The IPL, Tishani Doshi, and the Forward Poetry Prize

The IPL (Indian Premier League) is back for 2009. The first edition of this Twenty20 cricket tournament, featuring eight teams based in Indian cities, with a mixture of young Indian players and top Indian and world cricket stars, took place in 2008 in India and was a great success - even if it did provoke occasional satirical remarks.

Then came the Mumbai and Lahore terrorist attacks, the latter an attack on Sri Lanka's cricket team. Because the Indian Government could not guarantee security (and because of all sorts of internecine wrangling I won't go into here), the whole tournament has been picked up and moved to South Africa. It was an amazing logistical effort to move a 59-game tournament halfway round the world in less than a month. So far, though, the South African autumn weather has played havoc with games played in the coastal cities.

But no matter! To celebrate the 2009 IPL, the normally serious Cricinfo site has set up IPL Page 2, a much more frivolous affair which includes a comic strip, jokes, and a blog by one of the cheerleaders at the tournament. (I think having cheerleaders at the cricket is unnecessary at least and sexist at worst, but Rebecca Lee's account of an apple-pie American being introduced to the alien world of cricket is surprisingly touching.)

Among all this flim-flam, there is some real literary quality. One of Cricinfo's IPL bloggers is Tishani Doshi, who won the 2006 Forward Poetry Prize for best first collection for her book Countries of the Body.

I haven't read Countries of the Body, but she's a fine poet. Read her Ode to the Walking Woman, or watch this video of her performing "The Fasting Season", and you'll see what I mean.

It's good to see that, among the IPL's endless references to the sponsors - if it's not a "DLF Maximum" (formerly known as a six) it's a "Citi Moment of Success"; 7.5 minute "strategic breaks" after 10 overs to cram in more ads; and endless shots of Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta* and Shilpa Shetty watching their respective teams, there is still a place for fine writing in the Indian Premier League.

*Although Preity Zinta deserves respect for two reasons (1) she pays attention to the game, not her fellow celebs and (2) she once faced down the Mumbai mafia pretty much by herself.

Eat, Pray, Love, Emit

The Saturday edition of Wellington's Dominion Post newspaper carried a lengthy article about American author Elizabeth Gilbert and her latest book, The Last American Man. Elizabeth Gilbert is most famous for her previous book, Eat, Pray, Love, which has sold more than six million copies worldwide..

They sound like interesting books, but what really struck me about this article was a sentence in the final paragraph of the article, which says that Elizabeth Gilbert and her husband run a small import business "bringing back hand-picked treasures from their extensive, continuing travels".

Now, I don't have any beef with Elizabeth Gilbert, or her husband, but that made me think about writers and their travels, mine included, at a time when rapidly rising greenhouse gas emissions are leading many scientists to warn that the risks of catastrophic climate change are being badly underestimated by politicians and the public.

There is a lot to be said for writers travelling. It can lead to unexpected collaborations, such as the way Renee Liang has involved Wellington poets in the Wellington production of her play Lantern; it can lead to writers finding new audiences in new territories; it can help to ease that sense of isolation that writers often feel. I enjoyed my recent trip to Christchurch to take part in a poetry reading, and I'm looking forward to reading in Palmerston North on 2 June.

But all that travelling produces greenhouse gas emissions - air travel most of all. Of course, writers' travel is a very small part of overall travel, but it raises the wider question: can we continue all the good things of our globalised culture, which depends so much on travel, when travel is so heavily dependent on burning fossil fuels?

With resources of those fuels depleting rapidly, the environmental consequences of their use becoming increasingly dire, and alternatives a long way from widespread deployment, I suspect that there will come a time when "bringing back hand-picked treasures from their extensive, continuing travels" is no longer looked upon as something to admire.

UPDATE: Having had a little bit of a go at Elizabeth Gilbert - even if only incidentally - it seems only fair to let her speak too. This is a very interesting video of a talk she gave about the nature of creativity, and how the modern West has got it wrong. It's 19 minutes long and well worth watching: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86x-u-tz0MA (Thanks to Neda Akbarzadeh for the link)

Five More Good Things: Website, Video, Book, Blog, and Fanzine

It's only a week since I did my most recent post of congratulations and good news, and there are already more good things to report.

Several of them have some relationship to JAAM, the annual literary magazine based in Wellington. I guest-edited Issue 26 of JAAM in 2008, and since it appeared, I have enjoyed seeing various writers who featured in the issue - as well as some who didn't - achieve greater prominence. I was also pleased that the issue sold well enough to be reprinted - copies are still available in at least some of the bookshops which stock JAAM.

The Website: The first notable achievement belongs to JAAM itself. In the past, information about JAAM could be found at various places online, and the information wasn't always consistent from site to site. Now, JAAM publisher Helen Rickerby has created a comprehensive JAAM website, where you can find out about past, present and planned future issues.

The Video: The aforementioned Helen Rickerby is a woman of many talents, among them poet, publisher and blogger. Now she's a video poet as well. Check out the video she made to accompany her poem Calling You Home - and her explanation of how she made it.

