Nzsa Top of the South News

NZSA TOP OF THE SOUTH NEWS 19 February 2016

Send Top of the South news to Chrissie Ward at [email protected] or phone 03-546-9818. Let me know about meetings, coming events, book launches, new publications, literary successes, etc. Don’t forget to tell me if you change your email address. Past newsletters are archived for a month on our website www.topwriters.co.nz. Follow us on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/topwritersNZSA

CALL FOR CONTRIBUTORS TO THE BIG CONVERSATION

Do you have a project, piece of research or case study on audience or community engagement that you are eager to share? Creative New Zealand is currently calling for Expressions of Interest (EOI) from New Zealand practitioners, arts organisations and agencies, including arts managers, directors, producers, curators, to present or contribute to a Breakout Session as part of The Big Conversation Nui te Kōrero event at Hagley Oval, Christchurch, on Thursday 16 June.

Expressions of Interest must be received by 5pm on Friday 26 February. See the last page of this newsletter for more information and how to download the EOI form.

BRANCH TREASURER NEEDED

Steve Richards has been a wonderful treasurer for the Top of the South branch since 2013, but he is stepping down from the role and we need to find a replacement. Can anybody help?

The treasurer’s duties are straightforward. He or she maintains the branch bank account, receives receipts and arranges payments, and reports regularly to the branch committee and annually to NZSA National Council. The treasurer must be a paid-up member of NZSA, but it is up to them how much they become involved in non-financial committee business.

If this sounds like you, or you can think of anyone who might be interested, please contact Branch Chair Sue Perkins at [email protected] as soon as possible.

WRITERS AT LUNCHTIME: ‘THE FITS AND FASHIONS OF FICTION’

The next Writers at Lunchtime meeting on Wednesday 2 March features Alyson Baker from Nelson Libraries on the topics and styles of fiction that drift in an out of fashion. 2

Alyson has been at Nelson Libraries for seven years. In her role as Recreation Services Librarian she has the great job of promoting the reading of fiction in the community. She manages Readers’ Advisory Services at the library and designs programmes and activities to encourage reading. Her particular interest is New Zealand fiction.

Everyone is welcome to Writers at Lunchtime, and entry is free. Come any time from 11.30 am, but make sure to be there at 12.30 pm to hear Alyson’s talk. The venue is The Prince Albert, 113 Nile Street, Nelson.

REPORTS FROM MARLBOROUGH MEETINGS

Irene Thomas reports on Writers of Picton: Our group met for our first meeting of the year on the first Monday of the month which happened to be 1 February. We met in the evening where we each presented work on our given topic, which was ‘A Book Review’, followed by discussion of the reviews.

Meeting times and venue can vary, with our next meeting scheduled to be a lunchtime event at 11.30am at the Red Salt Café in Mariner's Mall, Picton, on Monday 7 March. The suggested topic is ‘Any Port in a Storm’, around 200 words. Everyone is welcome to listen or participate. For more information contact Peter or Irene on 03-573-5501 or 027 2493146.

June Bowen reports on Marlborough Writers: The last meeting on 16 February attracted more members from Picton than Blenheim to lunch at the Argosy Café in Middle Renwick Road. We each read our 200-word offerings on the topic of ‘Beginnings’, with some quite philosophical thoughts in one or two, followed by a quiz. Keeping to the theme, this required us to match up the first sentence of a book with the book’s title and author. It was more difficult than expected; one member got five out of ten, one got three, and everyone else just guessed!

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 15 March, with details to follow. For more information contact June on 03-577- 9035 or [email protected]

FANTAIL BOOK TAKES FLIGHT

Following on from the success of their 2013 book about the tui, the Native Bird Recovery Richmond group is launching its second book, The Fantail: An Extraordinary Aviator, with photographs that reveal what enables the little birds’ flitting flight. It is a fundraiser for the group, which has been involved with trapping within the four gullies behind Richmond for the past 10 years.

The Fantail will be launched on Wednesday 24 February from 1 pm at Richmond Library. The Native Bird Recovery Richmond group welcomes everyone to attend, where refreshments and signing opportunities will 3 be available. Books can also be bought from BNZ in Richmond and Nelson, and at the Grey Power office in Stoke. The large copy is $25 while the smaller version is $20.

POEMS IN THE WAITING ROOM COMPETITION CLOSES SOON

Poems in the Waiting Room (NZ) is a Dunedin based arts-in-health charity supplies free poetry cards every season to medical waiting room patients, rest home residents, hospice patients and prison inmates.

Poems are selected by an annual competition. The 2016 competition will close on 29 February. The judge is Pat White. First prize: $175; Second prize: $150; Third prize: $125. Unpublished poems of up to 25 lines on any theme will be accepted. The entry fee is $5 per poem or $10 for up to three poems. Each poem should be posted to: Poems in the Waiting Room, 19 Hunt Street, Dunedin 9013. No email entries. For full entry conditions see waitingroompoems.wordpress.com

TOM HOWARD/ JOHN H. REID FICTION & ESSAY CONTEST

The 24th annual Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest is now open for entries. Submit short stories, essays or other works of prose, either published or unpublished. All themes accepted. The top story and top essay will each be awarded US$1,500, and ten Honorable Mentions will receive US$100 each (any category). The top 12 entries will be published on the Winning Writers website.

