A part of things...

It has been a bit of a day - I got to give a brief talk at Otago Girls High School today as part of their Library Day. This has been an OGHS tradition for 76 years. In recent years the students have been dressing up as book characters in honour of the day. They assemble in the hall, listen to a guest speaker (me this year), and then various groups (subjects, departments, year groups etc...) gift books to the school library. There were many more than a hundred books across a variety of categories and genre. So many books. It felt like Christmas. Students and staff had embraced the opportunity to appear as favourite characters - Daenerys Targaryen, Katniss Everdeen, Alice in Wonderland, Cruella de Ville, Phryne Fisher and the Corpse Bride complete with blue face and bones painted very effectively on her arm. What a wonderful ritual. What lucky students. What a great school.

And folks, it's my turn!!! Yesterday I set the new fortnightly challenge for the Fabostory writing competition. Go check it out here. What happens to Jason when he picks up the patu in the forest? Primary and intermediate students can write what happens next to win prizes and have their story published on the website. This round of the competition closes on June 22nd.

There was some less happy news, but more on that another time. Because also today, the LIANZA children's book award finalists were announced. Check out the list below. I am thrilled to be on the shortlist for the Esther Glen Junior Fiction Award with my book A Winter's Day in 1939. I have never been a LIANZA finalist before, so this feels very special. There are so many wonderful books shortlisted. Winners are announced August 4th. More details can be found here.

The LIANZA Children’s Book Awards acknowledge excellence in junior fiction, young adult fiction, illustration, non fiction and te reo Māori.

2014 LIANZA Children’s Book Awards Finalists:

LIANZA Esther Glen Junior Fiction AwardDunger by Joy Cowley, (Gecko Press)
Brave Company by David Hill, (Penguin Books)
Project Huia by Des Hunt,(Scholastic New Zealand)
Felix and the Red Rats by James Norcliffe, (Random House New Zealand)
A Winter’s Day in 1939 by Melinda Szymanik, (Scholastic New Zealand)

LIANZA Young Adult Fiction AwardRecon Team Angel, Book 3: Ice War by Brian Falkner, (Walker Books Australia)
Dear Vincent by Mandy Hager, (Random House New Zealand)
When We Wake by Karen Healey, (Allen & Unwin)
Bugs by Whiti Hereaka, (Huia NZ Ltd)
Mortal Fire by Elizabeth Knox, (Gecko Press)
Cattra’s Legacy by Anna Mackenzie (Random House New Zealand)

LIANZA Russell Clark Illustration AwardBruiser and the Big Snow by Gavin Bishop, (Random House New Zealand)
Flight of the Honey Bee by Raymond Huber, illustrated by Brian Lovelock, (Walker Books Australia)
Taka Ki Ro Wai by Keri Kaa, illustrated by Martin D. Page (National Treasures Design Ltd trading as Tania & Martin)
The Teddy Bear’s Promise by Diana Noonan, illustrated by Robyn Belton, (Craig Potton Publishing)
Henry’s Map by David Elliot (Random House New Zealand)

LIANZA Elsie Locke Non Fiction AwardWearable Wonders by Fifi Colston, (Scholastic New Zealand)
Flight of the Honey Bee by Raymond Huber, illustrated by Brian Lovelock, (Walker Books Australia)
The Beginner’s Guide to Hunting and Fishing in New Zealand, by Paul Adamson, (Random House New Zealand)
Anzac Day, The New Zealand Story, What it is and why it matters by Philippa Werry, (New Holland Publishers (NZ)

LIANZA Te Kura Pounamu (te reo Māori)Taka Ki Ro Wai by Keri Kaa, illustrated by Martin D. Page (National Treasures Design Ltd trading as Tania & Martin)
Meariki by Helen Pearse-Otene, illustrated by Andrew Burdan, (Huia NZ Ltd)
Pūao (series) Te Pātiki, Te Mānawa, Te Whai, Te Tāmure by Huia Publishers, (Huia NZ Ltd)
Tāhoe: He Pakiwaitara mō Hinemoa rāua ko Tūtānekai by Chris Szekely and Andrew Burdan, (Huia NZ Ltd)
Ngā Kaitiaki a Tama! By Kawata Teepa and Jim Byrt, (Huia NZ Ltd)

Books - powerful and vulnerable, all at the same time...

