Auckland Writers' Festival:
"I am firm believer in the power of books. Whether through the sharing of knowledge , new ideas or inspiration, books play an important role in our lives and I am delighted to see the ongoing development of the schools programme, particularly the assistance given to six South Auckland schools to travel and attend the festival." - Mayor of Auckland.
The Auckland Writers Festival will be held from May 16 to 21 at the aotea centre NZ. They call their Festival as ‘Love Story’. As a Sri Lankan writer and publisher who pioneered the first book launch in Sri Lanka, and a pioneer member of the Sri Lanka Book Publishers' Association I came to know about the AWF17 through the media of NZ.
In fact I got the souvenir ‘Love Story’ from the Onehunga Public Library. I was delighted to know that the festival organizers are very keen about the student population who will one day take over the baton in the future from the pioneers of present predecessors!
In Sri Lanka too, all the educational and cultural authorities including the government and private sector are faced with many challenges. The book publishers are no exception. The problem is on how to develop the reading habit and make use of books and other reading materials, using books and libraries. Even at a Literacy rate high as 90 percent Sri Lankan reading population is not efficient enough when it comes to the reading habit.
The Sri Lanka Book Publishers' Association, the national organization of Sri Lankan Book Publishers, has pioneered in populariing book culture in Sri Lanka through its annual event, the Colombo International Book Exhibition. The exhibition has become a showcase of the growth of Sri Lankan Book Publishing Industry. Besides, they have taken another step forward by creating the Golden Book Award for the Best Novel of the year (the first print published by any organized publishing house). There is a cash award of Rs 500,000 for the finalist and Rs 50,000 to the shortlisted entries. The Golden Book Award is selected from the shortlisted novels, five in number.
Auckland Writers' Festival is a varied programme. The NZ Book Awards handpicks 16 finalists. The complete collection will be 150 books, and a long list of 40 titles across the four categories. These books demonstrate the vigour, courage, determination, skill and cultural significance of NZ Literature.
The Awards event is showcasing as the first public event of the NZWF. It will be held at the ASB Theatre in Auckland.
Every year NZWF stages over 180 public events with 170 best writers and thinkers with over 24,000 festival-goers. There will be 7000 young people to celebrate the world books and thinkers.
Four of the country's most respected novelists will be announced. The winning novelist is awarded with $50,000 by the Acorn Foundation. The prize is now is in its second year. Because of difference in opinion for the first time an international judge is also included as a member of the selectors.
Apart from the main award, there are categories of poetry, illustrated and non fiction. The Ockham NZ Book Awards are supported by (apart from Acorn Foundation) Ockham Residential Creative NZ, The Acorn Foundation, Book Tokens NZ Ltd, and Royal Society of NZ Te Aparangi.
NZ publishes over 2000 NZ titles each year and turns over an estimated $3330 million a year. The Publishers' Association (PANZ) members include both largest international publishers and vibrant independent publishing community. The PANZ’s role is to represent publishers’ interests to industry and government.
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