The Book: Michele Powles, whose story "A Body of Land" appeared in JAAM 26, has a new novel out which has been getting good reviews: Weathered Bones. It has Wellington, weather, lighthouses and ghosts. It sounds like my sort of book.

The Blog: Ross Brighton has a blog focusing on experimental poetry and language poetry. Those aren't things I know much about, so I intend to keep an eye on Ross's blog and learn.

The Fanzine: After high school, my next ventures into writing and publishing were as the editor of a science fiction fanzine, TIMBRE. (You can find a couple of pieces from TIMBRE in the Articles section of my website.) I'm now somewhat out of touch with SF fandom and fanzines, but I have recently been enjoying a great example of the form, issue 10 of Steam Engine Time, edited by Janine Stinson and Bruce Gillespie.

Bruce has made it his life's mission to produce what are called fanzines, but are really literary magazines focusing on science fiction, with detailed, well-informed articles about science fiction writers, science fiction books, and the history of science fiction and science fiction fandom. The eFanzines.com site is a good place to begin to find out about great sf fanzines edited by Bruce, and by many others.

Don't let the word "fanzine" put you off; it's just a word. Go in with an open mind and prepare to find treasure.

A Suitable Anthology for Easter

Helen Lowe alerted me to the following competition and anthology, which seems like a suitable one to post about at Easter:

Spiritual Writing Competition

Closes: End of May

Judged by a church-based panel led by Pleasant Point writer Karalyn Joyce

Prizes: 1st $500; 2nd $250; 3rd $100

Up to 50 submissions are to be published in a new "Spiritual Anthology" launched in November 2009

Calling for all non-published poems/fiction/non-fiction work with a "words to inspire" based theme; i.e., life; death; creation; peace; miracles; wonder; reflection from new and established writers of all ages

For entry form send a stamped self-addressed envelope to: "Spiritual Anthology", 4a Horton Street, Pleasant Point, South Canterbury; or email: daphnej (at) xtra.co.nz

The entry form has further details:

1. Submissions (fiction/non-fiction or poetry) must be the original work of the entrant, previously unpublished and not under consideration elsewhere. A suggested length for stories is up to 1,500 words. Poetry is suggested to be no more than 50 lines. The editing team reserves the right to select work from the submissions received and will contact the writer to gain publishing rights but copyright will remain with the writer.
2. Contributors published in the anthology to receive a free copy in lieu of payment, and the right to order further copies at a special rate. Prizes to be presented at special launch of the anthology in November, or forwarded to the writer following the launch.
3. The theme is: “words to inspire” (i.e., life; death; love; peace; grace; miracles; healing; creation; reflection; spirituality).
4. Winners and the writers of the chosen work for the anthology will be notified by email/telephone, others will be destroyed unless there is a stamped self-addressed envelope with the submission.
5. The entry fee is $2 per poem/ $5 per short story and writers are welcome to enter two or more times. The competition is open to all ages.
6. Entries are to be typed single sided A4 paper and double spaced.
7. Judge’s decision is final.
8. The writer’s name must not appear on the manuscript. Please use the entry form below. Photocopies are acceptable.
9. The closing date is the 31st May 2009.

Go You Good Things: Several Congratulations and a Writing Workshop

Congratulations

Congratulations are in order: plenty of them. If I've forgotten someone who deserves congratulations, please let us all know in the comments!

So, congratulations to:

• All the poets whose poems are included in Best New Zealand Poems 2008 - I was especially pleased to see poems by Emma Barnes, Emma Neale and Tim Upperton included.
• Iain Britton, whose new book of poetry Liquefaction is being published by Interactive Publications (who are also publishing Voyagers: Science Fiction Poetry from New Zealand).
• Renee Liang, whose play Lantern, which sold out its run in Auckland, is coming to Bats Theatre in Wellington from Tuesday 21 April – Saturday 2 May.
• Tania Hershman, who was one of two writers commended by the judges of the Orange Prize for New Writing when they announced their shortlist of three books for the award. The judges praised the remarkable quality of her work - quite right too! Tania's first short story collection, The White Road and Other Stories, was published in 2008, and I interviewed Tania on my blog as part of her virtual book tour.
  

A Workshop

In association with ConScription, the 2009 New Zealand Science Fiction Workshop, comes ...

The Writers' Workshop of Unusual Length

featuring Julie E. Czerneda with Nalini Singh

Auckland, New Zealand, 27 to 29 May 2009, 8.30am to 5.00pm every day

This three-day workshop is about writing in general, not just SF&F — the lessons contained therein apply to all genres. There are a limited number of seats, so get in fast.