Recently at the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival I was asked about my stance on whether we should censor the content of children's and young adult's literature in terms of contentious themes or the inclusion of sex, violence or profanity. I answered, saying what I believe to be true about whether readers need protecting or not. I think children are self limiting. Either they will decide it isn't for them and stop reading or it will be inaccessible to them as a result of their level of maturity (it will go over their heads). Or they will be ready for it, and frankly, a book is a much better way to come across such material where it is presented in context and provides a springboard for understanding and/or discussion. Sometimes it is material that provides wider understanding of an issue and makes them more empathetic. Humanity could definitely do with being more empathetic. Sometimes it is reflecting their own experience and helps them to feel less alone. The most excellent and wise author Judy Blume spoke to the same question here. Or you can hear the mellifluous Benedict Cumberbatch reading out Kurt Vonnegut's impassioned letter to a school district regarding the censorship of his books here. Children and young adults are far more likely to be harmed by the people they know than by the books they read.

And the intramaweb has been aglow with talk of the stoush between Hachette and Amazon. I don't know all the ins and outs. But I think Chuck Wendig's run down on the issue is useful and kinda reflects my own opinions if you want to take a closer look. I'm still looking to be the cork on the ocean.

And a few years back I had a meltdown over Joel Stein's New York Times editorial suggesting adults should not demean themselves by reading young adult or children's books. Obviously as far as Mr Stein was concerned, children's and YA books would never deal with issues or themes that could be of interest or value to adults. He mentioned The Hunger Games, which he had never read. Perhaps he should have come down off his high horse and read the trilogy. This week, this appeared. While the books are a work of fiction, the issues they contain represent real social concerns and author Suzanne Collins has spoken about the different real life events and real world problems that informed her work. And while Guardian journalist Jonathan Jones says the trilogy (and associated movie franchise) is not a manual for changing the world, the themes and concerns present in the books (and movies) have resonated with people and use of the symbolic gesture in the books have provided a platform for drawing wider attention to their fight.

So what's it like...the residency?

So I'm over half way through on my residency. This puppy wraps up August 21st although I have a few bits and bobs tacked on to the end so I won't be home proper till the end of that month.

So, what's it like - this residency thing - I hear you ask? I spend a lot of time on my own and it's okay, although I've discovered I can be a bit annoying at times. Time alone is an interesting concept and everyone should do it at some stage, even if only to observe that you don't really like it. I don't mind it but miss the people I love and care about. I am thinking that in future a lovely little annual sabbatical will be mandatory, whether to write like the clappers or to just wallow in. Just me. And then the rest of the year will be happily spent wallowing in the best and most beloved company of others.

I have discovered that jokes work best with more than one person and I require other people to provide the musical backdrop to my day to day existence (and secretly I am grateful that they do). I have music here with me but I just don't put it on. It is weird - more silence than I am used to. It is amazing what your mind fills it up with.

The Robert Lord Writers Cottage is an excellent place. Idiosyncratic, which is a good thing, I think, for writers. The kitchen and I don't really get on though. I like more space and equipment and someone else to do the dishes. And cooking for one is much less straight forward than it sounds. But there is a TV and washer and drier and clothes line and the location is good - far enough to afford me some exercise and close enough that my days aren't too much arranged around the time it takes me to get anywhere. The wind in Union Street East is a beggar though.

I really like the University. Lots of venerable old stone buildings with personality. It has good old bones. And there are lots of lovely people, especially in the College of Education. I do wonder if anyone in the Science faculty is studying how some students can wear one layer on single digit temperature days though. Or is there a training facility for this somewhere on campus? On my first day in Dunedin I was advised to go for layers (thank you Philip Roxborogh) and this is the key to surviving the fluctuating temperatures and conditions here. I have only been caught out once or twice. I am finally getting the chance to indulge my passion for woolly hats (although I am yet to find a fix for hat hair). Still yet to wear socks over my shoes when it's icy - I keep telling myself I am up to it if the need arises.

I think my residency would be a very different beast if my year hadn't quite exploded like it did, with invitations to speak and workshop and participate in festivals, with shortlistings and touring. But it probably wouldn't have exploded like it did without my gaining the residency - proximity is definitely a factor. Hard to see what the one would have been like without the other. Anyways it is my year of travelling and I am becoming familiar with the different types of plane and the best seats to sit in on each type and little tips like always checking the departure gates for connecting flights on arrival because they are not always what is printed on your boarding pass. And that swimsuit issue themed safety message IS annoying. And I now know where the loos are in the main airports which you might think would be obvious but some airports in NZ currently seem on a mission to discourage this sort of activity.

