Ancient voices, contemporary experiences and a fully satisfying story
Tina Makereti interviewed by Rachel O'Neill
The stories in Tina Makereti’s first collection Once Upon a Time in Aotearoa bring to life vulnerable gods and goddesses, children born with remarkable gifts, and spectacular birds with marvellously bad timing. As Makereti is a regular voice on Twitter, I asked her to describe Once Upon a Time in Aotearoa in one Tweet. ‘Mythical characters appear, cultures coexist, but in these stories the gods live in a contemporary world & are motivated by human concerns,’ she replied.
The stories in Once Upon a Time in Aotearoa are rich with contemporary insight - from the strong yet temporary bond between a kuia and a boy she finds abandoned in a park, to a woman who catches the flicker of unknowability in her lover’s eye. The contemporary flavour of a book often comes from the way it challenges certain assumptions about literature itself and Makereti agrees, ‘I'm excited that a number of writers are unpicking the way things have been written about before, particularly history,’ she said.
‘What I like now is that literature seems to be moving toward something I've seen described as a search for authenticity. This shouldn't be mixed up with essentialism in any way. In my mind it's a move away from intellectualism and back towards a sort of emotional gravity or intensity that makes a fully satisfying story. Some of the most exciting writing I've seen recently is Pacifica or indigenous. I'm looking forward to reading That Deadman Dance, and Kim Scott's other work, as I'm chairing his session at the Writers & Readers Week in Wellington in March.’
Read the full interview here.
Five Easy Questions with Kyle Mewburn
Kyle Mewburn has been a bit of a phenomenon in the kiwi children’s book scene this year – everywhere you look, one of his books sits staring innocently at you, wondering why you haven’t picked it up yet.
1. How many books have you published this year, and which one did you enjoy working on the most?
2011 has been a stellar year for me with nine commercial titles and four school readers published. I get immense joy out of all my writing projects – I don't even start a project unless I'm brimming with enthusiasm. But I guess the most enjoyable and rewarding project for 2011 has been my Dinosaur Rescue series. It's the first time I've actively collaborated on a project, which has created all sorts of unexpected and unique pleasures. The main one is to be collaborating with such a creative genius as Donovan Bixley, particularly as we have complementary enthusisasms and styles. It's wonderful to watch a project evolve which is far greater than the sum of its parts.
2. You have won Book of the Year in the NZ Post Children's Book Awards twice now, for Kiss! Kiss! Yuck! Yuck! and Old Huhu. What has winning these awards meant for you?
Winning any award puts you on the literary map, in the first place. It gives you that all-important boost onto the first rung of a very tall ladder. Suddenly you're one step ahead of an enormous crowd milling round below. But if you don't start climbing very fast, you'll soon slide down again. The reality is awards are just as quickly forgotten (by everyone else, at any rate) so you need to keep producing good work or risk becoming the dreaded one-hit wonder.
3. Old Hu-hu could be described as a 'moral' tale, one that celebrates life and addresses death in a sensitive way. What do you think the most important element is when writing this kind of tale?
For me the most important element of writing any 'moral' tale is to avoid moralising. Mainly by trusting my readers and my own instincts. With Old Hu-hu I tried to focus on Hu-hu-tu's journey of discovery and not on any ultimate lesson. I didn't even have any moral, as such, in mind. The conclusion actually came all by itself once Hu-hu-tu reached the end of his journey, which is why I think it works so well – it's a natural, honest resolution rather than a contrived ending. I generally have a vague notion of where the story is going thematically, but I'm often surprised where it ends up. Ultimately I want to write an entertaining picture book, not a sermon.
4. The level to which a children's picture book author and illustrator work together can often vary. How much interaction do you tend to have with the illustrators you work with?
I seldom interact with illustrators, unfortunately. Though I imagine it's not quite so unfortunate for the illustrators. Who wants a writer sticking their oar into your business? I wouldn't like an illustrator suggesting text changes. I do now get to see sketches and illustrations at various stages. Generally my only comment is - 'WOW! Amazing! What a genius.' (Which isn't the most incisive input.) I love seeing the work evolving - it's one of the most exciting parts of the whole process. (Apart from the initial buzz of writing the first draft, of course.) Also, because the process is so long, seeing the various stages keeps refreshing the story in my mind. And there's nothing better than that growing sense of satisfaction to think that, yes, my story does actually work.
5. What's on your summer reading list?
My summer reading list is largely going to be consumed by re-re-re-reading and re-writing my first YA novel. (How sad is that?) But I'm also determined to squeeze in a few novels by my favourite kiwi children's writers. I've been meaning to read Fleur Beale's Juno trilogy for ages, and Brian Falkner's Northwood is getting such rave reviews, I can't resist finding out for myself if it's as good as people say (if only to prepare myself for one of my own junior novels losing out to it come awards time). Melinda Szymanik's The Half life of Ryan Davis also sounds fascinating (from the first chapter I managed to read while sitting in her kitchen).
