VISITING AUTHOR PROGRAMME BOOSTED

PRESS RELEASE:  19 November 2014 VISITING AUTHOR PROGRAMME BOOSTED TAIPEI INTERNATIONAL BOOK EXHIBITION (TIBE) FEBRUARY 2015 Open hearts, Open minds, Open books 發現紐西蘭 樂讀新世界 Ngākau aotea, Ngākau māhorahora, Pukapuka wherawhera. The Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ) is pleased to announce four more writers for the Visiting Author Programme to the Taipei International Book Exhibition in February 2015.  Whiti Hereaka, Charisma Rangipunga, Robert Sullivan and Selina Tusitala Marsh will join the 11 authors announced in September, and the three Graphic Novelists whose creative exchange with Taiwanese artists began in October. There will be a series of professional and public events at the New Zealand Guest of Honour pavilion, where our authors will participate in sessions alongside their Taiwanese counterparts. Nine of the authors and illustrators have 13 books or series in translation being published to coincide with TIBE 2015. The Visiting Author Programme is funded by Creative New Zealand and is in partnership with the Taipei Book Fair Foundation (TBFF). The programme will be an integral part of the range of Guest of Honour activities in preparation. PANZ is currently working with Te Puni Kōkiri and the Council of Indigenous Peoples in Taiwan to select three Māori writers to join the complement. Te Puni Kōkiri and its Taiwanese counterpart, the Council of Indigenous Peoples, are keen to sponsor Māori writers to the TIBE 2015 as part of their commitment to chapter 19 of the ANZTEC agreement to facilitate economic and cultural cooperation between indigenous Taiwanese and Māori. TIBE opens on Wednesday 11th February 2015 and closes on Monday 16th February. TIBE 2014 attracted almost half a million visitors and 648 publisher exhibitors from around the world. TBFF will offer free entry for students for the 2015 event. The Guest of Honour Programme at TIBE 2015 is supported by Creative New Zealand, Education New Zealand, the Publishers Association of New Zealand, New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. The Visiting Author Programme is overseen by a Reference Group that includes representatives of funding agencies, the New Zealand Society of Authors, and other specialist advisors. For more information contact: Ka Meechan  ka@publishers.org.nz