School-aged bookworms line up for Kāpiti Coast District Libraries’ annual Mastermind Competition

School-aged literature lovers in Kāpiti will be lining up for the libraries’ Mastermind Competition next week.

Kāpiti Coast District Libraries is running its annual competition, starting Monday, where some of the district’s most well-read schoolchildren will be quizzed on their literature nous.

The competition celebrates the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young People and will see students from 22 teams testing their knowledge on the books in the award’s final shortlist.

The competition includes two heats on Monday and Tuesday, with the top three junior and senior teams progressing through to the final on Friday. 

• Heat 1, Monday 3 August, 11am to 12.30pm at Te Horo Community Hall
• Heat 2, Tuesday 4 August, 11am to 12.30pm at Kenakena School
• Final, Friday 7 August, 11am to 12.30pm at Waikanae Baptist Church.

This year local author Mandy Hager – who has been nominated in the Young Adult section of the book awards for her Singing Home the Whale – will be awarding the prizes to the finalists.

Kāpiti Coast District Council, Paper Plus, Moby Dickens Book Shop, Weta Workshop, Friends of the Library and Warehouse Stationery all sponsor the competition.

 Photo: Mayor Ross Church (left) with the winners of the Kāpiti Coast District Libraries Mastermind Competition senior category Te Horo School with libraries' youth services coordinator Pam Coleman.