Spinning Gold '09: May 2009

Hi Spinning Golders....

It has been a busy week for us since you all sat poised in front of your keyboards ready to submit your registration to the conference.

We have been matching payments to people....taking time out to cheer on the NZ Post Book Awards winners and finalists....many of whom will be presenting at the conference....and scratching our heads as to how we will be able to give everybody a chance to attend the intensive class of their choice.

By now you all should have received a confirmation email as we have received nearly everyone’s money in our account, which is good for us, as we have some bills to pay.....

If you have not received a confirmation email, can you reply to us as soon as possible...so we can check your email address with our records. We have come across some email address changes from the initial group of interested mailing list people compared to the email address entered on the registration form.

If you registered for the Mining The Gold Intensive class with Fleur Beale...we have been completely overwhelmed with numbers for this class.

Fleur is very gratified that you would all like to do this workshop with her. To accommodate everybody we would like to split the numbers of people who registered for this class in half.

Fleur is able, on Friday 18th September, to fit in a morning Mining The Gold intensive as well as the afternoon Mining The Gold slot.

We are incredibly grateful for Fleur’s generosity in this, as it enables everyone who has registered for this class a place.

Now what we need to do is find out from these lucky people who can come in the morning to do the class. Friday 18th September 10am-noon. Normal conference registration is at 2pm with the next Mining The Gold class starting at the programme time.

If you do the morning class you will have the afternoon to do the Digital Publishing workshop (which is free) or have the time off to do something else (explore Wellington perhaps) before meeting up with everyone for dinner.

Could all the people who registered for Mining the Gold please email us their preference at spinning.gold09@gmail.com
Subject: Mining the Gold (morning) or (afternoon ) class please.

We will cross reference it with our spreadsheets from Monday night. Fleur only wants 16 in the class so if we can’t get 16 people to commit to the morning option, we will have to close off numbers to the first 16 that registered on Monday night.

Eirylis’s Finish It class is fully subscribed.

Jo Randerson’s Unleashing Monsters workshop is oversubscribed and we are calculating numbers and trying to find ways around this also....

We understand that you are keen to find out which classes you have got into. Please bear with us as we try our best to give everybody what they want for their first choice.

Keep checking back here every week for news and updates.

keep warm,
The Spinning Gold Team.

Click on the timetable to bring it up at full size in a new window.

Programme Notes.
All green and yellow coded sessions are for general attendance.

Friday 18th

Writing intensive: Mining the gold (for advanced writers)
Moving out of the comfort zone, going deeper, going sideways. This advanced novel writing master class, conducted by Fleur Beale, will look at point of view, the emotional plot-line and a few other tricky beasts.
Fleur has written 30 novels for children and teenagers, an adult non-fiction book and various readers for the education market.
Limited to 14 people. (Further details will be sent separately to class participants.)

Writing intensive: Finish it! (for practising writers)
Are you having trouble finishing that novel? In this workshop Eirlys Hunter will discuss how to keep the momentum going to the end, and the joy of second drafts.
Eirlys has written six books for children, including The Quake and the Finn's Quest trilogy, as well as a novel and many short stories for adults. She convenes the Writing for Children workshop at the International Institute for Modern Letters at Victoria University of Wellington.
Limited to 16 people. (Participants will be contacted in advance about where to send a synopsis of their novel-so-far [max 250 words] and the first two pages [max 700 words].)

Illustration intensive: Mystery tour & dynamic drawing (for practising illustrators)
Stephen Fuller's years in the advertising industry as an art director, conceptualiser and illustrator have made him a versatile expert in the production of quick, dynamic illustrations.
Discover Stephen’s secrets to creating tight, exciting compositions by hand and digitally – and uncover the potential for your own work in complex software such as Corel Painter.
The Mystery Tour will be conducted by Martin Baynton.
Limited to 20 people.

Digital publishing and the rise of the un-book
With more than 20 years’ experience in publishing and technology, Martin Taylor is now director of the newly formed New Zealand Digital Publishing Forum – and passionate about the development of a digital publishing industry in this country.
Hear Martin speak about what’s in store for digital publishing, locally and globally, and get to grips with the possibilities it may open up for you.

Keynote speaker: Martin Baynton
Exploiting baby
Acclaimed writer-illustrator and creator of Jane and the Dragon Martin Baynton says, ‘Our creations are our babies …’
In his keynote speech he will own up to his good, bad and ugly parenting skills, and argue that as parents of our creations, many of us need to become more aggressive and hands-on!

Saturday 19th

Keynote speaker: Lawrence Green
Creating it – your work as a business
Lawrence Green helps people make the most of their talents. He is especially interested in creativity and regularly works with people involved in the arts. He is very aware of the problems we as writers and illustrators face and has innovative strategies for solving them.

Unleashing monsters
The Arts Foundation describes Jo Randerson as ‘a unique theatre-maker with extensive experience in comedy, poetry, literature and theatre.’
Jo’s workshop will look at dialogue and making the most of your characters.

