Expat Kiwi returns home to head up NZ Book Month

Expat Kiwi Michele Powles has been appointed Project Director for NZ Book Month.
Currently UK-based, Powles is an arts marketing specialist and she has extensive event and performance management experience.

Most recently, Powles has been the director of Rifleman Productions Ltd, a well-respected performance-touring company in New Zealand and the Asia Pacific region. She has also worked with the Touch Compass Dance Company and the Trash to Fashion annual event.
An LLB (Hons) graduate from Victoria University, Powles also has the legal skills to back her work up.

Powles says she’s thrilled to be given the chance to get more Kiwis reading and head-up this hugely successful and creative book-industry initiative.
She says she’s so impressed with what’s already been achieved for the Book Month brand in its short life and can’t wait to work with the book month team, sponsors and booksellers to get even more Kiwis behind it.
“The team has created a really effective marketing mix and the result — judging by the sales of The Six Pack and website hits — shows that consumers have really embraced the initiative,” enthuses Powles.
The Six Pack publication is the month’s signature and highly successful promotional initiative. Both anthologies have gone straight to the best-seller list and remained there for several months.

Not one to sit back and watch the paint dry, Powles is also a graduate of the University of Auckland Masters of Creative Writing course and she is now a published author. Her first book, Touch Compass, was published by David Ling (who provided her pic and book cover image) and her latest book, Through Darkened Water, has been accepted by Richard’s Literary Agency.

Michele said: “I now know first hand the joy and excitement of seeing your words in print. It gets the heart rate up, it makes smiles sneak up when you weren’t looking, and it’s a feeling which should be encouraged, celebrated and grown among New Zealand writers.”
Now in its third year, and held every September, NZ Book Month has become a firm fixture on the literary calendar.

“The Book Month Trust is delighted with the appointment of Michele who we are sure will lead the event forward building on the success it has already had. I would like to personally thank Phil for all his fantastic work in establishing the event and wish him well for the future,” says Michael Moynahan, NZ Book Month Trust chair.
Michele Powles has taken over the role from Phil Twyford who is standing as a candidate for Labour in this year’s General Elections.