Length limit: 6,000 words. Fee: US$18 per entry. Writers from any country and of any age may enter, but entries must be in English. Closing date: 30 April. Results announced on 15 October. For more information and to submit, see: https://winningwriters.com/our- contests/tom-howard-john-h-reid-fiction-essay-contest

PROVERSE PRIZE FOR UNPUBLISHED WRITING

Hong Kong-based Proverse Publishing announce that their 2016 prize is now open for entries. The prize is for unpublished fiction, non-fiction or poetry submitted in English. Entry is open to everyone aged 18 or over, irrespective of residence, nationality or citizenship. The winner receives publication of the entered work and HK$10,000. Additional publication prizes may be awarded.

The Entry Documents and an explanation of how to enter are available from the Proverse website http://www.proversepublishing.com. The entry fee is HK$220 or GB £32, and can be paid in various ways.

The deadline for completed entry forms and fees to be received in Hong Kong or the United Kingdom is 31 May. Entered work must be received by mail in Europe by 30 June. The judges meet in Europe in July/August and the semi-finalists are announced in August/September. 4

This is a good opportunity to compete internationally and, if successful, to be published. If you have a question of a general nature about the Prize, please contact [email protected].

AESTHETICA CREATIVE WRITING AWARD CALL FOR ENTRIES

The Aesthetica Creative Writing Award 2016 is now open for entries, presenting an opportunity for emerging and established writers and poets to showcase their work and further their involvement in the literary world. Now in its ninth year, the award is an internationally renowned prize presented by Aesthetica Magazine and judged by literary experts.

Prizes include: £500 each (Poetry Winner and Short Fiction Winner); Publication in the Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual ; One year sub- scription to Granta; Selection of books courtesy of Bloodaxe and Vin- tage ; Consultation with Redhammer Management (Short Fiction Winner); Full Membership to The Poetry Society (Poetry Winner)

Short fiction entries should be no more than 2,000 words. Poetry entries should be no more than 40 lines. Deadline for submissions is 31 August. To enter, visit www.aestheticamagazine.com/creativewriting

2016 PAGE & BLACKMORE SHORT STORY COMPETITION

This national short story competition, sponsored by Nelson’s Page & Blackmore Booksellers, is open for entries. The judge this year is Tina Shaw, who is the author of several novels, for both adults and children. Her short stories have been published in many anthologies, literary journals and magazines, and she has received various awards.

Entries to the competition are restricted to the first 125 received. For an entry fee of $20, each story will be given feedback from an experienced writer. The judge will provide a written assessment of the ten short- listed stories. The top three entries receive book vouchers from Page & Blackmore to the value of: First, $250; Second, $100, Third, $50.

The word limit is 1500 words, and the closing date is 1 April. The results of the competition will be announced at the 2016 Top of the South branch AGM, which will take place on Saturday 7 May, 2pm, at the Hearing House, Trafalgar Square, Nelson.

The full conditions of entry and an entry form for the 2016 Page & Blackmore Short Story Competition can be downloaded from http://www.topwriters.co.nz/page--blackmore-short-story- competition.html. 5

CALL FOR CONTRIBUTORS TO THE BIG CONVERSATION

Do you have a project, piece of research or case study on audience or community engagement that you are eager to share?

Creative New Zealand is currently calling for Expressions of Interest (EOI) from New Zealand practitioners, arts organisations and agencies, including arts managers, directors, producers, curators, to present or contribute to a Breakout Session as part of The Big Conversation Nui te Kōrero event at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Thursday 16 June.

Expressions of Interest must be received by 5pm on Friday 26 February. Download the EOI form for further details and how to apply. Please feel free to circulate to relevant networks and contacts.

Expressions of interest form (pdf 460KB)

The theme for The Big Conversation Nui te Kōrero 2016 is Embracing Arts, Embracing Audiences Awhi mai, Awhi atu. Breakouts will need to correspond with one of the following sub-themes: 1. The Very Social Network Building strong commitment kanohi ki kanohi, face to face and on-line (turning likes into loves and fol- lowers into advocates) 2. Deeper Connections Effective tools and ways to developing rela- tionships 3. Collaboration The incredible power of sharing our audiences (through data and working together, mahi tahi) 4. Support Base Growing your community (members, donors and volunteers)

Early bird $150+ GST per person (closes 23 May 2016) Full price $175 + GST per person Buy tickets here

There are up to 150 places which will be available on a first-come-first- serve basis. We welcome multiple registrations and aim to include a wide range of arts’ institutions in this event.

The Big Conversation Nui te Kōrero Reader synopsis will be published in February 2016. The Reader sets the agenda for the day and enriches the debate about the future of the sector and the conversation between art and audiences. The full programme outline and Reader will be published in April. In the meantime you can review last year's Keynotes on Creative New Zealand's You Tube channel or download resources from the 2015 Big Conversation.

For further information please contact Grace Sinclair [email protected] or Helen Bartle [email protected]