Mark Sommerset writes:

Made in Taiwan

For many these words conjure mountains of cheaply produced toys, house wares and electronics – the sort that Taiwan became infamous for during the 80s and 90s. As part of my fellowship at the Taipei book fair I was delighted to see how much things have changed and, more specifically, the beautifully crafted children’s books they are producing over there.

This misconception was the first of several to be ‘righted’ for me during my fellowship at the Taipei International Book Exhibition. Taiwan is a big market of 23 million people, and China is huge beyond comprehension, but that doesn’t necessarily mean big print runs or massive sales. As far as I could understand, reading picture books to children is not part of traditional Chinese culture. Education is king and of the stories that are printed for littlies most are of cultural significance or come with moral lessons. Publishers now face a great challenge and opportunity as they set about re-educating the Chinese public on the joys and benefits of reading and sharing a wider range of books with their children.

A cultural shift would open up huge possibilities in the children’s book market, which any publisher in the shrinking markets of the Western world would relish. (By way of example, Guess How Much I Love You recently sold its one-millionth copy in China and perhaps signals a changing attitude towards books for the very young.)

Translated titles account for up to 80% of some Chinese publishers' lists

People in the international publishing arena have warned me of the problems with counterfeiting in China and the difficulties involved in extracting accurate figures and money from the region. While counterfeit books are still a concern for these markets, it became clear that a very large number of publishing houses are much more professional and accountable in their practices than one might otherwise have believed. I was fortunate in my visit to meet several fantastic agents and concluded in the end it would be a good idea to have representation by someone ‘on the ground’ rather than try and do it all ourselves from here: not for fear of being ripped-off, but more as a matter of convenience and ease. Many of the Chinese publishers I met with spoke only limited English so the idea of a having a middle man, fluent in both languages and with a far greater understanding of the Taiwanese and Chinese markets than I could ever hope to achieve, seemed to make sense.

The other fellows, from UK, Turkey, Spain, Korea and France also provided very interesting insights to their own publishing territories and reiterated the notion that big markets don’t necessarily translate into big sales. I was amazed to learn from Alain Serres of publishing house Rue Du Monde in France that three quarters of the French public never visit a bookstore! And from my new Turkish agent friend, Nermin Mollaoglu of the Kalem Agency, that picture books seldom sell beyond their initial print run of two to three thousand units – that’s in a country of 73 million people!

In South Korea, I learnt from publisher Derrick Kim that the market is almost entirely dominated by edu-comics and big brands like Thomas, Beatrix Potter and Hello Kitty. Edu-comics are graphic magazines (often in the manga story-telling style) in which content is largely connected to and derived from the school curriculum, usually science. Annual sales are in excess of $US50 million. Derrick also said that, according to figures based on sales from the largest book chain in Korea (Kyobo), new or emerging picture book authors sold (on average) just 140 copies per title last year via the Kyobo chain. Kyobo accounts for nearly 10 per cent of retail book sales in South Korea, so by extrapolation we find a new picture book from a less than famous author might only sell 1400 copies. Fourteen hundred copies in a country of 50 million people! Interestingly Derrick Kim also noted that the YA market in Korea is almost non-existent (except for the likes of books that come to popularity via blockbuster movies such as the Twilight series) as young adults have little time for anything other than study!

So it was a fascinating trip – lots of lovely people and successful in that many promising connections were made and a number of misconceptions dispelled. While in some ways the experience painted a somewhat tough picture regarding the international publishing scene, it pays to remember that up to 80 per cent of some publishers’ lists in the China and Taiwanese markets are comprised of titles translated from foreign languages – primarily English. So while these markets present a challenge to sign, sell and export to, the fact is they remain huge and the potential for growing sales – beyond anything we could dream of in our well-established New Zealand publishing scene – is there.

Dame Wendy Pye has been fielding hundreds of congratulatory letters, cards and emails since her New Year Honours appointment was announced. But Dame Wendy is modest, saying the accolade is good for the educational publishing industry… “the only publishing industry,” she says with a laugh. “It also reflects how we are seen and valued internationally.”

Nor has she stopped working long enough to enjoy her new status. Along with members of her team, she began an American road trip in New York last week giving workshops on a repackaged product that meets new American educational standards. “That’s 6,500 pages of teacher notes over three levels just finished and on the presses now.”

Among the messages from overseas and local educational publishing colleagues, Dame Wendy has had heart-warming letters from the families of people who worked with her from as long as 30 years ago. One effect of the correspondence, she says, shows that it has put educational publishing on the map. “I was told: this is a very good day for educational publishing around the world. That shows we need to shout more loudly!”

Joy Cowley has written books for the Pye imprints since she began her independent business. “I have known Wendy for over 40 years, as publisher, educator, businesswoman and friend, and have huge admiration for her. I believe that this honour should have come to her years ago,” says Joy. “That it didn’t, is probably because Dame Wendy has always been a ‘straight-shooter’ who values integrity over social nicety.

“Ever since I’ve known her, Dame Wendy has been driven by a desire to do the best for the future of the world. That altruistic ambition has sometimes met the scorn of cynics but it hasn’t stopped Dame Wendy from devoting her life to children’s reading. Wendy’s mother once described her as a ‘bulldozer’. That well describes Dame Wendy’s work ethic; but the ‘bulldozer’ is powered by the fuel of goodness, and it has done much for New Zealand and the world,” Joy believes.