Make a mark
On his numerous school visits, Brian Falkner is a hit with children and adults alike. Here, the popular author of books such as Superfreak and The Tomorrow Code will offer practical advice on engaging and winning over an audience in person.
Whether you’re a confident presenter already, or more unsure, Brian’s workshop will inform and inspire.

Magic monoprints
Join pre-eminent author-illustrator Gavin Bishop to experiment, hands on, with the time honoured medium of monoprinting. Expect to leave this workshop with at least one new creation.
While illustrators will enjoy the tips from a master, those with no illustration skills are also very welcome to explore the possibilities.

Keynote speaker: Fiona Inglis
Today’s story – tomorrow’s picture
Fiona Inglis joined Curtis Brown literary agency, in Sydney, as an agent in 1993. She became Managing Director in 2002. http://www.curtisbrown.com.au/

Publisher’s panel (trade)
Editors from our major trade publishers in New Zealand will answer the questions you want asked. (Please email questions to spinning.gold09@gmail.com by September 1. Subject line: Publishers Panel Question)
Participating publishers are
Random House http://www.randomhouse.co.nz/
Longacre Press http://www.longacre.co.nz/
Mallinson Rendel http://www.mallinsonrendel.co.nz/
Penguin http://www.penguin.co.nz/
Scholastic http://www.scholastic.co.nz/
HarperCollins http://www.harpercollins.co.nz/
Huia http://www.huia.co.nz/
Gecko Press http://www.geckopress.co.nz/

Educate the future: education publishers panel
New Zealand has earned an outstanding reputation internationally for our educational publications. Some of the best and most innovative are here to show what they do and talk about where they see educational publishing going in the future.
Participating publishers are
CORE Education http://core-ed.net/
Learning Media http://www.learningmedia.co.nz/
South Pacific Press http://www.southpacificpress.com/
Huia http://www.huia.co.nz/
Gilt Edge www.giltedgepublishing.co.nz/

Sunday 20th

Keynote speaker: Kate De Goldi
Kate De Goldi has an encyclopedic knowledge of children’s literature, and has won awards for her own writing in both the picture book and the young adult categories. She has regular slots on television and radio where she discusses and reviews books. Her depth of her literary knowledge, coupled with her skill as a facilitator and speaker, means she is often called on to chair at literary festivals and events.

Laying it out
What are the newest trends in picture book design and illustration? Examine them with Dylan Owen, using recent books from the National Library Schools Collection that are not commonly available in New Zealand.
Dylan is the National Library’s National Advisor for the Schools Collection. He reviews picture books for The Dominion Post, and was a judge in the 2007 NZ Post Book Awards.

Make money and keep it
A representative from BDO Spicers will offer frank and informative advice on the accounting, tax, and finance issues that writers and illustrators face.
BDO Spicers is a leading supplier of chartered accounting and advisory services to small and medium sized businesses, with fourteen offices between Kerikeri and Invercargill.

Virtually there
Look deeper at making the most of your creative business with our keynote speaker Lawrence Green – who has lots of innovative strategies for authors and illustrators.

Stretch your legs
Had enough of sitting? Brain on overload? Use this time to stretch your legs, on your own or with a group.
Walk down to the zoo (admission charge is $20 if you want to visit), or explore one of the paths of the Green Belt. A wet weather option is also being devised.

Poetry verses doggerel
James Brown is the award-winning author of four poetry collections, and has written children's poetry for Learning Media publications.
In this workshop he will suggest strategies aimed at writing poetry for the very young through to teenagers, considering rhyme, rhythm, free verse, point-of-view and subject matter. You’ll also begin poems of your own, using exercises designed to kick-start your imagination.

Look at me!
This workshop panel will talk about and answer your questions on author and book marketing. On the panel are –
John McIntyre: Reviewer of children’s books, member of the Board of Directors of Booksellers NZ, owner of The Children’s Bookshop
Noel Murphy: CEO, NZ Book Council
Frances Plumpton: agent, Richards Literary Agency
Helen Lowe: A Christchurch author who arranged publication of her books via an American agent she found for herself. http://www.helenlowe.info/ and http://www.thornspell.info/

What’s next?
Renowned author Tessa Duder will facilitate this panel discussion based on issues that have arisen during the weekend. It will be an opportunity to look together at the future of children’s book publishing in New Zealand and worldwide – and to plan and engage for success.

Fast fives
Special interest groups will inform you about what they do:
Tessa Duder, author (subject: Storylines)
NZSA representative (subject: the benefits of belonging to NZSA)
Gavin Bishop, author-illustrator (subject: Te Tai Tamariki project)
Sarah Forster, NZ Book Council (subject: info about the Council)

Pitch slam
This is your chance to talk to a captive editor or agent. You will have three minutes, in a one-on-one interview, to pitch your fabulous idea/finished book/partly finished book.
Cost: $10 to participate, pay at the conference. (Note: this fee gives you the chance to make several pitches to different editors/agents). Pre-book on the registration form so we have an idea of numbers.

We hope you are as excited as we are about the conference.

Bookings open Monday 18 May at 7:30pm on this site; a link to the registration form will be made available at that time.

Kind Regards

Spinning Gold Team of the

Wellington Children's Book Association