Auckland Writers & Readers Festival 2011

Ok - those with an in to English teachers - start nagging now... Trust me. Fantasy fans - you will WANT to attend the 2011 AWRF in May nex... Read more »

It's nearly over for Harry...

*Sigh* Only one movie to be released. Then - no more Harry Potter movies. Tell us - have you seen Deathly Hallows #1 yet? I haven't f... Read more »

The zombies are coming!

Question: how do you survive a zombie attack? Answer: find out at the library. Well, that’s what these ARG players did. And we can prove ... Read more »

Recommendation: 'Arrival' by Chris Morphew

Arrival by Chris Morphew. Luke and his mum have moved to the isolated community of Phoenix as part of her new role with the Shackleton C... Read more »

Tiger Eyes

Found among the interwebs: Judy Blume's 1981 novel about grief and recovery - Tiger Eyes - is being made into a movie. The Daily Bea... Read more »

Trailer time: The Project

Check out the trailer for the new Brian Falkner - The Project . Read more »

Recommendation: Paranormalcy

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White Even though Evie is only a teenager she already has an important job with the International Paranormal Co... Read more »

Recommendation: 'The Glass Demon' by Helen Grant

The glass demon by Helen Grant Lin and her somewhat dysfunctional family leave their comfortable lives in the UK and find themselves in ... Read more »

Recommendation: 'Mice' by Gordon Reece

Mice by Gordon Reece So, you’ve left school because of the bullying. When the bullies tried to set fire to you that was enough. You had t... Read more »

Does fantasy and/or science-fiction rock your world?

NZ author Helen Lowe has asked authors from NZ, Aussie and 1 Candian why fantasy and/or science-fiction rocks their world. Head on over t... Read more »

Teen Scene out now

Have you signed up for Teen Scene - the monthly newsletter featuring new & recommended teen reads? If not - head over to the subscriptio... Read more »

Recommendation: 'Beastly ' by Alex Flinn

Beastly by Alex Flinn. A modern retelling of beauty and the beast. Kyle Kingsbury is good looking, rich and popular but has the moral ... Read more »

Recommendation: 'Clockwork angel' by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork angel by Cassandra Clare It’s rare to find a book that you can connect with from the very first sentence till the very last page... Read more »

What’s all the fuss about?

What’s all the fuss about? The Hobbit or there and back again by J.R.R. Tolkien. “... I am looking for someone to share in an adventure... Read more »

Comic book month recommendations

Comic book month! A couple of reviews by Mini... Check these great new titles out! Hi everyone, well these two comics were sitting in my ... Read more »

Recommendation: 'Meridian' by Amber Kizer

Meridian by Maber Kizer Meridian has always been an outcast, surrounded by death and pain. On her 16th birthday Meridian finds out (the h... Read more »

Recommendation: 'For the win' by Cory Doctorow

For the win by Cory Doctorow Cory Doctorow has a fascination with how things work. His works of fiction take more than occasional detours... Read more »

Gothic Lolita

It’s comic book month, so I thought I’d give a shout-out to manga (Japanese comic books) and gothic lolita style! Lolita and gothic lolita ... Read more »

Hip Hop @ Otahuhu

Urban Dance Project The Urban Dance Project is a danced-based leadership programme. The programme is a funded project, so all tuition is f... Read more »

Urban Unity Presents 'Encore'

Youthtown Urban Unity presents... "Encore". Three Houses Down with DJ Al Boodie appearing at Encore... Click the image to view... Read more »

It's comic book month!

Libraries are getting into Comic Book Month - check out the list of events and comps available. Who's your fav comic book author? Let ... Read more »

Recommendation: 'Legacies' by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill

Legacies by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill Spirit White has lost everything - her family, her home, her old life. Spirit's new ... Read more »

be randomly kind

1st September is Random Acts of Kindness Day ... So, try to do something unexpectedly kind today. Tho, I'd hope we were all capable ... Read more »

Mockingjay is on its way

Mockingjay, the third in the Hunger Games series has a loooong waiting list. If you can't wait - here's a taster. The author, Suza... Read more »

Recommendation: Old Magic by Marianne Curley

Old Magic by Marianne Curley Time travel anyone? Time travel + romance = squee (well, for me, anyway). Kate is a bit of a loner, she ha... Read more »

Review: 'Into the wilderness' by Mandy Hager

Into the wildnerness by Mandy Hager. The last time we saw Maryam, Ruth, Joseph and, unfortunately, Lazarus - they had just set sail. Flee... Read more »

The unspoken

A recent newspaper editorial - from the Dominion Post - raised the issue of the non-reporting of suicides in the media. Media outlets - n... Read more »

BIG SING @ Central

Come along and listen to the best of Auckland's Secondary School Choirs at the BIG SING preview Monday. Congrats to those competing. Al... Read more »

Library Week Competitions

3 fantastic new Library Week competitions have launched. One will close on Monday 16 August and 2 on Friday 20 August during Library Week. ... Read more »

What will the waiting list be like for this?

Justin Bieber is writing his memoirs... they're due out in October. You can find out more on the Stuff website . I think there will be... Read more »

Happy poetry day!