“The number of people remembering me was humbling,” said Dame Wendy. She knew about the honour, but had to keep it secret for three months. “I told nobody. Mind you, it was easy because I didn’t think that happened to people like me, but to other people like high court judges! I’m just a gal with a satchel tied to her back, so it was a bit overwhelming, I felt like putting on dark glasses!”

With three generations of family visiting from Western Australia for the holidays, Dame Wendy was delighted to have extra company to share “the time to drink a little champagne.”

She thinks the recognition that comes with this major honour will highlight to governments the importance of what educational publishers do, teaching every child to read. She is working on a project in Nigeria for free tablet computers for every child in school. “My dream is that it helps, it uses my skills to make a difference.”

PANZ president Kevin Chapman contacted Dame Wendy with the association’s good wishes on receiving her honour. “Please accept the congratulations of the industry on your elevation, and know that we all consider it well deserved,” he wrote.

“You have worked tirelessly to promote NZ creativity and it is very pleasing to see you acknowledged so properly.”

Note: a profile of the Wendy Pye Group ran in the PANZ News issue of August 22 last. You can read it here.

13 December 2012

 
“It does concern me that there appears to be a mixing, and therefore a confusing, of two separate issues. One is copyright, and the other is any potential loss of sovereignty by NZ as a result of the talks.

“This confusion has seen people who would traditionally support authors’ rights joining with very strange bedfellows, such as the large, heavily lawyered, US internet companies and lobby groups that want digital material to be available free.
 
“Our view is that it is important to be clear what we are arguing about. While the potential for NZ law to become subject to challenge and be over-ridden by the courts in other countries is indeed of concern, our need to protect creators from the self-serving interests of those who simply want free access to the work of writers and publishers will ensure we continue to fight.
 
“Sam’s presentation below, edited for space reasons, is a must-read for all members.”

Getting ideas around: copyright and creativity in New Zealand books

 
The Frankfurt Book Fair, attended by about 180,000 publishers, was particularly exciting this year for two reasons. First, New Zealand was Guest of Honour, so Germany was full of our poets and historians, novelists and artists. The 2012 fair was exciting to me for a second reason: at Auckland University Press we got to sell a lot of rights to great New Zealand writing. This year we sold the great Polynesian poet Albert Wendt’s new poetry collection into Ukrainian. We sold the University of Auckland psychology professor Michael Corballis’ Pieces of Mind to publishers in Australia, the UK, Serbia, Greece and Korea. And we sold 5000 copies of our new guide to New Zealand’s birds to Yale University Press in the US and we are currently working together on an app for tablets and smartphones.
 
Selling rights makes money for us and our authors and it gets the ideas in our books into the hands of many, many more readers. It is a great example of how the free trade in ideas benefits both creators and consumers. Buying and selling rights, which is what the Frankfurt Book Fair is all about, is based on three really simple principles.
 
First, locals know best. The Greeks will find more readers in Greece for Michael Corballis than I can (they know Greek after all). But Yale University Press will also find more birders in North America than I ever could because they know the right price, the right cover, the right media and bookstores for selling the book in that market.
 
Second, give the people what they want. Buying and selling rights has always been about getting ideas to people in new formats – paperback rights in the 1930s, audio books in the 1990s, ebooks in the 2000s, apps in 2012.
 
Third, copyright and contract. To make a book you assemble a whole of rights – an author’s words, an artist’s illustrations, excerpts from other authors’ works – then you sell those combined rights as a book. Trading rights at Frankfurt works because, by owning all the rights in a book, you can then sell off rights bit by bit through simple contracts – ebook rights to a US publisher, a library licence to a UK aggregator, electronic rights to an app developer in South Africa. Copyright and contract make such deals doable.
 
By heading over to Frankfurt and drawing on those basic principles, the New Zealand publishing sector has transformed itself into a key exporter of creative work. We have packagers like PQ Blackwell taking Nelson Mandela’s authorised biography to the world. We have books like Mister Pip and Whale Rider that have been published in multiple editions, translated into multiple languages and turned into movies. And we have a major educational export industry that creates literacy products in print and electronic formats and sells them to schools around the world. Selling international rights has helped turn New Zealand publishing into a $250million creative industry that employs 1000 people and drives our culture and creativity.
 
So what do we need from free trade agreements like the TPP so that we can keep finding new readers and growing our creative industries? We don’t need tariff walls, we don’t need subsidies, we don’t need special protections. We love the free trade in ideas. We just need three simple things that enable that trade to happen.
 
First, respect the locals. Elsewhere in the world, local publishers buy exclusive rights in their territory and fashion books for their local readers. Unfortunately New Zealand publishers cannot operate on the world stage, buying rights for our local market, because in 1998 the copyright law was amended to allow retailers to import books and other copyright goods from anywhere they want. That law has undermined the New Zealand publishing industry. Across the ditch, dynamic, independent Australian publishing companies like Scribe, Text, and Allen and Unwin buy local rights to major authors – Jodi Picoult or Lionel Shriver, or Daniel Pink – and craft them for local readers. In New Zealand we can’t buy rights – there’s no exclusive territory to buy for – so we have a much less vibrant independent publishing sector as a result. That hurts our culture and our creativity.
 
Free trade in ideas is rooted in respect for territorial copyright, and that should be embodied in the TPP.
 
Second, respect innovation. Over the last few years, publishers have teamed up with technology companies to create a rapidly growing market for ebooks. I’ve spent the last year at Auckland University Press digitising our backlist.
 
