Words Change Worlds

Canberra's Literary Long Weekend has been organised by the ACT Writer's Centre and takes place from Friday this week.

Guest speakers will include Peter Stanley, William McInnes, Margo Kingston, Michael De Percy, Mandy Brett, Susan Bridge, Meredith Wright, and Craig Cormick.

Join the range of sessions on:

• Friday 10 July - Working with your publisher,
• Saturday 11 July - Words change worlds, and
• Sunday 12 July - Readers, writers and critics.

Contact the ACT Writer's Centre for more details.

New loan period and limits

The following changes apply from today, 1 July 2009:

• You may borrow an unlimited number of items per member for a maximum of 4 weeks (28 days). Some limits apply.
• The loan period for DVDs is 2 weeks (14 days).
• All items with three (3) or more requests are considered to be in high demand and can be borrowed for a maximum of 2 weeks.
• Items may be renewed a maximum of three (3) times, unless they are requested by another member. Items on request cannot be renewed.

School holidays are almost here

The mid year school holidays start next week, and if you are looking for something to keep the kids entertained, there are still a few places left in some of the library's holiday activities.

With all the fun events on offer, children can:

• Join The Corroborree Man to Didge and Dance,
• Draw cartoons,
• Discover the world of robotics,
• Learn how to break dance and hip hop with Kulture Break,
• Watch a magic show,
• Play drama games with Canberra Youth Theatre, and
• Sing and dance with Kathy Possum.

Click here to book a place.

2009 Carnegie Medal

Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd has been announced as the winner of the 2009 Carnegie Medal for Children's Literature. This is the first time the Carnegie Medal has been awarded posthumously - Siobhan Dowd completed the book just three months before she died.

This is a beautifully written and controlled novel, strong on dialogue but with some beautiful descriptive phrases as well. The dual narrative is deftly done and Dowd is very good on family relationships and the atmosphere of the times. The ending is satisfying, and the whole believable and unflinching.

The Carnegie Medal is awarded annually to the writer of an outstanding book for children. It is awarded by CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals.

Click here to find out more about Siobhan Dowd.

Mao's Last Dancer movie

A movie of Li Cunxin's bestselling autobiography Mao's Last Dancer is expected to be released in October. Directed by Bruce Beresford, it was filmed in China, Australia and America.

Li was born into utter poverty in Mao’s communist China, at the age of 11 he was selected to train in Madame Mao's Beijing Dance Academy. And so began Li's journey. The 7 years of harsh training regime at the Beijing Dance Academy taught him discipline, resilience, determination and perseverance. Li’s astounding drive and relentless hard work made him one of the best dancers China has produced.

When he was 18, Li was awarded one of the first cultural scholarships to go to America, and subsequently been offered a soloist contract with the Houston Ballet. Two years later, Li defected to the West in a dramatic media storm, which involved the then Vice President, Mr George Bush Snr. He then went on to become one of the best dancers in the world, won two silver and a bronze medal at three International Ballet Competitions. In 1995, Li and his family moved to Australia where Li danced his last three and half years as a principal dancer with the Australian Ballet.

Click here to search the library catalogue for Mao's Last Dancer.

Meet Mark Schwarzer

Mark Schwarzer, Australian Footballer of the Year and star goalkeeper for the Socceroos, will be meeting fans at the Hellenic Club from 6.30pm tonight.

Mark is launching the latest title in his Megs Morrison series of books. There will be a question and answer session followed by a book signing.

Click here to visit the official Megs Morrison web site.

4th Miles Franklin Award for Tim Winton

The 2009 Miles Franklin Literary Award has been won by Tim Winton for his novel Breath. The announcement was made last night at the State Library of NSW.

Click here to visit the official web site for Tim Winton and Breath, where you can read more about the book, and watch or listen to interviews with Tim Winton.

Twittering authors

Have you heard of Twitter? It is a social networking and microblogging site where you can follow what people are doing or thinking. You can follow friends, or even your favourite author or celebrity. Tweets are short (a maximum of 140 characters), so it is quick and easy to use.

Here are a few authors who have embraced Twitter:

• Kevin J. Anderson
• Neil Gaiman
• Anthony Horowitz
• Terry Pratchett
• James Rollins
• Scott Westerfeld

You'll also find book-related Twitter pages like Fans of Twilight, Canberra-based Twitterers like 666 ABC, and even Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

Click here to start using Twitter.

Bookings open for school holiday program

The July school holidays are fast approaching, and it is time to make a booking to reserve places for holiday activities.

Activities include:

• Dance Kids: We Need Water
• Fun and exercise with JoJo
• Kindermusik
• Didge and Dance with the Corroborree Man
• Kathy Possum's Walkabout Tour of Australia
• Creative Cartooning
• CSIRO Robotics
• CSIRO Colour Fun
• Creative Journeys Writing Workshop
• Break Dance and Hip Hop with Kulture Break
• Dog Rescue
• Majura Comedy Magic
• Drama Games

Click here to make an online booking, or phone 6205 9000 for more information.

Phil Kettle to talk with students

Primary school teachers are invited to bring students in grades 2, 3 and 4 to the library to meet Phil Kettle, author of the popular Tool Cool series.

Date: Tuesday 21 July 2009
Session 1: 11.30 am - 12.30 pm
Session 2: 1.30 pm - 2.30 pm
Venue: Woden Library
Bookings: Click here to book online or phone 6205 9000.

Phil Kettle's books have been a great success in schools and homes all over Australia. His series include: Tool Cool, Billy Kool, Boyz Rule and Girlz Rock.

Phil is only too pleased to spend time with school students, reading some of his great stories and talking about how 'his Too Cool' was created. He also gets students involved in discussing their own Too Cool, which teachers find helps the students feel good about themselves and provides encouragement for them to write their own stories.