Melinda Szymanik
Times available
Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays 9am-3pm
Author/Illustrator Time/Rates
30 minutes $65 +GST
45 minutes $90 +GST
60 minutes $115 +GST
75 minutes $140 +GST
90 minutes $165 +GST
Book Titles
Clever Moo
Rush (published in Dare and Double Dare)
The Gift (published in the anthology Short)
The Were-Nana: Not A Bedtime Story
Jack the Viking
'Smart Soup' in anthology Pick 'n' Mix: Volume 1 (Scholastic, 2010)
'The Man with the Dog Eye' in anthology Pick 'n' Mix: Volume 1 (Scholastic,
2010)
'The Monster Under My Bed' in anthology Pick 'n' Mix: Volume 2 (Scholastic,
2011)
'The House That Went to Sea' - Picture Book (Duck Creek Press, 2011)
'The Half Life of Ryan Davis' - teen novel (Pear Jam Books, 2011)
'A Passport to Friends' in anthology Great Mates (Random, 2011)
Great Mates is out on October 7th and The Half Life of Ryan Davis is out as
an e-book on October 1st and a print book on December 1st.
ABOUT
In Brief
Melinda Szymanik is a writer for children and young adults, inspired by television, magazines, world events, history, children and the complex process of ‘growing-up’. She has had stories published in several journals and anthologies. Szymanik wrote the junior novel Jack the Viking when she was in the NZSA’s mentoring programme from 2005-06. She has twice been short-listed for the Joy Cowley Award, in 2003 and 2006.
In Detail
Melinda Szymanik (born in 1963) grew up in Auckland. She gained a Master of Science in Zoology at The University of Auckland and then later completed a Diploma in Business Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in English at Massey University. Szymanik has worked in administrative positions in the business and health sectors and is currently co-director with her husband, of their own communications and marketing business.
Since 2003, Szymanik has had short stories published in the Australian School Magazine and the New Zealand School Journal. Szymanik’s first published book was Clever Moo (Scholastic NZ, 2006), illustrated by Malcolm Evans. Her story ‘Rush’ was published in Dare and Double Dare (Random House NZ, 2007), an anthology of sports-related short stories. ‘The Gift’ was published in the anthology Short (Black Dog Books, 2008).
Her picture book The Were-Nana: Not A Bedtime Story, illustrated by Sarah N. Anderson, was published by Scholastic New Zealand in 2008. Szymanik wrote the junior novel Jack the Viking (Scholastic New Zealand, 2008) when she was in the New Zealand Society of Author’s mentoring programme from 2005-2006. The Were-Nana won the Children's Choice Award in the 2009 New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. The work also was listed as a 2009 Storylines Notable Picture Book.
She was shortlisted for the Joy Cowley Award in 2003 and 2006.
Melinda Szymanik lives in Auckland.
