Taranaki Touring

The NZ Post Book Award finalists' Tour this week took me to Taranaki - and what a great part of the world! In two hectic days I had six speaking events, visited five schools, one region-wide literary challenge, experienced an uncountable number of shifts in the weather, saw the mountain (and not. And again. And not...), caught up with wonderful NZ author David Hill and his lovely wife Beth, visited several bookshops (including the outstanding Benny's Books in New Plymouth. If you live nearby or you're just passing through, check it out: Julia and her staff really know their stuff!), meandered my way along New Plymouth's superb coastal walkway as the sun rose, and decided that Taranaki is definitely a place I'm coming back to. Though it would be good if it didn't involve four hours of flying and seven of sitting about in airports waiting for connections.
The tour kicked off at Hawera High School where a buoyant group of year 9s asked some outrageously good questions. I'm still working on an answer to one of them. At the Community Centre I was blown away by the enthusiasm and organisation that goes into the region-wide Literary Challenge: what an excellent idea! I hearby lay down an official challenge to the rest of New Zealand! I've already suggested to the NZ Post finals organisers that we should make this a part of each year's events and hold an annual national final as part of the Award Ceremony event...
Hawera Intermediate has to be one of the prettiest schools I've visited and the kids' enthusiasm for reading, for writing, for soaking up everything they can of the world around them, shines through. Sacred Heart Girls College in New Plymouth offers walls slathered in vibrant artwork and this year's winners of the Literary Challenge. Inglewood was the only Primary School I visited, and what a great group of kids. Together with their enthusiastic teacher we shared an hour of interesting discussion - on books, on films, on films of books, on writing and reading and a whole lot more. Waitara High School library is a stunner: jam-packed with not only books but art and artifacts and ideas. This was a great school visit to finish on - kids who were attentive yet full of energy, with an overflow of questions that kept me on my toes.
At every school Julia from Benny's Books had a stack of books to give away - and everywhere we went kids rose to the challenge of Julia's mini quiz. Just goes to show how attentive those audiences really are...
Thanks to all of you for sharing your time and your questions.