Roving Reporter - Maria Gill wins Gold!

This year’s SCBWI Sydney Conference Roving Reporter team are part of a collection of exceedingly gifted and talented volunteers. You have already met one of them, Maria Gill. Now, read all about her latest accolade, taking out the prestigious Margaret Mahy Book of the Year prize in the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. Hearty congratulations, Maria, Arww! You do us proud.

Maria Gill photo attributed to the NZ Herald

Here’s what the NZ Herald had to say about the win:

'A non-fiction book commemorating Anzac heroes from both world wars has taken out the top prize at today's New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.

Maria Gill's Anzac Heroes was crowned Margaret Mahy Book of the Year at a ceremony at Wellington's Circa Theatre tonight.

It also won the Elsie Locke award for the best non-fiction book. Together the prizes are worth $15,000.

The competition's judges described the book as "simply stunning, with gold-standard production values".

Teacher-librarian Fiona Mackie, who convened the judging panel, said it "was impossible to put down".

Featuring life-like illustration by Marco Ivancic, maps, fact boxes and a medal room, Anzac Heroes "brings to life the people who risked everything, left everything and lost everything" including nurses, pilots, soldiers and spies.

The annual awards celebrate Kiwi authors' and illustrators' contributions to building national identity and cultural heritage, and are run in conjunction with the Hell Pizza Children's Choice Awards.

Hell Pizza's general manager Ben Cumming said the Kiwi-owned company was "really encouraged" by kids' responses to this year's awards.'

Read full article here: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11689629

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Meet the Stowaway! A new Rover Revealed

Look what we found lurking beneath the decks, another recruit for our burly crew of Roving Reporters. Please, bang your tankards together for, Kel Butler.

Kel is a newcomer to the writing game, having only discovered her passion for children’s literature and storytelling after becoming a parent, although it has always been a big part of her life in other ways. Prior to kids Kel had a long history in the film and television industry. Through reading to her children every day, Kel came to appreciate the nuances and dual storytelling of picture books and undertook the Writing Picture Books Course at the Australian Writer’s Centre.

Since then Kel has embraced the beauty in all forms of children’s books and dedicated herself to learning about the craft, expanding her knowledge and experience as a writer. She hopes to one day be a published author and is currently working on a couple of picture books, a young reader series and an adult fiction novel that came out of nowhere.

Kel’s passion for writing can only be surpassed by her passion for global literacy and education. Last year Kel came across the book “Creating Room to Read” by Room to Read founder John Wood and the soul connection was instant. From that moment Kel dedicated herself to the plight of global literacy and education. She is a volunteer for Room to Read working on the Writer Ambassador Program and helping to co-ordinate the World Change

Is this your first SCWBI Conference?

This is my first SCWBI Conference and I am very excited to be involved.

What is the most memorable (SCBWI) Conference experience you’ve had to date, or hope to have?

So far it was this year’s CBCA Conference but I am new to all this and have only just started attending.

As a creator in the Kids Literary Industry, what do you want to be best known for?

Writing great books that people can’t get enough of.

Name one thing you cannot live without.

There are two that hold equal weight for me. My people; my family, friends and communities. And stories. I can’t live a day without discovering a story, they are life’s other necessary nourishment.

Ahh, yes – stories – as essential to life as clear skies and calm seas. Now with a full complement of crew, I gaze toward the horizon, ready to bring this ship to shore and the SCBWI Sydney Conference 2016! Hope to see you there.

Rove you Later!

Dimity

#SCBWISyd

Roving (Captain) Revealed - Meet Dimity Powell

Well shiver me timbers I’ve just about run out of crew for you to meet. A wise captain never gives the exact location of her treasure but seeing as you’ve now had a good peak into my treasure chest (read; Roving Reporter team) you might as well get to know a bit more about the mad lass helming the wheel.

In our final instalment of Rovers Revealed, may I introduce you to…me, Dimity Powell.

Dimity Powell aka Chef de Brigade of Rovers

Gold Coast children’s author, Dimity Powell considered herself a ‘bridesmaid author’ for a very long time, always shortlisted rather than spotlighted. That was until people started asking for her word-webs to include in anthologies, junior novels, school magazines, picture books, and even digital apps, one of which was Shortlisted for the WA Premier’s Books Awards 2016. Her picture book, The Fix It Man will reach bookshelves by March 2017. This makes her happier than a bear eating ice cream. She writes exclusively for kids because it’s crazy good fun and because she believes kids and great stories are life-essentials, like ice cream. Her writing ambitions are modest although she’d consider giving up sugar to hear one of her picture books read on Play School. Meanwhile, she enjoys her role as a devotee to children’s literature by giving writing workshops for children and adults and reviewing as many ‘must-share’ titles as she can online.

Unearth more at Dim’s Write Stuff.

Is this your first SCWBI Conference? If not how many have you attended, where?

This will be my second Conference. The first was two years ago in Sydney. This is what happened - SCBWI Sydney 2014 Conference.

What is the most memorable (SCBWI) Conference experience you’ve had to date, or hope to have?

My inaugural conference was memorable to the nth degree. It was a glorious consolidation of knowledge and literary relationships. I found the whole experience enriching and very satisfying, which sounds a bit unspecific but the thing that stuck was the ‘vibe’ I received from being there. Of course, it would be great to have a manuscript requested but that’s just icing on an otherwise already delicious cake.

As a creator in the Kids Literary Industry, what do you want to be best known for?

My propensity for story sharing, both the stories of others and my own. And that whatever I create is done with integrity and heart. To know my words are tucked away on a bookshelf somewhere and loved by someone is the best ending of all.

Name one thing you cannot live without.

At some point in any day, I will need my hairbrush. I really come undone without it. And did I mention my need for ice cream…?

Stick around for more interesting tip bits and updates from our Reporters as we steer our team into Sydney Harbour in September, ever closer to the SCBWI 2016 Conference.

Till then, Rove you Later!

Dimity

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