Book Launch - Ernest Rutherford: Just an Ordinary Boy by Maria Gill

Free, no bookings required. 

Author Maria Gill and illustrator Alistair Hughes will launch their latest book ‘Ernest Rutherford: Just an Ordinary Boy’. It’s a heart-warming story for 6–12 year old readers about New Zealand’s most famous scientist. Ernest Rutherford grew up in a little town at the end of Earth with a curious mind about how things worked. Three times he tried for scholarships and each time he failed. But, with perseverance and patience he finally succeeded. He’d go on to become one of the world’s greatest scientists. Maria will read an excerpt from the story, Alistair will show his illustrations and talk about how he drew them, and then they’ll finish with a fun science experiment.

MARIA GILL is an author of over 60 books for children and teachers. She wrote the story about Ernest Rutherford while on an Arts Centre Creative Residency during the 2021 pandemic lockdown. Maria’s book ‘Anzac Heroes’ won the New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults Non Fiction Award as well as the Supreme Book prize. In 2020 Storylines awarded Maria the Margaret Mahy Medal for services to children’s literature. She writes fulltime in a little seaside village north of Auckland. www.mariagill.co.nz

ALISTAIR HUGHES has illustrated seven children’s books including The King’s Medal, Snapper: The Real Story, and Ice Breaker! An Epic Antarctic Adventure. He has also written, designed and illustrated a visual analysis of British genre films, and has a further young reader’s book about astronomy in New Zealand currently in preparation. He worked for a major media organisation for almost two decades and now writes, illustrates and designs graphics for his own company; Shoreline Creative, based in Tasman's Golden Bay.

This event is part of Off Centre, an arts festival bursting with music, comedy, theatre, food, a market, and vibrant entertainment to celebrate The Arts Centre's glorious restoration. Off Centre showcases more than 50 events with over 250 artists performing across the 3-5 March 2023. Full details at www.artscentre.org.nz/whats-on/off-centre/