The Storylines Tour reaches new communities

The Storylines Story Tour programme offers children’s writers and illustrators in Aotearoa New Zealand the opportunity to reach audiences in a way that showcases their work, enhances their careers and understanding of their audience, and has a positive impact on the communities they visit.

In 2025 we are making a significant change to how we deliver our Story Tour programme to expand our focus on disadvantaged as well as rural and ethnically diverse communities and reach more tamariki and rangatahi in these areas who will benefit most from our visits.

We are adding two extra writer/illustrator presenters to each tour, so we will be touring with six presenters. The additional two will be fluent in te reo Māori and have written in te reo, meaning they are eminently qualified to visit kura kaupapa. The aim is that in full-immersion kura they will only present in te reo Māori; and where appropriate they will present bilingually. The regions we will visit are Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Tairāwhiti/Gisborne, West Coast South Island.