But, sometimes you think why bother. I worked on a book by the great Cambridge mathematician Tim Gowers called the Princeton Companion to Mathematics. The book took five years to produce, it brought together mathematicians from across the globe, and it sold from the start in print and ebook formats. Look it up and you’ll see you can get free shipping from Amazon.com, but why bother paying for this book at all when you can download a PDF for free from ebook2000 or freebookspot or ebookbrowse?
 
As a publisher, we depend on government and ISPs doing what we do every day – respecting creativity and innovation enough to effectively stop such piracy. If the internet industry and publishers and government can’t stop my books being available for free on the internet, both creativity and innovation will suffer a big blow.
 
Free trade is trade, not a lolly scramble. We need the TPP to respect copyright and contract in the digital age.
 
Finally, respect creators. You’ll find a lot of people who claim to speak for creators and who will tell you that copyright is broken: that Disney-laws have given new rights to the dead, that the world is full of orphan works, that real creators just want their work to be freely available. I just published the biggest book I have ever taken on – a 1200 page anthology of New Zealand literature. To make this book we had to get permission from 180 live and dead authors in New Zealand and overseas. I learnt a few things. We couldn’t find any of these orphan works that are meant to be out there in their thousands. We couldn’t find any authors using creative commons licenses or willing to give their work away for free. In fact we found a lot of creative authors and their estates who wanted to control their copyright and get paid for their work. So I challenge all those organisations who deride dead authors, who think copyright should last for only a few years, who think creativity should be free. Real respect for creators means giving copyright owners at least the same control over their property as cow cockies or capitalists.
 
We publishers love the free trade in ideas. Trading rights at the Frankfurt Book Fair finds new readers around the globe and helps pay our authors. To support that free trade, we don’t need much – we just need respect for local territorial markets; we need respect for intellectual property in a digital age; and we need a respect for the creators that gives them the same rights as dairy farmers. It’s not too much to ask and I wish you well making it happen.

Thursday 13 December 2012

Conferred last night, Tony Fisk’s citation for Life Membership by Karen Ferns outlines his immense contribution to New Zealand publishing:

Tony, in July of this year and in your absence, your lifetime membership of the Publishers Association was proposed and accepted with acclamation by PANZ members. Now with your return to New Zealand we are delighted to be able to honour you in a public way and therefore deliver the sense of occasion that you deserve.
 
In the recent week as I prepared this glowing citation I have talked about you to a number of people, asking for some thoughts about your work on behalf of the industry. Everyone has been quick to acknowledge your contribution and their gratitude for your work within the industry and, if they had a HarperCollins connection, for your leadership of that company.
 
The bar would be drunk dry if I was to mention all the ways in which people who know and have worked alongside you in your many industry roles wanted to recognise you. So by necessity this is a record of selected highlights only – but will serve to remind us of all your many years of service for which we all owe you a debt.
 
Whether it was meeting Agatha Christie as a boy or your father’s career with Collins in the UK, your DNA seems imprinted with the likelihood of joining the book trade and so you did, starting as a sales rep in London. But fortunately for those in this room you came to New Zealand in 1983 and so began your local career.
 
As David Joel reminds us, 1983 – less than 30 years ago – were the days in which there was no PC on the desk, no email, cell phones and even fax machines were absent. No doubt transmissions from head office came by telex. So the changes Tony saw and was responsible for in his time at HarperCollins were immense. As David says, “That you rose up the ranks to become Managing Director in 2004 is a great tribute to your ability to change and an indication of your true character…”
 
HarperCollins staff describe you as loyal and always looking to add value – a personable and accessible leader who knew how to be a team player. They talk about your passion for the industry, your hunger to embrace new technology and your dedication to them and the industry as a whole.
 
As well as being the head of a sizeable company by New Zealand standards with all the demands from overseas principals, Tony was willing to make himself available for industry matters. He was an advocate for many logical ideas which he pursued with enthusiasm, pragmatism and drive. He was on numerous committees, from standardising returns procedures for the industry through to industry training. He was also deeply involved in trade liaison between booksellers and publishers.
 
Tony also bridged the breadth of membership within the publishing association. Bridget Williams of BWB, mostly recently distributed by HarperCollins, valued “Tony’s ability to see and understand the dynamics of independent publishing … inevitably, different from those of the multinational firm in which he himself has had such a significant role all his working life.”
 
Tony was able to walk in others’ shoes. “During his time at PANZ Tony had a particular ability to bring a range of views to the table,” said Bridget. “This is never easy but he was committed to sharing information, to objectivity and to fairness, which gained him respect from all quarters of the industry.”
 
With the experience of many years on industry boards and committees, in January 2008 Tony became President of the Publishers Association. He held this role for 18 months at a time of great change.

Two initiatives he shepherded through as president was firstly the search for new funding for Frankfurt and he found it in Creative NZ who continue to support publishers.
 
Second, always a supporter of the Book Design Awards, Tony was enthusiastic about revamping the awards, making them a standalone event and highlighting good design as an important aspect of book production. As well as increasing the number of award categories, a new sponsor structure was introduced, along with the much coveted award for the Young Designer of the Year.
 
Council members of the era and Anne de Lautour acknowledge Tony was an inclusive president who listened and gave wise advice and skilfully guided the Council during his term. The time Tony spent in industry meetings is probably incalculable but he did this with enthusiasm and possibly without his bosses’ blessing or perhaps even knowledge. This gift to the rest of us helped shape and develop an industry in which we can all be proud members.
 
