Tamariki Book Festival

02/06/2026

Our new Behind the Books programme starts in Term 3! Behind the Books facilitates (and pays for) author and illustrator visits in local schools (visit https://behindthebookstbf.wordpress.com for more information). We're thrilled about our author/illustrator lineup for Behind the Books, and we'll be introducing them here over the next couple of weeks. Today, we'd like you to meet Robinne Weiss.

Robinne is an entomologist and educator by training, but has never been able to control her writing habit. She has been publishing her writing since she was nine years old and has been known to answer exam questions in verse. Unlike her exam answers, which were met with awkward silence by her Very Serious Professors, her stories have won multiple awards.
Robinne infuses adventure and a love of the natural world into all her stories. Her list of real-life adventures is long, and includes living in a mud hut in Panama and teaching with a 2.5-metre-long Burmese python named Ka.

31/05/2026

Our new Behind the Books programme starts in Term 3! Behind the Books facilitates (and pays for) author and illustrator visits in local schools (visit https://behindthebookstbf.wordpress.com for more information). We're thrilled about our author/illustrator lineup for Behind the Books, and we'll be introducing them here over the next couple of weeks. Today, we'd like you to meet Belinda O'Keefe.

Belinda O’Keefe is an award-winning author of children’s picture books and junior novels. She grew up surrounded by books, learning that no tale is too tall to tell.
Belinda adores books, and loves reading so much that she does it for a living! She’s a magazine and book editor, and also works in a bookshop.
Belinda loves visiting schools to spark a passion for storytelling in the next generation of authors. She lives in Christchurch with her two boys and two cats, who give her great inspiration for her writing.

28/05/2026

Our new Behind the Books programme starts in Term 3! Behind the Books facilitates (and pays for) author and illustrator visits in local schools (visit https://behindthebookstbf.wordpress.com for more information). We're thrilled about our author/illustrator lineup for Behind the Books, and we'll be introducing them here over the next couple of weeks. Today, we'd like you to meet Monica Coster.

Monica Koster is an artist and illustrator with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Hons) from the University of Canterbury. Her paintings have been exhibited in Christchurch and Ashburton and she has been a finalist in the ZONTA Female Art Awards. Monica loves sharing the behind-the-scenes work to some of the books she has illustrated, inspiring tamariki and rangatahi to create their own art. Besides art and illustration, Monica loves music, languages and communicating in Morse.

26/05/2026

Our new Behind the Books programme starts in Term 3! Behind the Books facilitates (and pays for) author visits in local schools (visit https://behindthebookstbf.wordpress.com for more information). We're thrilled about our author lineup for Behind the Books, and we'll be introducing them here over the next couple of weeks. Today, we'd like you to meet Michele McConnochie!

Michele is the author of a workbook on writing for children, a middle‑grade trilogy and two picture books, and has written more than 300 freelance articles across a wide range of topics. She holds a Master of Creative Practice, focused on the craft and visual language of children’s books. Michele is also an experienced creative writing teacher, working with both adults and children to develop their storytelling skills. Through her workshops and mentoring, she has supported emerging writers in publishing more than fifteen books. She has also created a series of online courses for emerging authors. Her work blends imagination, craft, and encouragement, helping new voices find their place on the page.

25/05/2026

Congratulations to Heather!

24/05/2026

Our new Behind the Books programme starts in Term 3! Behind the Books facilitates (and pays for) author visits in local schools (visit https://behindthebookstbf.wordpress.com for more information). We're thrilled about our author lineup for Behind the Books, and we'll be introducing them here over the next couple of weeks. Today, we'd like you to meet Heather McQuillan - Writer and Teacher!

For a long time I was a teacher who wrote- now I am a writer who teaches- the two roles keep getting tangled. I write for young people as well as short fiction and poetry. I am a winner of the Tom Fitzgibbon Award and three notable Books Awards. In 2021 I was the Otago University College of Education/ Creative New Zealand Writer in Residence.
When I'm not writing in my studio at the top of a spiral staircase I can be found as the director and a tutor with Write On School for Young Writers .

22/05/2026

The Kiwi Kids' Bookstore is a great place to find awesome books by local authors! They stock and support many of our Tamariki Book Festival authors. Just one of many people encouraging kids to read. What do you do to encourage reading?

For a number of years, we've heard about a decline in students' reading and writing ability. It's one thing to address this academically, but whatever happened to the joy of reading? Well, a new national study has taken a look in New Zealand children's enjoyment of reading, and in some cases there's...

22/05/2026

Ooh! One of our former TBF authors has a new book out! Cool!

Meet Spot. His book is launching this week in four markets but his story goes all the way back to 2011. I spent some time this week writing down the story of the story. You can read it on krisherbertbooks.com

11/05/2026

⚡ GET YOUR STORY MOVING! ⚡

Join Heather McQuillan and discover how to:
🔥 Build action
💥 Create tension
📖 Write scenes that MATTER

Perfect for Years 7–13
📍 Hastings War Memorial Library
🕧 12:30pm | Saturday 23 May
🎟️ $10 – limited tickets
🔗 Link in bio

Take your storytelling to the next level 🚀

30/04/2026

Calling all Canterbury Children’s Authors and Illustrators!

Tamariki Book Festival is launching a new initiative in 2026—Behind the Books.

Behind the Books will facilitate and pay for author and illustrator visits in Canterbury schools—schools get free author visits, and authors get paid—a win, win! So far, we have received funding from Selwyn District Council for this year’s visits, and we are actively pursuing additional funding, so we can provide as many school visits as possible.

School visits will kick off in Term 3, in conjunction with National Book Week, and we will be promoting the programme heavily to Canterbury schools during Term 2. We are currently seeking children’s authors who wish to be part of the Behind the Books programme. Check out the Behind the Books website for more information and registration (link in the comments).

We’re excited by this initiative, and can’t wait to get it rolling!