Write Space Literary news, views and reviews http://taurangawriters.org.nz

This week's Write Space by Lee Murray.

Gene Fowler once said of writing: all you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.

There's no doubt being a writer is hard, and being a writer in New Zealand is even harder.

For instance, while New Zealand Music Month celebrates our home-grown musos, New Zealand Book Month seems to have missed the Kiwi connection.

Sure, it's about books, just not New Zealand books.

'It's not that [New Zealanders] don't care,” argues Simon Wilson of Metro, 'we fill halls to hear [our writers] speak in the annual writers and readers festivals.” (Metro, Jan 2011).

North and South's Graham Adams agrees, 'no writers anywhere in the world are going to write specifically about us, our habits, our past, and our landscapes.

This should be a huge advantage for local authors and an irresistible draw card for their work.” (North and South, August 2011).

Indeed, New Zealand writers have a lot to offer, and it's hoped the 21 home-grown titles on the Great New Zealand Book Race will prove an irresistible draw card to the country's younger readers.

The Great New Zealand Book Race is a 6-month social networking literacy project intended to encourage New Zealand teens to read and review local authors.

Initiated by Tauranga Writers, the project kicks off at Katikati College on Monday, March 19 with students reading a book by a Bay of Plenty author, uploading a review to the project website, and then passing the book on.

The aim is to collect the most reviews for their book as it is passed from hand to hand on its way to Papanui High School.

The same race will be held in reverse, with books by Christchurch authors making their way to Katikati.

The project provides an opportunity for dialogue about books and reading between young people, as well as with local writers including Jean Bennett, Anaru Bickford, Susan Brocker, Gun Caundle, Sue Emms, Des Hunt, Phyllis Johnston, and the late Kingi McKinnon (represented by friend and colleague, Kathy Berger Sewell).

But students needn't wait around hoping that someone passes them a book. To be eligible for book prizes, any New Zealand teen can post reviews, as long as the titles they choose are by New Zealand authors.

'It's a creative way to inspire young people to read New Zealand books,” says Jean Bennett, much-loved writer of Below the Mountains (Scholastic).

The Great New Zealand Book race kicks off at the Katikati College Library on Monday, March 19. www.greatnzbookrace.weebly.com