The Terrible Trio was up for the the Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction at the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, and Wednesday was the day of the big reveal of the winner. I headed up to Wellington for the celebrations and started my day at Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui, where …
Happy Aotearoa Children’s Book Week!
It’s Aotearoa Children’s Book Week and today, with the amazing help of the City of Literature, I joined Andersons Bay Primary School and Kaikorai Primary School for some Terrible Trio fun. I started my morning at Andy Bay and read from The Terrible Trio. We then got to work creating brand new stories for Zeb the zebra, featuring toilets, the …
The Terrible Trio: The (not so) Superheroes is out now!
It’s finally the day The Terrible Trio: The (not so) Superheroes hit bookshop and library bookshelves across the world. Yes, that’s right! It’s a world takeover! The Terrible Trio has officially sold into SIXTEEN territories and there is more on the way! In a world where all animals have superpowers, Zeb the zebra, Margarine the penguin, and Barry the lemur …
The Terrible Trio Super Party Book Birthday Launch!
Earlier this week, The Terrible Trio goodie boxes were sent out… The Terrible Trio then landed in the University Book Shop window… Well, that could only signal one thing… THE TERRIBLE TRIO SUPER PARTY BOOK BIRTHDAY LAUNCH was on! Dunedin turned out to pack University Book Shop and help Minky and I celebrate the launch of The Terrible Trio, which …
Book Week at East Taieri Primary School
I was back at East Taieri Primary School today to celebrate Book Week. I met with all the pupils from Year 0 to Year 6 and we spent the morning having heaps of booky fun. Years 0-2 helped me create the East Taieri library card and told me all about the penguins, seals, albatross, owls and whales they have seen …
The Big Teddy Bear Sleepover
October 12th marked Bookshop Day. Here in Dunedin, University Book Shop hosted The Big Teddy Bear Sleepover with The Sleepy Storytellers. Making up The Sleepy Storytellers were me, Emma Wood, Gillian Torckler and Susan Wardell. Children were invited to bring along their teddy bears for a story time and a crafts session where they made a bed for their bear. …
But Then… is out today!
My brand new picturebook, and my first book to be published in Aotearoa New Zealand, is out today! But Then… The almost true story of an overdue book is the far-fetched, tall tale of why a library book is 293 days overdue! The story follows a child and their grandfather who are returning a book to the library. When the …
Book Week at Trinity College
It’s Book Week at Trinity College and I was invited to meet with years 7, 8 and 9 to talk all things books. I spoke with the pupils about discovering books as a child, my connection to Matilda and why ALL our stories are important. It was fantastic to get so many questions about writing, being an author and how …
Signing off for 2023
Phew! That was a BIG year! You’ve all made so many of my dreams come true, starting with a phenomenal World Book Day release for Dave Pigeon. I was chuffed to bits to see so many schools join in with mine and Sheena’s big virtual event. HUGE thank you to everyone who shared their work with us. Dave was back …
My top tips for chairing a festival event
This weekend was the Dunedin Writers and Readers Festival. The theme of the festival was ‘a moment that marks the beginning of a journey, to the place where the river meets the sea – Te Pūao’ and the incredible star-studded line up of writers, illustrators and creatives included Witi Ihimaera, Fiona Farrell, Jacinta Ruru, Stacey Morrison, Ruth Paul, Susan Wardell, Michaela Keeble and Tokerau …