Sarah Forster Photo: supplied
All children deserve to see themselves in a book, but in Aotearoa this isn't always happening.
That's the key point made in the acceptance speech by the country's most recent winner of the Storylines Betty Gilderdale Award for outstanding service to children's and young adult literature and reading, Sarah Forster.
Sarah gave her speech yesterday online, using it to call on publishers to work more closely with authors and to bring out a much more diverse range of books for young readers.
She's currently the senior communications advisor for Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington. But her CV also includes writing about and reviewing children's literature.
She's the founding editor of The Sapling website, she's been a judge for the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults and she's also worked for Booksellers New Zealand and Read New Zealand Te Pou Muramura.
Lynn Freeman talks with Sarah Forster about her call to arms on behalf of young readers..