Tony has given greatly and repeatedly to the NZ book industry and we all owe him and his family a huge debt. There are few occasions when an industry can acknowledge someone for their longevity in business, including negotiating massive technological change and their consistent leadership within the book publishing industry overall.
 
This is one of those special occasions. We salute you and thank you Tony.
Karen Ferns, Managing Director Random House Australasia

CREATIVE NEW ZEALAND MEDIA RELEASE

Applications are invited from established New Zealand writers for the 2013-14 Creative New Zealand Berlin Writer’s Residency.

The 11-month residency offers a stipend of $40,000 and use of the Creative New Zealand apartment in Friedrichshain in former East Berlin.

The residency is open to established writers working in the following literature genres: autobiography/memoir; biography; children’s fiction; creative non-fiction; essays; fiction; graphic novels with a strong literary element; histories; literary criticism or poetry. Applicants must have been resident in New Zealand for at least three years prior to making the application.

Previous recipients include: Sarah Quigley, Tina Shaw, Kapka Kassabova, Philip Temple, Tim Corballis, Lloyd Jones, James McNeish and Kate Camp.

The successful applicant must be able to undertake the residency between September 2013 and August 2014.

The closing date for applications is 5pm on Friday, 22 February 2013.

For further information on how to apply:

http://www.creativenz.govt.nz/en/getting-funded/find-funding-opportunities/berlin-writers-residency/general-info

Creative New Zealand | Old Public Trust Building, 131-135 Lambton Quay
PO Box 3806 | Wellington 6140
T +64 4 473 0880 | DDI +64 4 498 0725| M +64 (0) 27 677 8070 | F +64 4 471 2865

Media release

Auckland novelist, cartoonist and graphic designer Sarah Laing has been awarded the prestigious Michael King Writers’ Centre University of Auckland Residency for 2013. 

A partnership between The University of Auckland’s Department of English (Faculty of Arts), Creative New Zealand, and the Michael King Writers’ Centre, the residency aims to foster New Zealand writing by providing an opportunity for an author to work full-time for six months on a major project.  Sarah will have use of the writer’s studio at the Michael King Writers’ Centre (including accommodation), an office in the University’s English Department, and a $30,000 stipend.

“We are very much looking forward to Sarah Laing’s presence in the English Department next year,” says Head of Department Associate Professor Joanne Wilkes.  “There will be great opportunities for our staff and students to interact with her, and to hear about her intriguing project.”

A firm Katherine Mansfield fan since childhood, Sarah’s residency project is a graphic novel about this seminal author: part-biography, part-memoir and part-fiction.

The planned novel will focus on Katherine Mansfield’s life, and be interspersed with a personal account of Sarah’s own fascination with Mansfield.  Sarah’s love of the graphic memoir genre has guided her approach, and will call heavily on her skills as a novelist, cartoonist and graphic designer.  While she notes there are many Mansfield biographies, novels and films, she is sure that hers will reveal a very different experience.

 “I envisage this as a lushly-coloured book, painted in inks and watercolours, filled with sensory detail.  I would like to evoke her stories: ‘the apples stained with strawberry pink’, the ‘pear tree in fullest, richest bloom . . . . against the jade green sky’ – written almost as if she intended them to be painted,” says Sarah Laing.

“It will appeal to young and old readers, and push Mansfield out of the literary world into a wider audience.”

Sarah starts her residency in July 2013, and is looking forward to indulging in a lot of reading during the six months; delving into Mansfield’s letters and journals, and engaging with experts at the University. 

“I’m incredibly grateful for this opportunity.  With three children under 10, everything has to be cleared away from the dining room table daily at 2.30pm.  I’m really looking forward to the uninterrupted time to draw and explore, and to fully immerse myself in Mansfield’s work,” she says.

Following two books published by Vintage: Coming Up Roses – an anthology of short stories – and her first novel, Dead People’s Music, Sarah’s third book, and second novel, The Fall of Light, will be published in 2013.  Her writings have appeared in anthologies and journals, and she has been writer-in-residence at the Buddle Findlay Sargeson Centre, with a short residency held at the Michael King Writers’ Centre in 2008.  She has also appeared at international and local literary festivals and is an award-winning graphic designer, most recently winning the best cover design at the 2010 PANZ Book Design Awards.

Ends.

SIX OF THE BEST: CLNZ EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING AWARDS WINNERS

“One of the wonderful things about educational publishing, and particularly the way New Zealand educational publishers deliver to both our local and international markets, is that they offer variety,” said CLNZ CEO Paula Browning at tonight’s CLNZ Educational Publishing Awards. “There’s a wide range of resources targeted from under five to whatever age it is that we stop learning, a variety of price structures, a variety of ways to deliver the content to learners – whether that’s on paper, mobile devices, or other learning systems.”

Educational publishers produce more titles than any other sector of the New Zealand industry and make up two thirds of our publishing exports. Today’s tertiary, secondary and primary school students receive textbooks that are mostly as dynamic and appealing as their leisure reading. The Copyright Licensing New Zealand (CLNZ) Educational Publishing Awards, managed by the Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ), are in their third year and have already expanded from four to six awards, with this year’s new categories being Best Book or Series in Te Reo Māori and a Best Educational Resource or Programme for Export award.

