Ruth McIntyre

Being good booksellers has “meant becoming involved and staying involved in both the local and the literary community,” according to Wellington Childrens Bookshop owners Ruth and John McIntyre when accepting the Storylines Betty Gilderdale Award at Turnball House, Wellington this week.

Canterbury literary legend, Margaret Mahy and internationally-recognised Dunedin illustrator, David Elliot, have won the country’s most prestigious gong for children’s literature, The New Zealand Post Children’s Book of the Year Award for their picture book, The Moon & Farmer McPhee

A quarter of the 20 finalists in the 2011 New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards have been written or illustrated by newcomers and this is reflected across all four categories – Picture Book, Junior Fiction, Young Adult Fiction and Non-fiction.

New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards Ceremony 2010

Fluffy clouds and high flying pastel balloons as table centrepieces set the ‘power of the imagination’ theme for this year’s New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards 2010. It was an elegant setting with guests sitting around tables, but as always the warmth of the children’s literature community gave the event a friendly atmosphere.

Packing for the holidays has an extra dimension for the three judges of this year’s New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards.

The cultural relevance and intellect of a city can always be judged by the health of its independent bookselling community, and on that criteria alone Wellington is
not just the country’s political capital but the undisputed literary capital as well.

Not only does it have a wide and diverse range of independent bookshops, it also has the best, with vastly more industry awards over the last decade being won by
Wellington bookshops than anywhere else in New Zealand.