Happy Easter

Happy Easter! Orange City Library is open Easter Saturday from 9.30am to 4pm.

 

May Gibbs Display

Its 100 years since May Gibbs’ adorable characters found their way into the homes and hearts of Australians and we are celebrating with the display featuring May Gibbs’ iconic artwork from 26 March to 4 April.

May Gibbs was Australia’s first full-time, professionally trained children’s book author and illustrator, and the display features reproductions of some of her most beloved characters including the gumnut babies and the brothers Snugglepot and Cuddlepie.

According to State Library of NSW Senior Curator Alison Wishart “generations of Australians have fond memories of growing up with the gumnut babies and their friends and passed the books they read as children down to their own children.” Come and view the display at Orange City Library and pick up a free bookmark.

Bonus Prize in Banjo Paterson Awards

 

A new prize has been added to the Contemporary Poetry section of the Banjo Paterson Writing Awards for 2018. As well as the $2,000 monetary prize, the winner will receive a one-hour consultation with a Varuna, – the National Writers House mentor.

Varuna, the National Writers House is based in the Blue Mountains and provides support for a thriving writing community. Varuna Creative Director, Amy Sambrooke, said that Varuna were very pleased to become a partner in the Banjo Paterson Writing Awards.

“We are delighted to be supporting the competition and the presentation of the awards at the Orange Readers and Writers Festival in July,” Ms Sambrooke said.

“The award of a one-hour consultation and manuscript assessment for the poetry winner can be beneficial in so many ways. A consultation can often provide that pivotal feedback which gives the poet confidence to take their work to the next level, or prepare the work for publication,” she said.

Orange Mayor Cr Reg Kidd welcomed the addition to the poetry prize for the Banjo Paterson Writing Awards competition.

‘This gives poets that extra incentive to enter the competition. They not only win prizemoney but a private consultation which will encourage their writing efforts,” Cr Reg Kidd said.

“It should broaden the appeal of the competition and encourage more poets to submit their work,” he said.

 

 

Pageturners Read Eleanor Oliphant

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman gave everyone so much to talk about at Pageturners – even those who didn’t warm to the story of a lonely eccentric woman whose life changes when she helps a stranger.

Eleanor Oliphant leads a simple life. She wears the same clothes to work every day, eats the same meal deal for lunch every day and buys the same two bottles of vodka to drink every weekend. Eleanor Oliphant is happy. Nothing is missing from her carefully timetabled life. Except, sometimes, everything. One simple act of kindness is about to shatter the walls Eleanor has built around herself. Now she must learn how to navigate the world that everyone else seems to take for granted – while searching for the courage to face the dark corners she’s avoided all her life.

Here are the scores from Pageturners with a score of five for loving it (note a 6) and 0 for disliking it (note a 0.5): 4, 4, 4, 4, 6, 4, 0.5, 4, 5, 5.

And here is more on Eleanor from the author Gail Honeyman:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jan/12/gail-honeyman-didnt-want-eleanor-oliphant-portrayed-as-victim

The next book for Pageturners discussion on Wednesday 11th April at 5.30pm is The Cage by Lloyd Jones.

Free Public Talk: A Town Named War Boy WWI Diaries

Based on the State Library’s jaw-dropping collection of First World War diaries, photographs and letters, A Town Named War Boy brings to life the personal accounts of the young men who set sail for the far side of the world. Following a sell-out Sydney season, this funny and moving production brings the words of Australia’s young soldiers to life and provides “the most moving Anzac experience of all.” – The Australian

A Town Named War Boy has been commissioned and developed by Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) in partnership with the State Library of NSW, and is toured by Performing Lines. This tour has been supported by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body; and the NSW Government through CreateNSW.

On Monday 19^th March at 5.30pm, Orange City Library will host a free public talk with the State Library’s Curator Elise Edmonds, who will talk about the material and share the fascinating story of how the Library acquired its first collection of soldiers’ diaries – this collection was recently inscribed in the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register.

Author of The Unknown Anzacs, Michael Caulfield, will also talk about how he used the World War I diaries as research for his book. Mr Caulfield has been a composer, musician and TV and film producer and director, both in Australia and overseas, and he was the executive producer of the ABC TV series Australians at War. Bookings via Eventbrite