Last Friday 4th August, a group of passionate Heaton readers and writers had the privilege of listening to three incredible New Zealand authors and illustrators, finalists in the Young Adult Book Awards. This was a part of the Word CHCH '23 Festival, a celebration of words, stories, and ideas for everyone to enjoy!

David Riley's inspiration came from one of his drama students who shared the remarkable story of mixed martial arts boxer Israel Adesanya. This led David to write his book, titled 'Freestyle: The Israel Adesanya Story'. Intrigued by Israel's experiences with racism, David delved into researching more about him. 

David enjoyed interviewing Israel and immersed himself in numerous online interviews to uncover more of his life stories. He carefully documented these stories in a notebook and consulted Israel to ensure authenticity. Next, he searched for an illustrator and came across the talented Ant Sang. Although Ant's services were quite costly, David applied for funding assistance. His dream was to beautifully illustrate and publish the book; I'm sure you'll agree the illustrations are amazing.

Sarah Laing shared the inspiration for her new book with Johanna Emeney, 'Sylvia and the Birds'. We enjoyed hearing about the story of Sylvia Durrant, also known as the “Bird Lady”, who has devoted her life to saving over 140,000 sick, injured and lost birds during her lifetime along the beach of North Shore, Auckland. We need more heroes like this!

You will be captivated by the style of this book, part graphic biography, part practical guide to protecting our bird wildlife. It is beautifully illustrated and outlines the wonders of our native birds, the threats they face and how we can help them. 

“Roar Squeak Purr” is a great book full of wonderful poems about animals. Jenny Cooper, a past pupil of Heaton, was the amazing illustrator lucky enough to bring such a cool book alive.

Jenny Cooper is a talented illustrator and artist. She shared her creative process for bringing words to life in such a captivating way for readers. Learning about all the drafts she goes through before reaching the final illustration was fascinating.

During her presentation, Jenny also taught us about the various illustration styles. There's the tight style, which involves small, closed brush strokes, and the loose style, characterised by big, open brush strokes. It was so interesting to see how each style can convey different emotions and moods in a piece of art.

Jenny also shared a little about her personal life as an artist. She described her cosy setup in one of her favourite rooms, surrounded by her beautiful paintings. She loves to hang out there while enjoying a cup of tea and chocolate. 

Now, here's an intriguing fact about Jenny: she fears animals, yet she loves to draw them! It's fascinating how she can bring animals to life on paper, even if they might make her a bit nervous in real life. And here's something else about Jenny - she finds it boring to create books with the same characters over and over again. However, in her book Roar Squeak Purr, she absolutely loved it because each page was different and unique.

It was a joy to learn about all of these authors and illustrators. Their creativity and passion truly shone through in their work!

Thomas R6, Elissa R2 and Kenzie R19