Moe-rā Brooklyn Library closed Saturday 16 August

Moe-rā Brooklyn Library will be closed on Saturday 16 August due to a staff shortage. The returns slot will be available.

Highlights from Books Alive 2025

By WCL librarians

On the 13th of August a horde of children's librarians, writers, illustrators, translators, and students descended on Wellington for a day filled with book talks, workshops, and presentations.

Kids Kids featured Youth Youth featured
Rebecca ter Borg, David Riley, and Elizabeth Gray watch as Witi Ihimaera speaks at Books Alive panel event

Every year in August the top children's illustrators, authors, and translators across Aotearoa gather together in Wellington to find out who among them has won one of this year's New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.

This year the ceremony was held on the evening of Wednesday 13 August. There will be a separate story celebrating the winners of the 2025 awards; this one's all about the excitement of Books Alive!

On the same day as the ceremony we were lucky enough to have 23 of this year's nominees, along with many hundreds of eager young primary, intermediate, and secondary school students, join us at the National Library of New Zealand for Books Alive. Books Alive is a day of talks, workshops, and presentations from those who have been shortlisted for book awards this year with the aim of engaging and inspiring our tamariki and rangatahi. Our librarians plan, organise and run the Wellington Books Alive sessions (with fantastic support from our friends at Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa | National Library of New Zealand), so we can confirm that the talks and workshops were indeed engaging and inspiring!

Browse through our photo gallery to see some of the highlights of the day, though of course we were not able to catch every exciting moment.

The National Library Te Ahumairangi Foyer, filled with students
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Students gather in the Te Ahu Mairangi Foyer at the National Library, waiting for their sessions to start. Can you spot Elizabeth Gray amongst the sea of students?

Bren stands with one hand on her hip, the other resting on the whiteboard where ideas for dystopian worlds are written.
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Author Bren MacDibble, an expert in creating futuristic worlds affected by environmental concerns, leads a workshop on dystopian worldbuilding.

Rebecca ter Borg, David Riley, and Elizabeth Gray watch as Witi Ihimaera speaks at Books Alive panel event
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This Books Alive Lightning Talk session featuring Rebecca ter Borg, David Riley, Elizabeth Gray, and Witi Ihimaera started with the four presenters leading the auditorium in song!

Dahlia in a red and white print dress leans down to push next on a presentation. Seated tamariki look up at her.
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Dahlia Malaeulu (pictured) and Mele Tonga-Grant led a wonderful session on Pasifika storytelling!

A table covered in brand new books. Children are lined up next to it holding open books in their hands.
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The team from The Children's Bookshop in Kilbirnie were there with us all day with copies of all the nominated books for sale. The tamariki and rangatahi were all very excited to get their new books signed by their creators!

Kiri Lightfoot stands below a projector showing an illustration from her novel "Bear". She has her hands held up next to her ears
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Kiri Lightfoot, nominated for her debut YA novel, leads a writing workshop.

Author Claire Mabey speaks at a podium. Bren MacDibble, Sanna Thompson, and Jane Arthur look behind them at the screen with Claire's presentation
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This round of Lightning Talks had four fantastic fiction writers speaking! Here Claire Mabey shows some of the books that have inspired her, while Jane Arthur, Sanna Thompson, Bren MacDibble, and an auditorium full of readers look on!

Ned draws a ruru chick on a whiteboard, watched by a group of students
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Author and illustrator Ned Barraud, an expert in illustrating Aotearoa wildlife, leads an illustration workshop.

Ross Calman stands with a copy of his book in his hands and grins at the students gathered around him
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Author and historian Ross Calman started his Behind the Book talk in the Te Ahumairangi Foyer.

Students and author Ross Calman look on as a National Library staff member shows them around the He Tohu exhibition.
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As part of Ross Calman's Behind the Book talk, Tanja from Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa | National Library of New Zealand took him and his group around the permanent He Tohu exhibition.

Isobel holds a microphone to her mouth and looks up at one of her illustrations of figures spiraling in the stars that is projected onto the wall
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Amazing artist Isobel Joy Te Aho-White walks students through the illustration process in her Behind the Book talk

Three authors smiling. Ross in a black puffer jacket on the left, Kate in a striped dress in the middle, and Rachael with dyed red hair on the right
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Writers Ross Calman, Kate Preece, and Rachel King are ready and waiting for their Lightning Talks to begin!

Children with books line up in front of three authors in armchairs sitting at the front of the auditorium
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Our authors are rock stars! Tamariki flood writers Rachael King, Kate Preece, and Ross Calman for signatures after their Lightning Talks.

Sarah stands in front of a group of students and holds her book open for them to see
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Illustrator Sarah Wilkins, known for her dreamy and colourful illustrations, leads a workshop on creative illustration.

Ruth Paul sits at the corner of a table full of students while Sarah Wilkins leans over the other side of it
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Sarah Wilkins had some help with her illustration workshop, as she was joined by author and illustrator Ruth Paul.

Around 20 tamariki hold up their drawings, done with oil pastels
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Young artists show off their art created in the creative illustration workshop with Sarah Wilkins (with help from Ruth Paul)!

Our Books Alive authors and illustrators

Here you can browse through the authors, illustrators, and translators who led sessions at Books Alive. Have you read any of their books?