Thanks to my wonderful library, Christchurch City Libraries, I was lucky enough to attend some great sessions at the Christchurch Writer’s Festival at the weekend.  We’ve all been waiting for the festival to be held in Christchurch for 4 years so it was great to see it go ahead this year.  And what a festival it was!

The sessions that I attended related more to writing for children and teens, so I got to meet local authors Kate De Goldi and Jane Higgins, and international authors John Boyne and Joanne Harris.  My highlights were interviewing one of my favourite authors, John Boyne, and the Why YA? panel on Sunday.  I was blogging like crazy all weekend on the Christchurch City Libraries blog, so for those who couldn’t be there you can read my festival reports and interviews here:

• Christchurch children meet local legends – report from the Schools Read Aloud Programme
• The multi-talented John Boyne – my interview with John Boyne
• Writing for the unknown reader: An Hour with John Boyne
• “There’s a fine line between having an imagination and having a mental illness”: Joanne Harris
• Is the term YA creating a barrier for teens? –  Why YA? panel

I’m running two giveaways of books I got signed at the festival too if you’d like to enter:

• Win a signed copy of The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket by John Boyne – closes Friday 7 September (NZ only)
• Win a signed copy of Runelight by Joanne Harris – closes Friday 7 September (NZ only)