At the National Library on Wednesday, Lyttelton poet Ben Brown delivered the 2020 Read NZ Te Pou Muramura Pānui. He spoke powerfully about Aotearoa’s incarceration of young people, and the extraordinary book he edited last summer as part of a writing workshop at Rolleston’s Oranga Tamariki youth justice residence, Te Puna Wai ō Tuhinapo. This … Read more
A new fantasy series by Isa Pearl Ritchie focuses on a girl who struggles with anxiety and panic attacks. Here, Ritchie explains how her own childhood sparked Awa and the Dreamrealm. I was confused a lot of the way through my schooling. I would zone out a lot in class and I struggled to pay … Read more
Is it Normal? is the Spinoff Parents advice column. We’ve been inundated with questions but one keeps popping up! We asked new entrants teacher Jessie Moss to answer it. Is it Normal? is The Spinoff Parents’ advice column, a place for parents to ask experts the questions they Google at 2am. Start here if you’ve … Read more
Yesterday Rimutaka Prison celebrated graduates from the Howard League literacy programme, part of the league’s wider work equipping inmates with skills to help them while in prison and on their release. The keynote speaker was Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias; this is her speech. Some of the earliest and happiest memories I have are of … Read more