To celebrate - a poem from this century, by a NZ teen... Dedication ~Chloe Sutherland This poem is for the people who, symbolically, tore... Read more »

When the war is over

You may have read some war poets before - but here's something a bit different from the usual - something from AA Milne, of Winnie-the-P... Read more »

For word

For Word ~Benjamin Zephaniah Thank you for the words I read Thank you for the words I need Thank you for the WORDS so great Thanks for w... Read more »

NEW! Teen Review Panel

Check out our NEW Teen Review Panel! Members have the unique opportunity to read and review our latest teen books, and then post their rev... Read more »

Onto the 17th century

And a poem by a female author, apologising for writing... An Apology for Writing So Much upon This Book ~ Margaret Cavendish Condemn me n... Read more »

18th century

For something different, a poem by an African-American former slave - and a woman. Something quite shocking in the 18th centry. On Being Br... Read more »

And now for something completely different

From the 19th century - a limerick! Something light and fun... There Was an Old Man Who Supposed ~ Edward Lear There was an old man who su... Read more »

A regal poem

...to celebrate poetry day... a poem from Queen Elizabeth I, representing the 16th century. When I Was Fair and Young ~ Queen Elizabeth I ... Read more »

A carol to celebrate poetry day...

...and, the English victory in France in the 15th century - the Agincourt Carol. Deo gracias, Anglia, Redde pro victoria Oure kinge went... Read more »

More poetry...

This offering is a riddle from the 9th century... Moððe word fræt. Me þæt þuhte wrætlicu wyrd, þ... Read more »

Poetry in prayer

An 11th century version of the Lord's Prayer. All for poetry day. Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofonum, Si þin nama gehalgod. To becume þin... Read more »

Summer is coming... we wish!

For poetry day - an offering of a hopeful song from the 13th century (they think) 'Sumer is Icumen In...' Sumer is icumen in – Lhu... Read more »

Hello Geoffrey Chaucer

To celebrate poetry day... a very small extract from 'The General Prologue' of The Canterbury Tales , by Geoffrey Chaucer - 14th cen... Read more »

Heading up to poetry day

July 30 is National Poetry Day, so to celebrate, I thought I'd post some examples of English poetry over the ages... the plan is one a d... Read more »

I ain't afraid of no ghost...

...particularly when they're hanging out at New York Public Library... Thanks to Improv Everywhere & New York Public Library. Th... Read more »

Make it short

Ever dreamed of making money from writing? Do you have a short story - one scintillating and sensational - lurking in your head, waiting fo... Read more »

Deadline today for your poetic musings

Entries close today for the Auckland City Libraries poetry day competition . So you've got the afternoon to come up with something bril... Read more »

The unspoken

A recent newspaper editorial - from the Dominion Post - raised the issue of the non-reporting of suicides in the media. Media outlets - ne... Read more »

Recommendation: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

I was immediately drawn to this book because of its beautiful artistic cover with its silver and black feathered angel and stormy atmospher... Read more »

Extreme makeover - superhero edition

So – Wonder Woman is going to get a new look . I’m not sure that running around in high-heeled boots is any easier than keeping it all to... Read more »

Reading anytime... anywhere

and this is how Brit celebs do it... Reminds me of the "inspire me" campaign NZ libraries ran a couple of years ago with Daniel... Read more »

Recommendation: The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The Maze Runner by James Dashner. This book is a sci-fi dystopia, similar theme to Susan Collin’s Hunger Games trilogy , the characters ... Read more »

Congrats to Eclipse winners

Congrats to the winners of Eclipse movie tickets. Were you one of them? You can find the list here . Who won the poll ? By one vote - Tayl... Read more »

Watch it... read it...

New book alert! White cat by Holly Black. Want to know more about it? Watch the trailer! - Annie Read more »

Buffy vs Edward

Found around the interwebs... The legal stuff: This transformative remix work constitutes a fair-use of any copyrighted material as prov... Read more »

Roskill youth space needs your Vote!

What do you think we should call the new youth space we’re building on Sandringham Rd extension in Mt Roskill? The panel have shortlisted f... Read more »

Simply the best?

Last month, guardian.co.uk put out some lists of the best children's books... you can read their list for 12-years-old and over here . ... Read more »

101 hour Social Networking Challenge

Eva-Maria - family coach, author and speaker - has launched a 101 hour Social Networking Challenge. Eva-Maria toured around New Zealand as ... Read more »

The hunt for happy

At the Central Library Teen Book Club meetings I made it to, we’ve hunted all through the shelves trying to find happy books. I’ve been wor... Read more »

Ivy Lies on songwriting

Talking about writing can be tough and many people struggle to put the process into words. Writing can be a truly personal process, and this... Read more »

Eclipse tickets! Be in to win!

Eclipse , the third instalment in the Twilight Saga and winner of the most anticipated film of the year , is coming to a movie theatre near... Read more »

Hanging out with the literati...

I was rapt to be invited to the New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards Ceremony. Apart from being in the same space as all those liter... Read more »

Youth week is on!

Youth Week is happening 22 - 30 May 2010. Youth Week is about getting out and about in your local stomping ground and hanging out with you... Read more »

Anything is possible...

...you just have to follow your dreams. Ask Jessica Watson . That's what the 16-year-old said upon her return to Sydney, after sailing... Read more »

Anna Mackenzie @ AWRF

Anna’s latest book – Ebony Hill – has just been released (like a week ago). It’s the sequel to The sea-wreck stranger . Anna talked about ... Read more »

Charlie Higson @ AWRF

Charlie Higson – comic and author. During his one-hour session Charlie took the audience all over the place – through his love of zombie mov... Read more »