Four
award-winning authors will read from new work and speak about their passion for
writing this October. Calling at Ōamaru, Dunedin, Gore and Te Anau before
finishing in Wanaka, the tour will feature informal events to encourage and
inspire local readers. Taking part in the tour are Wellington novelist and
short story writer, Pip Adam; Dunedin based novelist Laurence Fearnley; Kāpiti
fiction and non-fiction writer, Tina Makereti; and Kāpiti fiction writer
Lawrence Patchett.
The
tour hopes to encourage the experience of high-quality literature in southern
communities that are sometimes excluded from major literary festivals and
events. As Laurence Fearnley notes: ‘Distance and cost can make it difficult
for people from smaller communities to access literary festivals in urban
centres like Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. As writers we want to be
proactive, tour the south and introduce audiences to new and exciting work.’
‘By
holding free events in libraries and public galleries, we hope to create an
informal atmosphere where readers and writers from all age-groups and
backgrounds can not only hear our work being read but engage in open and
stimulating dialogue about the writing process and what it means to be a writer
in Aotearoa/New Zealand today.’
The
authors met while completing PhDs in Creative Writing at the International
Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University, in Wellington. ‘The course
was supervised by Bill Manhire — a poet with strong Southland connections — so
in a way there is a nice symmetry in being able to acknowledge his support and influence
on our careers by bringing our work down south.’
All
events are free and made possible through the support of Creative New Zealand.
Photo: North Island writers Tina Makereti,
Pip Adam, and Lawrence Patchett will join Laurence Fearnley on a tour of South
Island towns.
For
more information, please contact:
Laurence
Fearnley, (mobile) 021 212 3235
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