4.3 million book vouchers to be given away

New Zealand Book Month has announced it will give away more book vouchers than ever before - about 4.3 million - so that "every New Zealander" gets the chance to find a book to change their lives this Book Month. Last year almost 100,000 NZ Book Month vouchers were redeemed at bookstores.

This year's massive book voucher giveaway will put $20 million worth of "book money" into the hands of New Zealanders, said NZ Book Month organiser, Megan Dunn.

Vouchers will be sent to mailboxes around New Zealand, to every single school, and will be available on the NZ Book Month website, at Caltex service stations and in the New Zealand Herald along with a range of regional papers. The organiser of the nationwide event, Dunn, said: "We want everyone to benefit from owning and enjoying books and that's why we're again distributing over four million book vouchers - reaching out to readers new and old - and all Kiwis to find their next life-changing book during Book Month."

As part of the NZ Book Month 'Books Change Lives' campaign, celebrity ambassadors Annabel Langbein, Emily Perkins, Tamati Coffey, and Sir Peter Jackson have shared how books have changed their lives.

Peter Jackson said: "I was 18 when I first read The Lord of the Rings. To give myself something to do on the 12-hour train journey to Auckland, I bought myself The Lord of the Rings and I sat there watching the landscape of New Zealand sliding by the train window while reading the story. When I began to get very excited about what computers could do - showing things that up to then had really been impossible to do on film, The Lord of the Rings came to my mind. It had been nearly 20 years since I had read the book so I immediately read it again. I still had the same copy on my shelf."

As part of the NZ Book Month 'Books Change Lives' campaign over 200 events, including several involving local crime writers, will take place around the country to encourage people to read and enjoy more books.

So if you're a reader in New Zealand, grab your Book Month voucher and go and buy a great local crime, mystery, or thriller title. There are plenty of fantastic authors to choose from!