Judges Angela Fitchett, Hone Apanui and Rebecca Jesson found it an interesting and challenging task assessing the texts for fitness of purpose with so many strong entries enhanced by good design and illustration. They were particularly delighted with the entries in Te Reo Māori, which “produced a wide range of colourful and lively texts” both in the new category for Best Book or Series in Te Reo Māori and across all categories in the awards. The Te Reo winner, however, was awarded to Learning Media and authors Che Wilson and Carol Buchanan for Te Wharekura 90 – Te Mana o Ruapehu, an intriguing journey captured through storytelling and centred on the mountain Ruapehu.

The other category to make its first appearance this year, Best Educational Resource or Programme for Export, saw two contestants fighting it out for the top prize which was awarded to South Pacific Press and Neale Pitches for CSI: Comprehension Strategies Instruction Kit 3, a resource that has been widely implemented in the US school market.

The Best Book or Series in Primary Publishing was awarded to Learning Media and Susan Paris for School Journal Part 4 Number 2 2011, a history of rugby in New Zealand with a 1981 Springbok tour focus. Pearson NZ and authors Rachel Heeney and Professor Peter Shepherd received the award for Best Book or Series in Secondary Publishing for Life Processes, Ecology and Evolution – NCEA Level 2, a text that judges said would “inspire young science students.”

The finalists in the Best Book in Higher Education Publishing category were the most diverse, but Huia Publishers and authors Alison Jones and Kuni Jenkins scooped the award for their book “of huge national importance”: He Kōrero – Words Between Us: First Māori-Pākehā Conversations on Paper.

The mystery category on the night was the Best Digital Media Solution, for which no shortlist was announced but a single standout winner was awarded. This went to He Reo Tupu, He Reo Ora, a joint project of CWA New Media (a business unit of Learning Media Limited) and Huia Publishers. The judges did acknowledge that they looked forward to seeing entries in this category expand in strength in coming years.

The CLNZ Educational Publishing Awards were established to recognise and reward authors and publishers for excellence in the educational sector. They continue to enhance recognition of our educational exports as New Zealand vigorously pursues new opportunities in international markets. PANZ and CLNZ congratulate all winners and finalists.

Highly Commended certificates were also awarded to the 2012 CLNZ Educational Publishing Awards finalists. These were:

Highly Commended: Best Book or Series in Primary Publishing

School Journal March 2012 Level 4 (Learning Media; Ed. Susan Paris)

Technology in Practice: Mathematics in Technology-Related Contexts – Figure it Out Levels 3+–4+ (Learning Media; Ed. Susan Slaughter)

Highly Commended: Best Book or Series in Secondary Publishing

Science for the New Zealand Curriculum Year 11 – NCEA Level 1 (Cambridge University Press; Donald Reid, Geoffrey Groves, Colin Price and Ian Tennant)

Shaping the Shamrock: Conflict and Identity in Ireland for NCEA Level 1 (Pearson; George Bowen and Aimee Peterken)

Highly Commended: Best Book in Higher Education Publishing

He Kupu Arotau: Loanwords in Māori (Pearson; John C. Moorfield and Tania M. Ka‘ai)

Volunteer Recruit Programme (NZ Fire Service National Training; Lift Education)

Highly Commended: Best Book or Series in Te Reo Māori

Haumi E! – Terms 1 & 3 2011, Term 1 2012 (Huia Publishers; Huia Publishers)

Taiki E! – Terms 1–4 (Huia Publishers; Huia Publishers)

Highly Commended: Best Educational Resource or Programme For Export

Discovering Australia: Dreamtime and Beyond (Wendy Pye Publishing; John Carr)

2012 Judges

Angela Fitchett, BA (Hons), Dip Tchg, Graduate Diploma Technical Communication, was six years co-HoD English at Nelson College and spent seven years as an NZQA English moderator. Co-author of six English texts for ESA Publications, Angela is currently Nelson College’s Curriculum Manager and Principal’s Nominee as well as a teacher of English to a range of classes and writer of a fortnightly column for local paper, The Nelson Mail.

Hone Apanui, BA, Dip Tchg, has been a writer, translator, editor and advisor in te reo Māori and English since 1980 in a long career focused on Māori education. With 15 years’ primary school teaching experience, Hone became Editor Māori in the School Publications Branch, Department of Education in 1980, followed by various roles as Māori education inspector, reviewer, writer and translator of resources for the Ministry of Education, The Education Review Office, Māori Television and Statistics NZ. Hone has also judged the te reo Māori categories of the NZ Post Children’s Book Awards and the Montana Book Awards (now NZ Post Book Awards). Since 2002 he has been a self-employed freelance writer, translator, editor, advisor and auditor.

Dr Rebecca Jesson is a Research Fellow, School of Curriculum and Pedagogy and Senior Researcher, Woolf Fisher Research Centre, Faculty of Education at Auckland University. Rebecca is an experienced primary school teacher across a number of schools and year levels, and has extensive experience in working closely with teachers and schools to examine pedagogy and build teachers’ content knowledge about texts and textual features, purposes and rhetorical design. Rebecca’s research interests centre around teachers’ textual knowledge, and the ability to make links between texts based on generative textual knowledge. Rebecca teaches in the School of Curriculum and Pedagogy, where she teaches and supervises students in literacy and on the Postgraduate Diploma of Education (Literacy Specialisation).

For further details please contact:

Here's a collection of PANZ News items, sent from Frankfurt over the duration of the 2012 Book Fair.

#1: Frankfurt Book Fair Setup,
and Opening Ceremony!

