On a freezing, sleety August day, Wellington school students got invited to spend a few hours at the National Library as part of the annual New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults (NZCYA Awards). The kids got to kōrero with and be inspired by some award-nominated authors and illustrators. This was the final event in NZCYA’s BooksAlive programme, which has consisted of a series of virtual events over the past few weeks.

BooksAlive is an initiative to bridge the gap between prestigious award ceremonies - judged by adults - and the real kids who love to read. Illustrator Donovan Bixley (whose new book Draw Some Awesome was nominated for Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction) said “when creating a book you feel like you have some intuitive sense of what kids like, but in reality, you have no idea! So it’s great to be here with the readers, seeing them physically holding the book in their hands and enjoying it.”

Activities throughout the day included panels, writing workshops, Q&As, and signings. The signings were especially cool to watch, seeing kids of all ages crowd around tables of authors and illustrators to get their autographs on books or the back of a random bit of paper. It also allowed for a one-on-one chat, giving the students an opportunity to ask any personal questions about writing or drawing.