Reviews and News
NZIBF 2016
It was a great day at the New Zealand independant Book Festival. It was held in Mt Eden Auckland. It was great catching with familiar face and new ones.
Right to left: Paul Martin, Earths End Publishers Adrian Kinnaird and Kelly Sheehan
Adrian Kinnaird's Kory the Kiwi 'Flight of the Kiwi' review
Adrian Kinnaird has been involved in the New Zealand comics community as a cartoonist, writer and blogger for the past 15 years. In 2009 he founded From Earth's End (www.fromearthsend.blogspot.com), the first blog dedicated to New Zealand comics and popular culture, quickly establishing himself as a leading authority on local comics and graphic novels. The blog attracts hundreds of readers each week, and was voted Best Comics Related Website at the Black River Digital Eric Awards in 2010.
To read the full article please visit Adrian's website here.
At the Tamahere Market
2015. Sketching at the famous Tamahere Market, Hamilton, great sunny day for selling books!
Sketching in Te Awamutu
2015. Sketching in Te Awamutu Paper Plus
Out and about in Wellington
2014. It is always great to get your book on the shelves of a book shop, Leo Herbert from Graphic Comics, Cuba Street, Wellington and I pose with my book.
Out and about in Wellington
2014. John McIntyre and I pose for a photo with my book in the Chidren's Bookshop Kibernie, Wellington.
Guest Speaker at the W.C.L.A Annual Seminar
Waikato Children's Literature Association Annual Seminar 2014
I was invited to speak about my new Graphic Novel, along with award winning illustrators David Elliot and Donovan Bixley. It was a great day and many stories were shared.
To be able to talk about the development process and how our characters evolve, eventually ending up on the pages of books that children read, was truly inspirational.
A big thank you to the Waikato Children's Literature Association for their hard work in organising such a great event.
For more photos and information about the seminar visit their Facebook page.
KORY RIDES INTO ARMAGEDDON HAMILTON 2014
I showcased my new character Kory the Kiwi at the Armageddon expo in Hamilton. "I managed to sketch out a few drawings, sold a few books in amongst all the chaos of Armageddon!"
SCHOOL VISIT
Te Totara Primary School Visit August 2014
I had a great afternoon at Te Totara Primary School. It was Graphic Novel week for their school and it was a great opportunity to talk about Kory and the process of creating my book ' Flight of the Kiwi'. I spoke to a group of year 5-6 classes and they asked some great questions. I saw some future writers and illustrators amongst the audience.
Testimonial
"The book had a great theme - kiwi characters on a quest using their kiwi ingenuity to solve the problem. There are phrases and concepts in the book that the students can relate to e.g. friends working together, kiwi lifestyle, the rare kiwi species, words like 'taonga', mate, and onomatopoeia like "kawham" etc. My more able readers enjoyed reading this book and spent some time going over the storyline and discussed the illustrations used; there are some really intricate details in the content and the illustrations are very effective. The students got a lot from the interview and realised it takes a lot of planning to write and illustrate a book".
Helena Kirkham, Team Leader
Te Totara Primary School
Hamilton
BETWEEN THE LINES
Waikato Children's Authors & Illustrators Exhibition 2014
Hamilton’s Garden Place Library is providing local children and book lovers with a rare opportunity to get inside the heads of some of the Waikato’s best known children’s authors and illustrators.
On show from 1 to 30 April 2014, the Between the Lines Exhibition will reveal the inspiration and creative process behind a range of contemporary children’s books.
Exhibition coordinator Deborah Hinde says, “Children’s books are an exciting fusion of image and language, and we are thrilled to be bringing so many top Waikato writers and illustrators together in one space to share insights into what they do. For most people the book is the finished product, and we are not often afforded an opportunity to get behind the published pages and explore the processes and hard work that created them.”
As its name suggests, the exhibition’s focus is on the inspiration, research and process that lies behind a book by each of the featured writers and illustrators. The exhibition was inspired by the What Lies Beneath Exhibition, currently running at the National Library in Parnell, Auckland.
Other exhibitors include Ann Neville (Hamilton), Claire Ashmore (Hamilton), Doug Wilson (Taupo), Judi Billcliff (Hamilton), Kat Merewether (Te Awamutu), sisters and author–illustrator duo Jen Somervell and Margery Fern (Raglan), Michael Oehley (Hamilton), Paul Martin (Hamilton), Scott Pearson (Hamilton), Talia Evered (Hamilton), Tamsyn Rose and Fiona Williams (Hamilton), and Yvonne Milroy (Hamilton) of recent Jimothy fame. Together they represent writers and illustrators from across the children’s literature genres and age groups.
Former Chief creates graphic novel
MIKE MATHER - Waikato Times - 29/01/2014The book tells the story of the titular kiwi and his sidekick Gilbert the gecko, who cross paths with the evil Gregor, a grey wolf from Europe, and his henchmen.
Martin said project was no spur-of-the-moment endeavour and the book would hopefully be the first of many.
"I knew he had to be a kiwi, a real icon of New Zealand, but he had to be a little bit different."
Martin said he was influenced by the comics he read as a youngster, including the 2000AD series, and Terry and the Gunrunners, created by New Zealanders Stephen Ballantyne and Bob Kerr.
"We have been distributing Flight of the Kiwi in bookstores ourselves and it seems to be becoming pretty popular. It seems the word is really starting to get out there."
The full article can be viewed on the Stuff.co.nz website, or download the PDF or newspaper piece.
Photo by: BRUCE MERCER/Fairfax NZ