AWRF Friday Session Four - The Forrests - Emily Perkins

Another large audience to hear NZ author of the moment Emily Perkins talking to ex-pat NZ author Paula Morris about her latest novel The Forrests which has been collecting rave reviews from across the literary landscape.
Paula led Emily in conversation about her early reading and writing through childhood and then her teenage years. One of the books that most influenced her was a book of Greek legends retold by Leon Garfield, a man I once had the pleasure of dining with in London way back in the late 1970's. She talked about her first book of short stories being published by Fergus Barrowman at VUP, the ten years she lived in London where she enjoyed "gentle annonymity" and having more time for reading and thinking at home in New Zealand.She also spoke of her time as both a student and a teacher of creative writing.

She read two sections to us from The Forrests and then discussed the writing of it in some detail with Paula Morris, (an advantage of having an author as Chair was clearly seen here), before going on to talk about her writing life and the juggling that is required to balance family, teaching, fronting tv book shows, and writing. Phew!

My last session of the afternoon, tonight  I have "An Evening with Roddy Doyle", (yes, another member of that Irish contingent), to look forward too at 7.00pm in the ASB Theatre and then I am on deck to chair "An Hour with Peter James" here at 10.00am Saturday morning.

Thanks to Anne O'Brien and her team at the AWRF for making facilities available to me so I can blog live from the Aotea Centre.