At times life has been a bit of a whirlwind from which it takes me a while to unwind. Public speaking events are simultaneously fun and scary. If I didn't enjoy doing them I wouldn't say yes, but I find them challenging as well. Still, challenges are good and my skill set has grown. When I first embarked on this career around fifteen years ago I don't think I would have recognised the me I've become. I'm mostly a chicken on the inside now.

And the writing? It isn't just about having the time to write. There are other requirements like coffee, and chocolate and. And plenty of people write masterpieces in random minutes snatched from their busy days so time isn't the essential factor missing for most writers. They just think it is. It is also about 'being' a writer. About sitting down to the task and having belief at your back. Doubt is the middle name of many writers. We often feel like imposters. To say, this is what I do, this is who I am, is the best gift of all.

Be in to win....

As part of my visit to Remarkable's Primary School at the beginning of the month (what a great school!!) a competition was run to design a cover and write a blurb for my junior novel, Sally Bangle: Unexpected Detective.  Here is the most excellent winning entry by Paige in Year 5. Paige, you are a star! This is wonderful. I shall be sending you along an e-copy of the book shortly.

And folks, if I haven't already mentioned it here, the magnificent Fabostory writing competition rides again. Go check it out here at www.fabostory.wordpress.com. It has a new format - you have 2 weeks to take the information and opening paragraph provided and write the story, and then enter it online. The guest author judge will pick two winners and give out fab prizes. Then we start all over again with a new opening paragraph and a new guest author judge. There will be tips and advice along the way. Hone your skills, practice your writing and get feedback. What could be better than that for a budding writer!! Go to it.

(And I am feeling in the mood for a bit of a competition myself - watch this space in June - there will be a chance to win a copy of my new book The Song of Kauri ).

Less snot and froth...

Recently I wrote a bit of a frothing-at-the-mouth reaction to an article quoting Jonathan Emmett in the Times (which turned up in the NZ Herald) about gender imbalance in the children's literature industry. Mr Emmett rightly responded to clarify a few things.

"Hi Melinda.

Sorry that the Times article annoyed the snot out of you. I didn't write it. It was written by two Times reporters in response to this blog post about children's book reviewing which I did write:
http://coolnotcute.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/gender-balancing-books.html#blogpost

You've made a number of unfounded assumptions about my views, some of which are addressed in this post: http://coolnotcute.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/four-clarifications-in-light-of-last.html#blogpost

I've offered "some practical solutions that might work" under the section headed "Solutions" which starts on page 21 of this essay: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/j.emmett/COOLnotCUTE/COOLnotCUTE.pdf

"And all you can say Mr Emmett is that we don't give our sons sufficient books about pirates?"
If you take the time to look at the rest of the essays and blog posts on coolnotcute.com, I hope you'll recognise that my argument is somewhat more complex and nuanced than that."

Fair enough. Mr Emmett's original article is considerably different to what appeared in the Times/NZ Herald (and I'm a little disturbed by how much the tone has been skewed). And his stats make for very interesting reading and raise a whole bunch of other questions about gender in writing, reviewing and publishing, that should be widely debated. I'm not totally convinced, at the latter end of the article, about how influential the boy-centricity of picture books (or the lack thereof) is on literacy levels. I wonder what contribution other factors like electronic gaming, online activities and television make to boys abandoning books? Do these things appeal more to boys? Here in New Zealand I sometimes even wonder how much the thought of the money to be made in sports (predominantly by men if we are considering gender imbalances) attracts boys away from reading? Plenty of boys I know certainly apply themselves more diligently to sporting activities than they do to academic ones. We are thought of as a sporting nation. Sports gets a lot of press (especially those sports played by men) compared with arts and culture. Sports are cool. Culture, hmm, maybe not so much. Children's book reviews in general are thin enough on the ground here in mainstream media, without considering the gender of the reviewers. This is the environment we are raising our boys in. These are complex issues.

If you are at all familiar with playground chants and rhymes you know how bloodthirsty and combative little children can be. I agree with Emmett that content should not be excessively sanitised. I think it's not necessarily always the publishers or the reviewers or librarians applying constraints (or gender-centric biases) to the content of children's books, but the (adult) consumers. Some adults felt my book The Were-Nana was far too scary for younger children and yet it won children's choice at the NZ Post Book Awards. In the end publishers have to publish what they believe they can sell. And they have to manage the risks of their choices. And how far would we push the content to attract the reluctant boy reader? Is that okay? What should our limits be? I also agree with Mr Emmett's lament about the sorry decline of children's non-fiction. For me this seems a more serious issue. If boys prefer reading non-fiction then this must also make a contribution to literacy levels. 