Tuesday 9 October 2012

The first two days on the collective NZ publishers’ stand at Frankfurt were jam-packed. With a steady flow of jet-lagged publishers arriving to set up their panels, an energetic team of volunteers helping with all the fiddly but necessary details, and a very small but incredibly efficient stand-build team on the go at all times, the NZ stand was completed just in time for the 5pm Opening Ceremony.

It’s hard to believe that we have made it to this point in such a short time. The NZ collective stand, managed by PANZ, almost tripled in size this year with 35 publishers represented. And the stand design by the Auckland-based Designworks added a brand-new, sophisticated dynamic to the look – a bright-white set to contrast with the dark of the Pavilion in the day/night While You Were Sleeping theme of NZ Guest of Honour at the Fair.

Here are some shots of the work in progress.

A fresh-faced Melanie-Laville Moore from Allen and Unwin arriving to set up her panel.

The NZ stand setup, not quite there yet.

Belinda Jones (CNZ) and Anne de Lautour at the wheel.

By 3pm most of the publishers had escaped to doll-up for the Opening Ceremony. The New Zealand delegation arrived in force to a packed hall in which politicians (both German and Kiwi), dignitaries, publishers, writers, readers and booksellers celebrated the opening of the 2012 Frankfurt Book Fair.

Speeches were made by Book Fair Director Juergen Boos, as well as the German deputy prime minister and Frankfurt mayor. New Zealand was represented by authors Bill Manhire and Joy Cowley, alongside Deputy Prime Minister Bill English.

There were discussions around New Zealand and Germany's shared goals, the challenges facing the publishing industry, the power of children's writing and the significance of independent bookshops for a robust cultural environment. Digital was of course touched upon, although it appears that the Germans currently prefer their reading to come in more traditional formats.

There were also many quips about the smallness and isolation of New Zealand, but perhaps the strongest impression was the sense that New Zealanders now have a history, in storytelling.

Following the official part of the ceremony, guests wandered over to the NZ Pavilion, the spectacular star-lit realisation of the NZ cultural theme, designed by Pattersons architects. The audience were free to wander through in the dark, as singers Aivale Cole and Sarah Castle performed from where they sat, their feet dipped in pools of moonlit water.

A peak of the NZ Pavilion Opening, and audience members walking under the moon and stars.

(Image courtesy Lisa Gardiner, Ministry for Culture and Heritage)

Tomorrow the trade fair begins, and the NZ stand will be given its official blessing at 8.30am before publishers take to their meeting posts. Let the games begin.

Listen to Catriona Ferguson of NZ Book Council in a live podcast interview with Kevin Chapman on the eve of the Book Fair:

For news on the Guest of Honour Pavilion programme:
www.nzatfrankfurt.govt.nz
www.facebook.com/NZatFrankfurt 
www.twitter.com/NZatFrankfurt

#2: Day 1 of the Frankfurt Book Fair: the NZ Stand is blessed and trade begins

Wednesday 10 October 2012

Publishers filed in to the NZ Stand early on the first morning of the Frankfurt Book Fair as proceedings began for the 8.30am opening mihi from Huia’s Brian Morris.

Chris Finlayson, Minister for the Arts, Culture and Heritage, also addressed the publishers and guests, and thanked PANZ for its drive and determination in seeing the project through to delivery.

Brian Morris led the waiata, and the music drifted through clusters of publishers and performers mingling throughout the stand, and carried across the great Halle 8 of international publishers.

9am meant business, and the NZ collective stand was – for the entire rest of the day – a bustling, crowded hive of activity, with publishers, camera-folk and curious spectators all jostling for space.

The day was overwhelming. Kevin Chapman reported on events at the NZ Pavilion, and how New Zealand had exceeded all expectations. ‘The feedback from the visitors to the Pavilion is universally positive and in fact, in many cases full of superlatives. The Book Fair organisers are incredibly happy with offerings so far; the German press coverage has been glowing. And with four days to go, we still feel as though we have already delivered a very successful programme.’

However by 5pm on the NZ Stand (a good 10 minutes’ fast walk from the excitement of the NZ Pavilion), the feeling from some publishers was that the day was very much business as usual. But that means business.

Tracy Strudley of Global Education Systems was glowing: It was ‘a fantastic day, a great first day. We started at 9am with a company from Lithuania, who walked in without an
appointment based on the look and feel of the stand and what they saw. It’s now 5.30 and we’ve hardly had time to lift our heads. Very happy indeed.’

And Sam Elworthy of Auckland University Press declared it 'my best day ever at the Frankfurt Book Fair. I have four or five titles with competing publishers and I’ve never had that, so it’s great!'

With a huge deal of global interest and even some contracts (into French and Vietnamese) signed on the spot, one can imagine the sigh of relief at the end of the day come happy hour. As Mark Sommerset of Dreamboat Books put it: ‘I’m parched.’

Ande Kuric of Beatnik Books taking time out for the camera.

For more news and updates on the Pavilion programme check out NZ Book Council Catriona Ferguson's blog:
www.catrionanzbookcouncil.wordpress.com

For news on the Guest of Honour Pavilion programme:
www.nzatfrankfurt.govt.nz
www.facebook.com/NZatFrankfurt 
www.twitter.com/NZatFrankfurt

#3: Frankfurt Book Fair, trade day 2 in action 

Thursday 11 October 2012

Day 2 of the Frankfurt Buchmesse was again action-packed, both on the publishers’ stand in Halle 8 and with events across the fair grounds.