"My approach to working with other writers is simple: how can I help them with the creative process? I don't critique what they've done. I don't feel it's useful to the writer once I'm gone, unless I happen to be that writer's editor. What is useful is encouraging self confidence and providing tools to create more and better work. The activities I run make them write in ways most will never have imagined: out loud, with strangers, and quickly. I guarantee they'll have fun. So will I. They'll come away with new ideas and knowledge. They'll realize they can make changes and choices, and know how to talk about their work with others. I want writers to leave my workshops invigorated, enthused, and ready to succeed no matter what they want to write or what they'd like to accomplish with their writing. The creative process should be a joy (as well as work) and those with the courage to attempt it nourished as much as possible." —Julie Czerneda

"This workshop is structured and designed to take the participant from idea generation right through to sale of story. I have the outline in my hot little hand and am convinced that the three days will be well worth the investment for anyone who takes their writing seriously." —Kevin G. Maclean

Bring pen and paper, or a laptop.

The Tutors

Julie E. Czerneda is the author of more than ten science fiction novels, and is the editor of several young adult science fiction anthologies. She has run many writers' workshops for adult and teenage writers, and is currently a consultant for the Canadian Government on Science Fiction in Education. For more information about Julie and her works, go to www.czerneda.com.

Nalini Singh is the author of over ten romance and paranormal novels, and several novellas and short stories. She has given many talks on the process of writing, and has appeared at many romance writers' conferences. For more information about Nalini and her works, go to www.nalinisingh.com.

The Essential Details

When: 3 days, Wednesday – Friday, 27 – 29 May, 8.30 am–5.00 pm

Where: Hotel Grand Chancellor, Corner Kirkbride & Ascot Roads, Mangere

Cost: $150.00 pp for the course (parking onsite $5 per day, payable to the hotel). Lunch not included

Bring: pen & paper or laptop

Places: Limited to 24 participants

Go to: www.conscription.co.nz/ConScription/registration.htm for the registration form .

Registration

There's only a limited number of seats, so if you're interested in attending, please register as soon as possible. If the workshop is overbooked, you'll be placed on a waiting list in order of registration, and contacted if a seat opens up. You can register for the workshop by the same form as for the convention: for either alone, or for both together. For details, please see the registration page. Payment is expected along with the registration. It will be returned in full if you cancel by 30 April.

The Public Lending Right for New Zealand Authors: Getting Paid for Copies of Your Books in New Zealand Libraries

Are you a New Zealand author? If so, did you know that you can be paid for each copy of your books that are held by New Zealand public libraries - as long as the books meet certain criteria, and provided you apply? You can, by applying under the new Public Lending Right.

The most important of the criteria is that there have to be 50 copies of your book in New Zealand public libraries (which do not include school libraries) for it to qualify. Unfortunately, this isn't cumulative - if you have had ten books published, and 49 copies of each are held in qualifying libraries, I'm afraid you won't get a bean. (And, by the way, the regulations stop you donating a few copies here and there just to get your total for each book up above 50.)

I should say at this point that this blog post represents my understanding of the Public Lending Right - please don't regard anything I say here as definitive! You can find the official information on the PLR, and the registration form for it, at the National Library web site:

Public Lending Right for New Zealand authors

One thing that surprises me about the scheme is that the number of copies of a book held in New Zealand libraries is worked out by using a statistical sampling method, rather than by counting the total copies. This was the case under the Author's Fund, but given that the National Library maintains a site where you can check the holdings of your book in New Zealand libraries, I would have thought a little script that visited each online library catalogue in turn and added up the number of each book held might have done the trick. But doubtless there are complexities here than I'm not aware of!

To be eligible for registration for the Public Lending Right in 2009, for books published prior to 31 March 2009, you need to complete and return the registration form by 30 April 2009. So, if you think you have a book which is eligible, I recommend that you get cracking, especially as the completed form has to be witnesses by a JP or other person authorised to witness a statutory declaration. Downloading the form is a good place to start.

UPDATE: I must mention the key role of the New Zealand Society of Authors in getting the Public Lending Right legislation passed by the previous government, thereby ensuring a more stable future for such payments to authors. Well done NZSA!

Graphic Novels, Comics, and Me

The book group I'm a member of had a good time a couple of nights ago discussing graphic novels - a discussion that somehow morphed into the proposal that we should put on a play (possibly improvised on the spot) at our next meeting.

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, whose work I first got to know through her excellent Dykes To Watch Out For comic strips, was the book officially under discussion. We have our best discussions when there's a range of opinions about the book in question - as there was this time; some of us loved it, others weren't so sure. It had been a little while since I read it, and I didn't get to do so again before the group met, but I enjoyed it very much that first time. It's darker and more obviously personal than the DTWOF books, and cuts deeply into family traumas.

We then got on to talking about graphic novels & comics we had known, all the was from The Trigan Empire to Maus by way of Buffy Season 8 (now up to Volume 3: Wolves at the Gate) and Watchmen.

When most of us in the group were young, comics were at best tolerated by most adults as fodder for the children. I remember the fuss when I was at high school over the Classics Illustrated versions of Shakespeare's plays - how dare they associate the master playwright with speech bubbles and illustrations. While there are many comics that don't interest me at all, I'm glad that they are now considered on their merits, rather than on their format.