I still wonder how much our own subtle messages influence what boys think is cool to read. I wish I knew. I think too, some boys are even resistant to boy-preferred content, although this doesn't mean we shouldn't try to change their minds about books. On the flip side should we look at why many girl readers read more widely across a range of content. Is that driven by nature or nurture? Should we be producing more 'boy-centric' picture books or be applying different psychologically to the way we encourage boys to read? Either way we can do better. Mr Emmett, I am sorry I got so reductive. I really should know by now that sometimes the media like a spot of controversy and that some information might have dropped off along the way. 

  

Pushing your comfort zone to a new level ...

Hi honey, I'm home!

Things I don't recommend
1) Living out of a suitcase that has been packed with what came out of an earlier suitcase
2) straining your vocal chords at the first of your speaking engagements
3) not taking the opportunity to buy dinner at 4.30pm before embarking on connecting flights and shuttle trips that get you to your dark, cold, lonely door at 10pm at night
4) not taking the opportunity to say hello to your writing idols and as-yet-unmet confreres
5) going for long periods without writing

Things I do recommend
1) saying yes to opportunities
2) stepping outside of your comfort zone
3) accepting the offer of a microphone
4) having some fall-back-position intelligent comments to whip out in those brain scrambled moments
5) being yourself

Wow, it may take me a while to process all the events I have been involved in over the last few weeks. It has been a whirlwind odyssey of talks, workshops, presentations and panel discussions. High point? All of it (especially getting to hang out with other writers, even if I was too shy to speak to half of them). Low point - not having more time in between to appreciate it all. Sometimes I just wanted to slow it all down and enjoy the moment.

There is no denying that it can be stressful facing a room full of strangers and trying to interest and entertain them. People asked me afterwards how the talks went. Unfortunately I have a natural tendency to immediately focus on things I wish I'd said, or things I wish I hadn't said, or forget everything that just happened, so I can never really judge these things. The litmus test in the talks to school students is if someone came up afterwards and shyly told me that they want to be a writer too, or that they felt inspired by what I said. And they did. They remind me of me at that age. I hope I've made a positive difference for them.

People say they couldn't imagine themselves standing up there on the stage giving talks. They don't know how folk do it. I don't know either. It is scary - I was speaking to one well known international writer before one of my talks and she too was anxious about her next event - had she pitched it right for the audience, she wondered. Trepidation is not unusual, even for the most seasoned performers. In the end, I focused on these events as opportunities to hopefully say something useful as well as interesting. To help others be inspired, or avoid pitfalls and mistakes, or just love books, and reading and words, and perhaps writing, just a little bit more. It was petrifying and exciting all at once. I have to say I felt very alive during the whole experience. And I've discovered that my comfort zone is transforming. There is a new normal. And I'm now very happy to return to my quiet, lonely garret to write.

Remarkable...

It is my month of talking - May. If I am a little absent from my blog I apologise - I am darting hither and thither across the countryside and not sitting down at a desk as much as I usually do. I have remarked in the past that I could talk the hind leg off a donkey - apparently now I can also talk myself horse hoarse. I spent Thursday and Friday talking about creative writing and reading some of my books to the students at Remarkables Primary School in Queenstown, with a view to die for, and a tad more rain than I had anticipated. I talked about ideas, plotting, tone, language techniques and character development. We discussed rules for writing and how authors and illustrators work independently on a book. The children were terrific and I had a great time and was especially thrilled by the bright wee sparks who told me they couldn't wait to go off and write stories. Here are some pics from the visit

The school is in a very picturesque location:

Friday afternoon I headed back to Dunedin (via Christchurch) so I could take part in the Dunedin Writers and Readers Festival. I felt very privileged to be asked to join author, Sandy McKay and chair, Bridget Schaumann for a panel discussion on Historical YA fiction and this morning we chatted about our writing process, our own history and the backgrounds to our books. We talked about getting published, research and writing habits. I hope the audience enjoyed the session as much as I did. If you wonder whether I get nervous before these things, the answer is, yes, I do. I think nerves are a normal part of the public speaking business and are not necessarily a bad sign. They don't paralyse me or prevent me from doing the job, and to me are just indicative of the fact I am keen to give a good talk and provide useful information in a coherent manner. And once I begin, they go. I don't tend to worry about them.This evening I am off to hear Eleanor Catton talk and then on Monday I wing my way to Auckland for some more talking at the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival. I am currently resting my vocal cords.