NORTH SHORE CITY – NEW ZEALAND’S LITERARY HUB?
Postscript to Liz Calder event at Pumphouse on Wednesday
We were welcomed to the event in the stifling hot Pumphouse Theatre by Sarah Dugdale the Arts Development Officer for the North Shore City Council who announced with great pride that North Shore City was the home of the book publishing industry in New Zealand and that it was also the hub of literary life in New Zealand with many famous writers having lived here, among them Frank Sargeson (of course) and Janet Frame, CK Stead , ARD Fairburn, Michele Leggott, Shonagh Koea, Kevin Ireland, Graeme Lay. She also mentioned the Michael King Writers Centre in Devonport to support her case.
I was interested in all this because although it might be stretching it somewhat regarding past and present authors making it the country’s literary hub she is certainly correct about the NZ book publishing industry being largely based on the North Shore. I recall estimating once that more than 80% of all books published in NZ emanate from here. But as far as I can tell from my own experience and in talking to other North Shore-based publishers there is virtually no contact or communication between publishers and the North Shore City Council, apart of course from the significant local body rates the publishing companies contribute.
The North Shore City Mayor and Councillors should look across to Waitakere City and observe the way that Mayor Bob Harvey and his Council have built on the film industry out west and the huge mutual advantages that have followed.
Postscript to Liz Calder event at Pumphouse on Wednesday
We were welcomed to the event in the stifling hot Pumphouse Theatre by Sarah Dugdale the Arts Development Officer for the North Shore City Council who announced with great pride that North Shore City was the home of the book publishing industry in New Zealand and that it was also the hub of literary life in New Zealand with many famous writers having lived here, among them Frank Sargeson (of course) and Janet Frame, CK Stead , ARD Fairburn, Michele Leggott, Shonagh Koea, Kevin Ireland, Graeme Lay. She also mentioned the Michael King Writers Centre in Devonport to support her case.
I was interested in all this because although it might be stretching it somewhat regarding past and present authors making it the country’s literary hub she is certainly correct about the NZ book publishing industry being largely based on the North Shore. I recall estimating once that more than 80% of all books published in NZ emanate from here. But as far as I can tell from my own experience and in talking to other North Shore-based publishers there is virtually no contact or communication between publishers and the North Shore City Council, apart of course from the significant local body rates the publishing companies contribute.
The North Shore City Mayor and Councillors should look across to Waitakere City and observe the way that Mayor Bob Harvey and his Council have built on the film industry out west and the huge mutual advantages that have followed.
4 comments:
I have had a couple of e-mails one adding noted children's authors Dorothy Butler, Betty Gilderdale, Tessa Duder and Pamela Allen and another suggesting Roger Hall should be on that list.
I am sure there are many others, please add your own comment to the blog or e-mail me with other names.
Errrm, in that case, re definition of North Shore as a literary hub ('having lived there' -however briefly) a certain physically small area of Dunedin is, unequivocally, the literary hub of Aotearoa-New Zealand. Could make a good claim to be a publishing hub also-
I find it staggering that the great literary name omitted from those connected with the North Shore was Bruce Mason!! There is a theatre named after him, and Sarah Dugdale was one of the persons involved in supporting the performance of a scene from End of the Golden Weater on Takap[una Beach on Christmas Day.....
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