 

While business continued, PANZ News sought an overview of the publisher event highlights.

8am: Heart of New Zealand Publishing Business Breakfast

Peter Dowling, Alison Brook and Sam Elworthy (chaired by PANZ President Kevin Chapman) impressed their audience with good-old Kiwi flair at the Thursday morning publishing business breakfast.

 

Over croissants and coffee the publishing trio – representing independent, multinational and academic aspects of the publishing market – led a ‘very informative and very informal’ discussion on the publishing industry and book market to foreign publishers and agents at the Book Fair.

 

A lively question and answer session followed, and the general feeling in the room was that the speakers presented information in a relaxed and convivial environment while remaining professional and knowledgeable, and producing plenty of laughs.

11am: NZ Editors Buzz Panel

Featuring editors Tracey Borgfeldt, Debra Millar, Jenny Hellen and Sarah Bennett, this half-hour session saw editors getting passionate about a book of their choice.

 

The crowd filled up and more people drifted in to hear about the two novels and two works of non-fiction, from an editor’s perspective.

 

Thanks to Riky Stock, Kevin Chapman and Julia Marshall for facilitating such a unique discussion.

 

2pm: Innovative Education Hot Spot 

In the buzzing atmosphere of the educational Halle 4, 11 NZ educational publishers were given a 15-minute slot by moderator Karen Sewell to present the very best of their own educational resources.

 

8interactive got the ball rolling with their presentation of junior readers in digital format, while Mark Sayes of ESA Publications and Neale Pitches of South Pacific Press gave an impressive background to their long-established learning programmes.

 

Kiwa Media and Hana Ltd were two more that stood out on the digital front, proving that the NZ educational publishing community is one of innovation and expertise.

 

Indigenous educational publisher Hana Pomare summed up the ‘snappy’ event as one that added punch to the industry. ‘It was great to have publishers supporting each other. We all agreed that coming together as a group of publishers at the fair was a really strong initiative. And because of that relations have strengthened… None of us are rushing off home, and the communication and relationships are already building.’

 

To celebrate, the event concluded with the cracking open of bottles of New Zealand wine, and the day was almost done.

 

 

Back at the NZ Stand, the remaining publishers made their way over to visit the Aussies across the Halle at their own stand party.

 

Tomorrow PANZ will put on the ‘do’ of the week, and guests will be flocking to the NZ Stand at 5pm to celebrate the mid-point of the fair, the end of trade meetings for most, and an all-round spectacular week.

For more news and updates on the Pavilion programme check out NZ Book Council Catriona Ferguson's blog:

www.catrionanzbookcouncil.wordpress.com

And you can listen to some of Catriona's interviews here:

And for all the latest updates on New Zealand Guest of Honour:

www.nzatfrankfurt.govt.nz

www.facebook.com/NZatFrankfurt 

www.twitter.com/NZatFrankfurt

#4: Final day of trade, and the crowd swarms in on the NZ Stand Party

Saturday 13 October 2012

Friday at the Frankfurt Book Fair saw the conclusion of three days of business meetings and negotiations on the publishers’ stand. Many agreed that it was a coming together of a great deal of hard work, as the day was filled with success stories and a real sense of achievement.



Mark Sommerset of Dreamboat Books was thrilled with how his day eventuated, having found strong publisher interest in Dreamboat’s children’s book catalogue on his walk through the German publishing halls.



Debra Millar was also a first-timer at the fair, and commented that she is very keen to build on the momentum created at this year’s fair, which was a first for Penguin NZ in a number of years. ‘Every day has been a great success, with some really positive meetings and lots of genuine interest in our list. Just meeting directly with agents and sitting down face to face is so worthwhile.’



Although contracts are not typically signed right on the spot, plenty of handshakes were made across the stand. ‘I haven’t been given any offers, but would say that I have three or four sales in the bag… What Guest of Honour has done is shine a light on New Zealand and made foreign publishers aware that we have books that are relevant and will work in their market.’



Next will come the many follow-up emails and sending of manuscripts and pdfs, and the processing of pages and pages of notes back at the office, said Debra.



Another glowing publisher was Rhonda Kite of digital developer Kiwa Media. Rhonda burst out to declare that this fair ‘certainly won’t be my last. On Day 2, I was already thinking about my next fair and what we’re going to do.’



What attracted people to her panel was Kiwa’s point of difference. ‘Our multilingual solutions attracted a lot of attention to us – particularly from the US, who were very impressed with the innovative technology coming from such a small country. It’s been an amazing experience that dwarfs any book fair I’ve ever been to.’



At 5pm the brightly lit NZ Stand transformed from a meeting hub to the Frankfurt Book Fair party station, and more than 500 people swarmed in to celebrate the high point of an enormous week, and sample delicious NZ beverages from Hunter’s wines and Monteiths. International Halle 8 never saw such a crowd.

Saturday at the fair was the first day open to the public, and with some publishers still arriving for meetings the NZ stand once again returned to its busy commotion. The effect of the Guest of Honour programme was unmistakable, as interested onlookers arrived at the stand in hordes, eager to find out more about New Zealand and its authors and publishers.



Tomorrow is Sunday and the final day of the fair. For a lot of people this will be the chance to venture across to the NZ Pavilion to catch the Guest of Honour programme lineup, and also the last day for that dreaded ‘Frankfurt feet’ feeling owing to the great distances travelled and the hard concrete floor.



