The Winter Readings Are Back!

I was going to do a blog post about British turkeys voting for Christmas (or, to put it in Marxist terms from a bygone era, false consciousness), but it's too discouraging - and negative. So I  shall blog about something good instead!

After a hiatus of several years, the HeadworX Winter Reading Series is back! Albeit in cut-down form, because this year it's a single reading:

You are invited to a poetry reading:

Winter Readings 2016 – Poetry Gees

This year’s Winter Readings celebrates the

return of Winter Readings itself, a popular event at

the City Gallery in Wellington 2003-2008. Each

event featured a tribute to an album or group.

This year’s readings form a tribute to the Bee Gees.

Sunday, 17 July 2016

Poets: MaryJane Thomson, Mark Pirie, Rob Hack,

Polina Kouzminova, Michael O’Leary and Jeanne

Bernhardt (Otago).

Venue: St Peter’s Hall, Beach Rd, Paekakariki.

Time: 2-4pm. (see map)

Admission to the reading is by koha. Books for

sale from 2.00pm. No refreshments will be served.

The Main Street houses cafes and a bar close by,

for those who arrive early.

Earl of Seacliff Art Workshop (ESAW) will publish

an anthology of poems by the readers featured to

celebrate the event.

Winter Readings are presented by:

HeadworX Publishers

Paekakariki Community Trust

Poetry Archive Trust

Earl of Seacliff Art Workshop

I hope to run a poem from this booklet as a Tuesday Poem next week.

It's National Flash Fiction Day! Find out what's on around Aotearoa

NFFD -  Wednesday, June 22 

Events around Aotearoa!

Auckland Event

Emceed by Rosetta Allan, with 2016 NFFD Judge Elizabeth Smither, past NFFD top winners Leanne Radojkovich, Trisha Hanifin and other special guest readers, plus short-listed stories, regional prizes and more!

enquiries to Eileen Merriman: emerriman81@gmail.com 

Christchurch event

Compered by Morrin Rout, with 2016 NFFD Judge James Norcliffe, plus NFFD past winner Frankie McMillan, Doc Drumheller, Zoe Meager and other esteemed guests. Readers, prizes, regional prizes and spot prizes, with an open mic at the end. 

enquiries: Brindi Joy emerriman81@gmail.com

Wellington Event

Special guests include NFFD past judge Mary McCallum, plus other award-winning writers Janis Freegard, Tim Jones, Pete Carter and more. Regional prizes, spot prizes and winning stories shared.

enquiries: Kate Mahony k.mahony@xtra.co.nz

Northland Event 

Sunday 26 June 1.30–3.30pm, Kings Theatre Creative 

Prize-winning flash

Come along and hear some winning flash fiction at a free event at the Kings Theatre Creative in Kawakawa onSunday 26 June.

The Northland winner of the National Flash Fiction Competition will be awarded a trophy and $50 and read their winning entry.

Sharing stories

The floor will then be opened to all writers to read their flash fiction.

This is your chance to read your flash fiction and enjoy stories by local writers. Bring your family and friends to share the vibes.

Starts at 2.30pm with a cup of tea and then 3-4pm for the prize-giving and readings.

Workshop

Hone your flash writing skills by attending the one-hour workshop before the public event. This will start at 1.30pmand be led by experienced flash fiction writer and editor, Sian Williams. It costs $10. Places are limited so contactmargareta.cahill@gmail.com to register your interest. 

Details about all NFFD events can be found here. 

Flash news around the world can be found here. 

Three Quick Wins

Let's have some good news:

First, I'm very happy to announce that my fourth poetry collection* will be published later this year by Mākaro Press. Stand by for more details over the next couple of months!

*Following Boat People, All Blacks' Kitchen Gardens and Men Briefly Explained. Copies of all three are available from me, and Men Briefly Explained is also available from Amazon and from the publisher.

Second, I'm also happy to say that Shortcuts: Track 1, the anthology of six novellas edited by Marie Hodgkinson that includes my novella Landfall, won "Best Collected Work" at this year's Sir Julius Vogel Awards - and The Ghost of Matter by Olivia Cade, one of the other novellas in the anthology, won Best Novella. Congratulations to Olivia, Marie, and Paper Road Press!

And third, I'm also happy to see that Saradha Koirala's new novel Lonesome When You Go is due to be published shortly by Mākaro Press. A few years back, I was in a writers' group with Saradha, and I heard some of the early drafts of this novel. It was good then, and I'm looking forward to reading the final version. You can help make sure it gets the print run it deserves by supporting the Lonesome When You Go PledgeMe page - it's a great change for you to preorder the book, or go for some of the bigger rewards!

Tuesday Poem: Above Armageddon

Above Armageddon

From the mezzanine, Armageddon SF convention, Wellington, 2008

In my day

there was less money to be parted from.

Now this whole place

is a trading floor,

awash in cash, cleavage,

cosplay and testosterone.

*

Jesus, cross in hand,

blesses the sellers of Devil Dice.

Japanese Death in a long white wig

totes his scythe past stands of PS3s.

John Rhys Davies' booming voice

echoes from a distant room.

*

The reef fish of the market

swim before my eyes.

My son goes darting

among the channeled shoals.

Where will all this money

wash up, do you think, in the end?


Credit note: This poem appeared in my collection Men Briefly Explained (IP, 2011) and Kathleen Jones kindly published it as a Tuesday Poem on her blog in 2015.

Tim says: There were two science fiction conventions on in Wellington at Queen's Birthday Weekend. I took part in a poetry panel at the non-commercial one, Au Contraire, but the bigger of the two was Armageddon, which has been running for a good few years now. It's big and loud, and when I went there with my son in 2008, I couldn't cope, so sat up in the mezzanine writing the poem above.

In other news, I have finished my teaching commitments at Whitireia Polytech for the year - which should mean I have more time to post here.