The Joy Cowley Award
The Joy Cowley Award for children’s writers offers a monetary prize, the opportunity to work with Joy Cowley and the eventual publication of a picture book. It is administered by the Children’s Literature Foundation, and publisher Scholastic New Zealand.
"The annual award is open to both new and previously published authors," says CLFNZ chairman, Wayne Mills. "At Joy’s suggestion, the award is being established to foster New Zealand talent in the very difficult art of writing picture book texts. It presents a unique opportunity for the winner to work with a world-acclaimed writer. The judges, who include Joy, will be looking for an outstanding ‘concept’ with illustrative potential and commercial viability as a 32-page picture book. The stories, no longer than 1000 words, can be suitable either for very young or older children. A $1500 prize is also offered."
The award will be announced at the CLFNZ annual Margaret Mahy Day each March, and the resulting book launched at the Storylines Festival in June, fifteen months later.
More information and the official entry form are available at the Storylines CLFNZ website: www.storylines.org.nz
The 2006 winner is Moira Wairama, from Upper Hutt. Her manuscript, The Puppet Box, tells the story of a young boy’s first tentative days at a pre-school.
Moira Wairama is a storyteller, poet, playwright and teacher. She works part time at Te Ara Whanui Kura Kaupapa running a literacy support programme and is a member of the Taki Rua Writers Block initiative run by Hone Kouka.
Moira’s first childrens’ book of poems was Alphabet Art and she writes for both the English and Maori School Journals.
Her stage play Questions, which looked at the subject of youth suicide, won a 1999 Fringe Best Award. Her television adaptation won the Qantas Award for Children's/Youth Best Television programme. Other plays include Popokorua and Kihikihi for I Spy Children’s Theatre and Te Kauta which won the 2002 Fringe Theatre Award. Moira’s first radio play, Toll Calls, was performed for Radio New Zealand in 2002. She is currently adapting Te Kauta for radio and working on a collection of poetry.
