27 Nov 2012
Entries are pouring in for the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards and the judges are already excited at the prospect of reading so many fresh new books for young people.
Children’s literature expert and author Eirlys Hunter and presenter of Radio New Zealand’s Arts on Sunday programme, Lynn Freeman, will join Chief Judge, author Bernard Beckett, on the judging panel for 2013.
Mr Beckett, who writes children’s and young adult fiction, said he was looking forward to having “an excuse for such a concentrated burst of reading”.
Judges will deliberate on as many as 150 books as they whittle down the selection to find the best children’s books across four categories: Young Adult Fiction, Junior Fiction, Non-fiction and Picture Books.
“I’m also looking forward to just getting a sense of the collective obsessions of our children's writers, which I think is always a pretty interesting thing to ponder,” he said.
The number of entries so far has already passed the total number of books entered in last year’s awards.
The Chair of the Book Awards Governance Group, Sam Elworthy, said: “There’s certainly no shortage of amazing children’s authors in New Zealand and the sheer volume of entries we’ve received so far will make sure this year’s judges face a very hard task choosing the winners.”
Once the finalists have been selected, young readers of all ages will get the chance to celebrate the country’s best children’s books as part of a nationwide festival.
The colourful festival will bring books alive for young readers and provide inspiration for New Zealand’s future writers and illustrators. The celebration will feature a nationwide tour of the finalist authors and illustrators, who will visit schools and libraries around the country.
School-aged children and young adults will also be able to vote for their favourite books from among the finalists. Each year tens of thousands of votes are received for the Children’s Choice Award.
Children’s literature expert and author Eirlys Hunter and presenter of Radio New Zealand’s Arts on Sunday programme, Lynn Freeman, will join Chief Judge, author Bernard Beckett, on the judging panel for 2013.
Mr Beckett, who writes children’s and young adult fiction, said he was looking forward to having “an excuse for such a concentrated burst of reading”.
 | Children’s literature expert and author Eirlys Hunter. |
 | Presenter of Radio New Zealand’s Arts on Sunday programme, Lynn Freeman. |
 | Chief Judge, and author Bernard Beckett. |
“I’m also looking forward to just getting a sense of the collective obsessions of our children's writers, which I think is always a pretty interesting thing to ponder,” he said.
The number of entries so far has already passed the total number of books entered in last year’s awards.
The Chair of the Book Awards Governance Group, Sam Elworthy, said: “There’s certainly no shortage of amazing children’s authors in New Zealand and the sheer volume of entries we’ve received so far will make sure this year’s judges face a very hard task choosing the winners.”
Once the finalists have been selected, young readers of all ages will get the chance to celebrate the country’s best children’s books as part of a nationwide festival.
The colourful festival will bring books alive for young readers and provide inspiration for New Zealand’s future writers and illustrators. The celebration will feature a nationwide tour of the finalist authors and illustrators, who will visit schools and libraries around the country.
School-aged children and young adults will also be able to vote for their favourite books from among the finalists. Each year tens of thousands of votes are received for the Children’s Choice Award.