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Book Council news
Happy holidays
The Book Council wish all of our e-newsletter subscribers a safe and relaxed holiday period. We look forward to seeing you all again in the new year.
What's new on bookcouncil.org.nz
December new releases
Catch up on the latest new fiction, non-fiction and poetry releases here.
Find out about new titles by authors including Jack Eden, Tim Wilson, Alice Tawhai, Paula Morris, Rachel Bush and Peter Wells.
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#fridayshorts on Twitter
Each week we proudly present a very short story competition called '#fridayshorts' on our Twitter feed @nzbookcouncil. Every Friday a lively bunch of committed competitors flex their imaginations and submit a story in one tweet using six compulsory words provided by the Book Council. At around 4.30pm that day, judging begins and by 5pm we announce the #fridayshorts winner. No prizes, but liberal kudos. Entries are often of such a high calibre that we make honourable mentions too. To find out more and to prepare for #fridayshorts when it kicks off again in the new year, click here.
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Booknotes digital
The last issue of our booklovers' magazine Booknotes can now be read in digital format online for free.
Click through and enjoy the Winter 2011 issue here.
Featuring Ashleigh Young on the personal perils of writing memoir; Paul Litterick on the Kahui publishing controversy and what it says about the book world; a tour of Margaret Mahy's writing room; Neil Cross on the point of the novel, and 'The Insufferable Indignity of the Queue Order Decree', by Ant Sang.
Competition opportunities
Please note this is only a sample of literary opportunities from the news page on our website:
The Novella Project: an Australian-New Zealand competition
The Novella Project: an Australian-New Zealand competition for original novella-length fiction. A collaborative venture between Griffith REVIEW & the Copyright Agency Ltd.
In recent years, publishing costs and market pressures have contributed to the demise of the novella in print. However, thanks to advances in digital publishing and the rise of social media and e-readers, some industry experts are predicting that this may be the beginning of a ‘golden age’ for novellas.
Griffith REVIEW is pleased to announce a competition open to all residents and citizens of Australia and New Zealand, calling for submissions for The Novella Project, a new publishing initiative supported by the Copyright Agency Ltd.
Submissions will be evaluated by a panel of judges and the winning selections will be featured in late 2012 in Griffith REVIEW’s fourth annual New Fiction Edition.
In addition to publication, winners will receive a share of the prize pool of $30,000 plus a share of royalties from digital sales of each novella sold separately as an eSingle.
Terms, conditions, how to enter click here: www.griffithreview.com
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Cardiff International Poetry Competition 2012 Now Open
Is your poetry worth £5,000? The 2012 Cardiff International Poetry Competition is now open for entries. The First Prize-winner will walk way with a cheque for £5,000 for just one poem.
Further prizes available are £500 for second place, £250 for third plus five runners up will receive £50 each. The competition is accessible to all; it doesn’t matter if you are an established poet or just dabble with verse now and then. All entries to the competition will be judged anonymously, so this is a great opportunity to have your poetry judged on its own merits.
The hard tasking of judging the 2012 competition is down to poets Sinéad Morrissey, Patrick McGuinness and filter judge Samatha Wynne-Rhydderch.
If you think you have what it takes to delight the judges and get your hands on the top prize of £5,000, then send us your poems now. Just make sure your poem is no longer than 50 lines long, is unpublished, in English and is not a translation of another author’s work then send it, along with your entry form and payment, to Literature Wales.
The closing date for entries is: Friday 2 March 2012
To download an entry form, click here. To receive an entry form through the post send a stamped, self addressed envelope to: Literature Wales, CIPC12 Entry Form, Mount Stuart House, Mount Stuart Square, Cardiff, Wales, CF10 5FQ. For further details contact Literature Wales: 029 2047 2266 / post@literaturewales.org
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funding partners, who enable us to deliver our programmes. We also value your membership, which supports our work in schools and communities throughout New Zealand.
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The winners of the two copies of Landfall 222, courtesy of 
This month we are giving away two copies of 
Sarah Forster: I'm looking forward to reading The Cartographer (HarperCollins), a new novel by Peter Twohig. It's recommended to anyone who enjoys the stories of Jonathan Safran Foer, Mark Haddon and Markus Zusak, which is a great reason to be excited, in addition to the funky cover design.
Emma Gallagher: I really loved Per Petterson’s 2007 IMPAC Award-winning Out Stealing Horses – so I’m hoping his 1992 novel It’s Fine By Me, now published in English, is just as full of tension and atmosphere. It’s the coming-of-age story of a boy in the 1960s, as he traverses adolescent awkwardness, tragedy and literature. And on another level, the coldness of the Norwegian landscape in winter might be a consolation in a Wellington summer.
Rachel O'Neill: The Comforter is Helen Lehndorf's debut collection of poetry. It was released earlier this month, so while not a future release it will be a much anticipated future read of mine. It has been beautifully published by Seraph Press.
