Martinborough Library to hold Creative Writing Classes for Kids

Are your young readers looking for new stories? This July holiday, they can learn to write their own.

Our favourite stories feel like magic—a whole world where every surprise happens just as it should. In truth, there’s a wonderful craft behind that magic, with a writer choosing every little detail.

This July holidays, the Martinborough Library will offer young readers Year 6 and up a chance to discover the joy of writing their own stories 

How to Write a Story will meet Fridays 16 July and 23 July from 10-11 a.m.

In the first class, we’ll focus on writing a world in which a story takes place: a town just like ours, say, or a faraway city, or a fantastical world. In the second class we’ll focus on writing a main character: who are they, and how we do know, and what do they want to happen?

In each session we’ll read short, brilliant examples from junior fiction to see how the magic happens. Come to one or both—the two sessions are designed to build on each other or stand alone. For more information please Dan Keane at dan.library@swdc.govt.nz.

Book Club: Join us 15 July, 11 a.m.-12 p.m., for great conversation and book recommendations. Bring along your current read to share.

Wā Kōrero: Our regular storytime for pre-schoolers continues Thursday mornings at 11:15 a.m. July 6 and 27.

New Fiction: New books are always coming in the door! Drop by to see our always-changing New Arrivals shelf and browse our catalogue anytime at wls.org.nz. Here are some new titles to check out: 

No One Is Talking About This, by Patricia Lockwood – The first half of this buzzy debut is a fragmented, funny portrait of life lived Very Online; the second half drops us, with surprising tenderness, into a real-life heartbreak too big for any screen. Your librarian wept.

I’m Waiting for You, by Kim Bo-Young – Betrothed lovers separated by years of light-speed travel struggle to return to each other’s arms—and to a changed Earth to which they (and us?) can never quite call home again. A gorgeous suite of sci-fi stories bending time, love, and space.

Unsettled Ground, by Claire Fuller – Jeanie and Julius are 51-year-old twins who never left the ramshackle country cottage they grew up in. When their mother dies, old secrets and a new resilience grow amid the tangled garden of their odd, and oddly beautiful, lives.

Home internet signup: The Martinborough Library will hold a workshop on 26 July from 10-12 a.m. to help qualifying households sign up for low-cost home internet through the Skinny Jump program.

Skinny Jump is a non-profit broadband service designed to give all New Zealanders an equal opportunity to learn and thrive in our digital world. Stop by the library or visit skinny.co.nz/jump to find out more.

Dan Keane. dan.library@swdc.govt.nz

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