And at 3pm on Sunday New Zealand will go out with a bang at the Handover Ceremony and pass on the baton to the next country of honour in 2013, Brazil.

 

With thanks to our sponsors Oceanbridge Shipping, 1010 Printing and Times Printers, to whom we are greatly indebted.



For more news and updates on the Pavilion programme check out NZ Book Council Catriona Ferguson's blog:

www.catrionanzbookcouncil.wordpress.com

And you can listen to some of Catriona's interviews here:

And for all the latest updates on New Zealand Guest of Honour:

www.nzatfrankfurt.govt.nz

www.facebook.com/NZatFrankfurt 

www.twitter.com/NZatFrankfurt

Some more pics from the NZ Stand and party…

First morning of business on the publishers' stand.

The New Zealand stand in the morning, lit up.

Anne de Lautour, Joy Cowley and Sandy Roydhouse of Clean Slate Press.

Friday at the Fair: the NZ Standy Party draws near and our very own bartenders Dave Williams and Mark Sayes (ESA Publications) take their posts.

Peter and Anna Ryan of Ryan Publications, in front of their panel.

HarperCollins publisher Alison Brook in conversation with NZ chef Peter Gordon.

The party from the rooftop.

More faces spotted from the rooftop.

Author Barbara Ewing with Sarah Ropata (Manager Publishing and Literature Programme, NZ Guest of Honour).

Changes to the New Zealand Post Book Awards announced from Frankfurt

Media Release

A raft of changes to the New Zealand Post Book Awards will aim to take New Zealand’s most outstanding books out to the nation’s readers from 2013, organisers announced today.

Campbell Live host John Campbell has been appointed as Chief Judge of the awards which promote excellence and provide recognition for the best books published in New Zealand each year.

The Chair of the Book Awards Governance Group, Dr Sam Elworthy, announced the changes from Frankfurt today.

“New Zealand storytelling is on the world stage this week. We want to signal today that the New Zealand Post Book Awards will provide a big boost for New Zealand literature by identifying our best books and getting more people reading our stories.”

From 2013 the public will be able to vote for any book authored and published in New Zealand within the eligible timeframe – not just the Award finalists – for the keenly contested People’s Choice Award.

And over the next two years the publication dates for eligible books will shift from the previous calendar year to the twelve months immediately prior to the awards.

The finalists will also change in 2013.  There will be 20 finalists in total next year: four each in Fiction, Poetry, Illustrated Non-fiction and General Non-fiction, and — in a new addition — four finalists in the Nielsen Booksellers’ Choice award.

The judges, led by Chief Judge John Campbell, will face the extraordinary and enviable task of reading approximately 200 of the country’s best books to pick the winners. From next year judges will be free to decide for themselves how to select the best books in each category as well as the coveted New Zealand Post Book of the Year.

Expressions of interest for judging positions – four for the New Zealand Post Book Awards and two for the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards will open online from 12 October. Writer Bernard Beckett will lead judging of the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards as Chief Judge in 2013.

Dr Elworthy said today’s changes will further enhance the value of the New Zealand Post Book Awards to all readers.

“Thanks to the enthusiasm of New Zealand Post to get this country reading, the New Zealand Post Book Awards will get bigger and better each year. These changes will be great for authors, publishers, booksellers and most of all to the public who we know are keen to read our great New Zealand stories.”

As a result of the changes, readers will see the shortlisted books at events, online, in bookstores and libraries across the country, leading to a lively conversation over what are the best books to read.

ENDS

Or visit: www.nzpostbookawards.co.nz

Background information

Before 1996 there were two major New Zealand literary prizes, the New Zealand Book Awards (1973-1995) and Goodman Fielder Wattie Book Awards (1968-1993), which became the Montana Book Awards in 1994.

In 1996 the two awards merged to form the Montana New Zealand Book Awards (1996-2009). In 2010, the sponsorship of the awards was assumed by New Zealand Post.

The Booksellers’ Choice Award, sponsored by Nielsen, was previously part of the Booksellers New Zealand Industry Awards.

The New Zealand Post Book Awards are managed by Booksellers New Zealand.   

Vibrant learning resources contest six categories in Copyright Licensing New Zealand’s 2012 Educational Publishing Awards. The number and qualities of the book and other visual or online learning aids reflect this country’s success in producing learning programmes for local and international markets.

Two new categories expand CLNZ’s Educational Publishing Awards this year: Best Book or Series in Te Reo Māori and Best Educational Resource or Programme for Export.

Judges for the awards are Angela Fitchett, Curriculum Manager at Nelson College; Hone Apanui, a respected educator now a writer, translator and editor in both English and Māori; and Dr Rebecca Jesson, Research Fellow, School of Curriculum and Pedagogy, Education Faculty, University of Auckland.

The judges were impressed by the range of books submitted across categories, showing a strong focus on New Zealand content. However, they believed some imbalance was evident with particular genres unrepresented, most notably the lack of texts from literature and the arts.

Praise was given to the offerings in Te Reo Māori, and the judges commented that “the strength in range, depth and quality paralleled entries in English.”

Entries in the digital categories were “largely books published in digital format rather than truly interactive and innovative.” The judges felt that the advantages that can be given by use of digital modes were largely unrealised, and chose not to announce a shortlist for this category this year. There will, however, be one standout digital winner announced on the night.

The CLNZ Educational Publishing Awards will be presented on Thursday 15 November at the Gus Fisher Gallery in Auckland.