, an environmental story and a hymn to nature. It is a story of beginnings, old and new.

I have another two picture books to be published over the next 18 months or so and have had five previously published over the last 8 years with Scholastic and Duck Creek Press. So I thought I might say a few words about writing picture books that might be helpful if you are interested in tackling this form of children's literature yourself. I've talked about this before but I think people are still keen to write them so I think the advice bears repeating.

1. Don't assume that picture books are an easy way in to the book writing business. They are not 'easy' to write. Sometimes they can be quick to write but this is not the same thing as easy. Easy and quick are two different words with two different meanings.

2. I know of picture book writers who do not read picture books and people who read lots of picture books who cannot write them. However, in general these two groups do overlap to a large extent. Which is to say, reading widely in the form will help you write them. You have to know what they are, to correctly produce your own.

3. It is not necessary to write rhyme to have a picture book published. Some of my favourite picture books are not rhyming (Where the Wild Things Are, Hubert Horatio Bartle Bobton Trent, Tulevai and the Sea, My First Car was Red, Mrs Mo's Monster are some great examples). This does not mean you should NOT write in rhyme but publisher's in-boxes are full of badly rhyming picture book submissions. People write crazy stories that make no sense just so the rhyme will work. Or they use rhymes that have been used a thousand times before (cat/hat/sat/mat -  do/too/you - fun/sun/run) that are rhyme cliches.  I suggest you focus on the rhythm of your story. If nothing else, good rhythm will make your story more pleasurable to read.
If you are committed to rhyming, before you submit, read your story out loud to yourself to see where the rhyme is strained. Then have someone unfamiliar with the text read it to you to test it also. When you have been working on a story for a long time it is easy to remember where to pause or stretch a syllable out to make a rhyme work. But new readers (including potential buyers) won't have this level of familiarity. You have to make the rhyme work for that first reading by unfamiliar eyes.

4. You do not have to find an illustrator. Publishers are very practiced and skilled at doing this. They do it all the time. It is part of their job. They generally try to do their best at it because they are in the business of selling books and want to make a good product that people will want to buy. And they know way more illustrators than you do.

5. The idea is the thing. Is it appealing? To both children and adults? Is it relevant to children? Is it appropriate for their age and stage? Is it fresh? People are writing picture books all around the world, all of the time, so it is a major challenge to come up with something new. While writing a picture book might be quick, the getting of the great idea can be very slow. Sometimes I have had years between good picture book ideas. That is why I also write novels - to fill in the time between great picture book ideas (okay that last statement is only partly true :) ) Don't force it. Be patient and do things (lots of different interesting things) that put you in touch with ideas.

6. Picture books are usually around 400 to 700 words. They can be up to 1000 words but that is at the very long end for a picture book story and picture book manuscripts that length are less likely to get published. The illustrations will show some of the detail of your story that will allow you to pare away some of the words. So while 400-700 words can be 'quick' to write, they are not 'easy' because you've had to pick the right ones that tell your story in an interesting, fresh and appropriate way and then figure out which ones your story can do without without losing the quality of the story. Feeling like Michelangelo yet?

7.  Pick your words carefully. You can have a fabulous idea that drowns in boring prose, or zingy prose that doesn't actually say an awful lot. Giving some consideration to rhythm will help here. Be playful with words but not at the expense of meaning. Don't forget your target age group - too many complex words might turn them off. But a few advanced ones will challenge them and add to their vocabulary. A good rule of thumb is you can include a difficult word if the meaning of the sentence does not rely on it.

8. Don't be juvenile. Children think about big issues just as adults do. Fear, loneliness, fitting in, friendship, death, loss. They want help to make sense of their world and assist them in navigating the tricky waters of life. Giving them some meaningful tools for self management in amongst a fun story is the best gift you can give them. On the other hand, DON'T preach. No one wants to be lectured.

9. I have never laid my manuscript out like a picture book when I've submitted it. And I have had 8 picture book manuscripts accepted for publication. I separate the text into paragraphs to represent how I think it might  work over the pages but ultimately the publisher has the final say on how the text appears. I figure the less I suggest how things should be the more freedom the publisher has to see how best it might work. I respect their experience with these things. However I have learnt a lot about pagination over the years and I am sure this has been absorbed into the way I write. If you are new at picture book writing, this is where reading plenty of picture books will help you.

10. I rarely provide artists notes to advise on what might appear in the pictures. Even when the story relies on something that I have not written into the text. If I can see what is missing in the text (that should be shown in the illustrations) I trust that an experienced publisher will see it too. If I have done my job and written the story well than I figure a publisher will read and see it how I intended it. It is worth noting here that some publishers actively dislike artist's notes and do not look at them anyway.

So folks - there you have it - my advice on writing and submitting picture books. If you think I've missed anything out, feel free to ask about it in the comments below, and if I know the answer or have some thoughts on it I will include it in this post. Happy writing!