Ella West

Reviews: Two Young Adult Novels

Two YA novels with heavy themes are deftly reviewed by Venice White. Tonight, I Burn is a twist on witch culture and The Sound of My Heart deals with a suicide (reader discretion is advised; mental health resources are listed…

#nzreadaloud: One Book to Connect Kiwi Kids

In 2014, New Zealand teacher Kerri Thompson participated in a Global Read Aloud. This programme was founded by US educator Pernille Ripp. Ella West was one of the first authors to be invited to participate in the NZ version of…

2018 End-of-Year Shopping List: YA Fiction

Do you want to be sure you’re getting top-shelf books for your favourite people this Christmas – or on any gift-giving occasion? We are making it easy for you! Here is our selection of 2018’s very best New Zealand books…

The Only Children’s Writing Fellowship in NZ

It’s the writing fellowship with the really long name – the University of Otago College of Education Creative New Zealand Children’s Writer in Residence. But more importantly, it’s the only children’s fellowship in the country and applications for 2019 close…

Writer Interview: Eileen Merriman and Ella West

Eileen Merriman’s and Ella West’s latest books were on the bookshop shelves as we headed to the beach this summer. Catch Me When You Fall is for older teens, and is about 17-year-old Alex in Christchurch who is fighting leukaemia…

THE SAMPLING: Rain Fall

Fifteen-year-old Annie needs to get to her basketball match, but the police have cordoned off her road. Is her neighbour, who she grew up with, still alive? What has he done to have the police after him? A murder investigation brings new people to Annie’s wild West Coast town, including a dark-haired boy riding the most amazing horse she has ever seen.

Taking our Children’s Books to Bologna

UNESCO City of Literature Dunedin were offered an opportunity they couldn’t ignore: to bid to have a stand atthe Bologna Children’s Book Fair earlier this month. Ella West reports. Hall 26, stand B/76 bis – that was Dunedin UNESCO City…