Books Alive is expanding to Palmerston North this year, making it the fourth regional centre to host large-scale events for school children with finalist authors in the 2025 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults (NZCYA).

The expansion comes thanks to a second year of funding from the major project grants scheme of literature-sector supporter Mātātuhi Foundation. Palmerston North will join the longstanding one-day events in Christchurch and Wellington held in the immediate lead-up to the August NZCYA awards ceremony, as well as Invercargill, which was added to the programme for the first time in 2024 thanks to the first round of Mātātuhi funding.

The Palmerston North project is being spearheaded by outgoing Te Awhi Rito NZ Reading Ambassador Alan Dingley and immediate-Past President of SLANZA (School Library Association) Sasha Eastwood, both well-respected school library managers in the Manawatū region. Alan says hosting Books Alive in Palmerston North will provide immense benefits to the local community.

“Books Alive is a dynamic initiative that brings New Zealand authors into direct engagement with young school children, offering workshops that inspire creativity, enhance literacy, and foster a love of reading,” he says. “By connecting children with the authors behind their favourite books, the event makes literature exciting and interactive, helping young readers develop a deeper appreciation for storytelling.”

“Palmerston North is a hub for education and culture, making it a perfect setting for such an initiative. Hosting the event will enrich our city’s literary landscape and strengthen its reputation as a place that values knowledge and creativity.”

Sasha says the benefits for the surrounding regions will also be considerable. “Not only will the Books Alive event provide local students with valuable opportunities to engage with authors, but it will also make these experiences accessible to schools in smaller towns and rural communities across Manawatū, Tararua, and Rangitīkei, which rarely get such chances,” she says.

Working with experienced Children’s Programmes Coordinator Rhonda Chenery and the team at Palmerston North Library the full-day programme of varied events will be held across the library and the Globe Theatre on 22 July. The Mātātuhi Foundation grant will support bus transport to bring school children from around the region to the city.

Bus transport will also be provided for Southland students to attend Books Alive in Invercargill on 30 July, thanks to local grants from ILT and Community Trust South. Project-managed once again by award-winning author and educationalist Pauline Vaeluaga Smith in collaboration with Invercargill City Libraries, the Waihōpai events will include a range of activities and sessions with several of the writers and illustrators shortlisted in the 2025 awards, hosted at Centre Stage theatre and the library.

Books Alive in Ōtautahi on 7 August will be programmed and hosted by the talented team at WORD Christchurch. And on the day of the NZCYA awards ceremony, 13 August, hundreds of school children will descend on the National Library’s Tiakiwai Conference Centre in Wellington to engage with more than 20 of the finalist authors and illustrators in a range of theatre and workshop style sessions programmed by the Wellington City Libraries team.

The Mātātuhi Foundation funding will also make it possible to print a 20-page booklet featuring activities inspired by a number of the NZCYA finalist books, conceived by the Services for Schools team at the National Library. 3000 copies were distributed in 2024 to all tamariki attending the Books Alive events, as well as to schools and libraries in other regions.

More details about the programmes in all four centres and an invitation to schools in and around Palmerston North, Invercargill, Christchurch and Wellington to register their interest in attending Books Alive events will be sent out once the finalists in the 2025 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults have been announced on 5 June.

The Mātātuhi Foundation supports the development of New Zealand’s literary landscape by funding projects that: develop sustainable literary platforms that grow awareness and readership of New Zealand books and writers, increase engagement with New Zealand children’s literature, and build access to and awareness of New Zealand’s literary legacy. Applications are currently open online for the May funding round, with a deadline of 31 May.