NEWSFLASH!

The LIANZA Childrens Book Awards ceremony has just been completed in Rotorua and here are a list of the winners with some of the judges comments:

The Esther Glen Award (New Zealand's oldest book prize)
Bernard Beckett - Genesis: a novel (Longacre Press)
"one of the most thought-provoking and intellectually challenging novels ever written for older New Zealand children"

The Russell Clark Award
Ben Galbraith - The Three Fishing Brothers Gruff (Hodder/Hachette Livre)
"innovative and magnificent contribution to New zealand literature"

The Elsie Locke Award
Leon Davidson - Red Haze: Australians & New Zealanders in Vietnam (Black Dog Books)
"gripping, illuminating and moving"

Te Kura Pounamu
Robyn Kahukiwa - Matatuhi (Puffin/Penguin Books)
"a remarkable piece of storytelling with exceptional illustrations which should become a New Zealand classic"

Congratulations to the winners.

From dark horse to favourite

'Mr Pip' author goes from outsider to favourite in a dayThe odds on New Zealand writer Lloyd Jones winning the Man Booker Prize for his Bouganville-set novel Mister Pip have shortened from 20/1 to 2/1, the best on the shortlist of six, according to William Hill Betting Operations in London. The shortlist was announced yesterday.William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe said, "I have been doing the prizes for the Man Booker Prize for 25 years now and this is the first time I can remember a book going from the total outsider of the field to become the clear favourite. It is just unprecedented."We could be looking at our first six-figure payout in Booker history. We are even seeing people betting on a double of New Zealander Jones winning the Booker and hot favourites NZ winning the rugby World Cup, which currently pays odds of 7/2."However, another prominent British bookmaker, Ladbrokes, has Ian McEwan's On Chesil Beach at 6/4 favourite, with Nicola Barker's Darkmans in second place at 3/1 and Mister Pip third at 4/1.Jones said he was thrilled - and also dismissed speculation that his property-magnate brother Sir Bob Jones may have had a hand in placing some large bets. "He is not a punter," Jones told One News. "He is very conservative so, no, he would not be putting money on me."Online retailer Amazon.co.uk reports that sales of Mister Pip have surged week-on-week since the Booker longlist was announced in August. …Mister Pip has already won the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the Montana New Zealand Prize for best fiction this year.It took Jones three years and 10 drafts to pen the story, which is narrated by 13-year-old Matilda, who becomes transfixed by Pip, the character in Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations after it is read to her class by an eccentric teacher.The Man Booker winner will be announced at a ceremony at the Guildhall in London on October 16.The other books on the shortlist are The Reluctant Fundamendalist, by Mohsin Hamid, Animal's People, by Indra Sinha, and The Gathering, by Anne Enwright. If Jones wins, he will be just the second New Zealander to do so. Keri Hulme won with bone people in 1985.
New Zealand Herald. Saturday September 08, 2007 By Linda Herrick .

New Zealand Book Awards

New Zealand Book Month celebrates New Zealand books and authors. A good place to start is with New Zealand book awards.

Montana New Zealand Book Awards

The Montana New Zealand Book Awards celebrate excellence in, and provide recognition for, the best books written and illustrated by New Zealanders each year.
catalogue link

The New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children & Young Adults

The New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children & Young Adults reward excellence in children's literature, recognising the best books for children and teenagers published annually in New Zealand.

catalogue link

LIANZA Children's Book Awards

There are four awards. The recipient(s) of the Award shall be a citizen or resident of New Zealand and must have been published in the preceding calendar year.

Esther Glen Award - awarded annually to the author of the book which is considered to be the most distinguished contribution to literature for children. catalogue link

Russell Clark Award - for the most distinguished pictures or illustrations for a children's book with, or without, text which has been published in the previous year. catalogue link

Elsie Locke Award - for the work which makes a distinguished contribution to non-fiction for young people and which has been published in the previous year. catalogue link

Te Kura Pounamu Award - awarded annually to the author of the work which makes a distinguished contribution to literature for children or young people written in Te Reo Māori and which has been published in the previous year. catalogue link

The New Zealand Society of Authors website has a list of awards and fellowships available to New Zealand Authors.

Associateship award for Rodney Libraries staff member

Congratulations to Chris Roberts who has been awarded an Associateship of LIANZA (Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa) in recognition that she has demonstrated the knowledge, skills, judgment, attitude and commitment of a professional librarian.

After several years as a children's librarian, Chris developed her cataloguing skills and interests at Wanganui District Library, then refined them at North Shore Libraries. This led to her current position as District Cataloguer for Rodney Libraries, providing an overall management of cataloguing policies and practices for Rodney and contributing to the Auckland-wide cataloguing team. Chris has been an active member of LIANZA since 1979, serving on the Central District and Hikuwai (Auckland Region) regional committees for several years.

"The Library & Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa: Te Rau Herenga o Aotearoa (LIANZA) is the professional organisation for the New Zealand library and information services sector. LIANZA serves and promotes the interests of New Zealand library and information industry and professionals by providing continuing professional development, professionals awards and recognition, publications and resources, advocacy and collegial support. LIANZA plays a key coordination role in the industry and through its regional and special interest group infrastructure provides organisational structure for members seeking mutual support. LIANZA is a member of IFLA - The International Federation of Library Associations." From About us

Mahurangi East Library extends weekend opening hours

Mahurangi East will now open from 9.30am 7 days a week.

This means their weekend hours change to 9.30am-12.30pm on Saturday and Sunday.