Twenty top writers and illustrators are to tour the country in celebration of the New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children & Young Adults. They will be visiting 25 regions from North to South from Monday 7 May 2007. Twenty top writers and illustrators are to tour the country in celebration of the New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children & Young Adults. They will be visiting 25 regions from North to South from Monday 7 May 2007.The touring writers and illustrators are all finalists in this year's awards. They take to the road as part of the annual nationwide festival of children's reading and literature, visiting schools, libraries and bookshops, reading and discussing their work in front of audiences aged anywhere between two to fifteen years of age. The celebrations culminate in the announcement of the winners of the awards at Parliament in Wellington on Wednesday 16 May.

Booksellers New Zealand, organisers of the New Zealand Post Book Awards, chief executive Linda Henderson said it was great that children in the regions would get a chance to meet top writers and illustrators that often only toured to the main centres.

"Every year we make a commitment to tour finalists to regions all over the country. This year more writers and illustrators than ever before will entertain children and adults at some of the many events in celebration of the New Zealand Post Book Awards," Henderson said.

Full event details, including dates and times, will be available online from early April.

Image: Leon Davidson, author of Red Haze: Australians and New Zealanders in Vietnam, will speak on Auckland's North Shore and in Whangaparaoa.