The Kids' Lit Quiz is an annual

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indi ...

, in which teams of four students, aged 10 to 14, work together to answer wide-ranging literary questions. The winning team from each region competes in the national final. The winner of the national final is then invited to the World Final held annually in July or August. Since its inception in 1991, thousands of students have participated each year throughout the world. The quiz was created by Wayne Mills, a former educator at the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

, who wears a purple and black hat while hosting this literary quiz. In 2008 Wayne Mills was given the Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal and Lecture Award to recognize his achievement in establishing the Kids' Lit Quiz. He was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the Queen's New Year's Honours in 2011 for meritorious services to education, specifically children's literature. In August 2018 he was granted Life Membership of Storyline's Children's Literature Trust and Foundation. In 2003 the quiz was brought to the UK where over 400 schools currently participate in the heats leading to the world final. This pattern is repeated in different countries around the world. Currently the quiz takes place in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Nigeria, Canada, United States of America, Australia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore. Singapore was the first country in Asia to have the quiz.

World Finals

The 2004 world final was held on 20 June in Auckland, NZ and the winner was Dunblane High School from Scotland. The 2005 world final was held 11 June in Auckland, NZ and the winner was St Margaret's College from Christchurch, NZ. The 2006 world final was held 18 June in Auckland, NZ and the winner was St Margaret's College from Christchurch, NZ. The 2007 world final was held on 9 July in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, and the winner was Wellington College, Belfast. The 2008 world final was held on 10 July at the

Oxford Playhouse The Oxford Playhouse is a theatre designed by Edward Maufe and F. G. M. Chancellor. It is situated in Beaumont Street, Oxford, opposite the Ashmolean Museum. History The Playhouse was founded as ''The Red Barn'' at 12 Woodstock Road (Oxford), W ...

in Oxford. The winner was Arnold House School from London. The 2009 World Final was held on 3 August in Johannesburg, South Africa. The winner was

Bancroft's School Bancroft's School is a co-educational private day school in Woodford Green, London. The school has around 1,100 pupils aged between 7 and 18, around 250 of whom are pupils of the Preparatory School and 850 of whom are pupils of the Senior Sch ...

from

Woodford Green Woodford Green is an area of Woodford, London, Woodford in East London, England, within the London Borough of Redbridge. It adjoins Buckhurst Hill to the north, Woodford Bridge to the east, South Woodford to the south, and Chingford to the we ...

, England. The runner-up team included singer-songwriter

Lorde Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor (born 7 November 1996), known professionally as Lorde ( ), is a New Zealand singer and songwriter. She is known for her unconventional style of pop music and introspective songwriting, and has been referred to ...

. The 2010 World Final was held on 14 August in the Performing Arts Centre at

Stewart's Melville College Stewart's Melville College (SMC) is all-boys' Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Edinburgh, Scotland. Classes are all boys in the 1st to 5th years and co-educational in Sixth (final) year. It has a roll of about 750 p ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. The winner was the

City of London School for Girls The City of London School for Girls (CLSG) is a private school adjacent to the Barbican Centre, part of the Barbican Estate, in the City of London. It is the partner school of the all-boys City of London School and the City of London Freemen's ...

. The 2011 World Final was held on 19 July at Southwell School in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. The winner was Manor Gardens Primary School from

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. The 2012 World final was held on 4 July at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. The winner was Awakeri Primary School from the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. The 2013 world final was held in

. The winner was

Roedean School (South Africa) Roedean School for Girls is a private school, private English language, English medium and boarding school for girls situated in the suburb of Parktown in the city of Johannesburg in the Gauteng province of South Africa. History The school wa ...

from Johannesburg, South Africa. The 2014 world final was held in the Princess Pavilion, Falmouth, Cornwall, England. The winner was

. The 2015 world final was held on 8 July at the Central Connecticut State University, USA. The winner was Southwell School from New Zealand. The 2016 world final was held at the Aotea Centre, Auckland, New Zealand. The winner was

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

from New Zealand. The 2017 world final was held at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts, Ontario, Canada. The winner was St John's College from Johannesburg, South Africa The 2018 world final was held at St Kentigern Boys' School, Remuera, Auckland, New Zealand. The winner was Canberra Grammar School from Australia. The 2019 World Final was held at Sota School of the Arts in Singapore. The winner was Churchill Road Elementary School from the United States of America, with New Zealand and South Africa taking 2nd and 3rd. The 2020 World Finals was to be held at Hamilton, New Zealand but due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19 it was cancelled. The 2021 World Final was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic The 2022 World Final had to be cancelled due to the Covid pandemic. In 2023 a financially constrained World Final was held in the Havelock North Intermediate School Hall. The guest speaker was the Hon Jan Tineti the Min of Education. The Final was won by Macquarie College from Australia. Unexpectedly in September the Kids' Lit Quiz Patron, Chloe Wright ONZM, died. In 2024 the quiz expanded after recovering from the Covid pandemic and an inaugural World Final was held in Australia. It was hosted by Canberra Grammar School. The World Final was won for the first time by an Asian nation- Indonesia. The winning school was ACS Jakarta In 2025 the World Final will be held in Johannesburg

References

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External links

Kids' Lit Quiz official websiteCanadian websiteUK website
Reading (process) Student quiz competitions