The Storylines Joy Cowley Award is given annually by Storylines Children’s Literature Charitable Trust Te Waituhi Tamariki o Aotearoa, in partnership with Scholastic New Zealand.
The aim of the award is to foster the publication of excellent picture books by writers permanently resident in New Zealand.
From the announcement of the 2020 Storylines Joy Cowley Award:
Congratulations to Tania Sickling for the enticingly titled Grandpa Versus Swing, the winner of this year’s Storylines Joy Cowley Award for a picture book manuscript, sponsored by Scholastic New Zealand.
Tania’s roots are in rural Waikato, but she has been drawn to the shimmering sea, and lives with her family near the beach north of Auckland. She wrote her MA thesis on the illustration of the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tales.
Tania tells us she “finds inspiration in the chaos and charm of days spent with children. I shape my ideas into stories in the quiet of the night, playing with meaning and rhythm, and losing all sense of time.”
Grandpa Versus Swing is inspired by playful grandparents, by the everyday scrapes which become part of family lore, and by the lifelong allure of swings.
“We extend our congratulations to Tania Sickling winner of the 2020 Storylines Joy Cowley Award, for her beautifully written, playful and heartwarming story, Grandpa Versus Swing,” says Lynette Evans, Publishing Manager for Scholastic New Zealand. “This delightful story won the hearts of all the judges without question. It is with great pleasure that we welcome Tania into the fold of Storylines Award winners and we very much look forward to working with her.”
Watch the 2020 award presentation video here.
Relevant links
Storylines Children’s Literature Charitable Trust Te Waituhi Tamariki o Aotearoa
Tania Scott Sickling 