Hopefully, your first month of 2020 has been filled with family, friends, good food (pavlova anyone?), sunshine and, of course, writing. We wish you all the best with your 2020 writing projects. Be sure to let us know of your successes during the year so we can celebrate with you.
Next Meeting
The next meeting will be on Saturday 22 February in Maungatapere. Venue to be advised by email.
Latest News
Northland Noteworthies:
- Justine Payen has attained an A- for her travel writing paper at Massey.
- Heather Whelan has had published 15 Magazine articles in Motor Homes, Caravans/Destinations (MCD) and New Zealand Wilderness. She was also published in Walking Magazine.
What’s On?
Poetry Events
- Poets at ONEONESIX, Thursday 27 February 2020, 5pm, 116 Bank Street, Whangarei.
- Poets at ONEONESIX, Thursday 19 March 2020, 5pm, 116 Bank Street, Whangarei.
Manners of Speaking | E korero ana e ngā whakatauākī
21 Feb – 26 March 2020
Geoff Wilson Gallery, NorthTec, Gate 3, 51 Raumanga Valley Road, Whangārei
Opening 4-7pm, Friday 21 Feb 2020
When we speak of the world in metaphor it not only is more engaging but is a reminder that whatever we say is a translation of the worlds around us.
Manners of Speaking | E korero ana e ngā whakatauākī showcases over 50 works in diverse media on themes of proverbs and sayings by artists based in Aotearoa and beyond, curated by Sonja van Kerkhoff with 3rd year NorthTec year students.
Christine Fernyhough’s Antique Roadshow
5pm Saturday 22 February 2020
Turner Centre, Kerikeri
Join Vanessa Owen of The Merchants in conversation with Christine Fernyhough. Along the lines of “Antique Roadshow”, they will discuss Christine’s amazing collection of 4000+ mid-century New Zealand objects, which is the subject of her latest book, Mid-Century Living: The Butterfly House Collection. Before the event, Christine will visit The Merchants of Kerikeri to have a look at their collection of mid-century pieces. She will pick her favourites and take them to the Turner Centre for discussion. Guests are also invited to bring along a mid-century piece of their own.
NorthWrite 2020
The NorthWrite 2020 programme will be launched on Saturday 21 March in Kerikeri at the Tūhono Kerikeri Festival Day. We will be operating from a tent at the Kororipo Heritage Park from 10am to 5pm and inviting the general public to take part in magnetic fridge poetry. We’ll have everything needed, including magnetic words (in English and Māori), to create short poems or creative sentences for others to enjoy. A bookstall will showcase and sell books written by Northland authors (or those with Northland connections) and we will shortly be providing information for those of you who would like to sell books at the event.
A full list of Northland writing events, opportunities and writers’ groups can be found on the Northland Authors website.
Competitions and Opportunities
Sentence and Short Poetry Competition
During February, NZSA Northland is hosting a sentence and short poetry competition. We invite all Northlanders to submit a short sentence or poem (25 words max) and will use these to create a word list for our fridge poetry event at the Tūhono Kerikeri Festival Day. You can enter up to five sentences or poems – please include them all in one document. We need a variety of words in English and Māori, so feel free to submit sentences and poems ranging from the super simple to the highly creative. All those who submit will go into the draw for a $50 book voucher. Closing date 29 February 2020. How to enter:
- Email your sentences and poems in an attached document (Word or RTF files only please, NO pdfs) to northlandauthors[at]gmail.com
- Include in the document your name, email address, phone number and the Northland area you associate with.
- NZSA Northland branch reserves the right to freely use any submitted sentences and poems (with attribution to the author) during the Tūhono Kerikeri celebrations in March and April 2020.
- Entry into the competition constitutes agreement to the potential use of your work as stated. You will retain copyright to copy, publish, publicly perform, transmit and adapt your work.
Share the competition details using either our Facebook Event page or the NorthWrite 2020 page.
Call for Submissions #1 – Kerikeri stories and poems
Pavlova Press has extended its call for submissions until 16 February for the proposed volume of Kerikeri stories and poetry. Further details are available here.
Call for Submissions #2 – Pavlova stories, poems and images
Pavlova Press is also calling for submissions of poetry, short prose (fiction or non-fiction) and images for an anthology focussing on our nation’s relationship with pavlova. Submissions close on 31 March 2020. Further details are available here.
NZSA Top of the South Branch
NATIONAL SHORT STORY COMPETITION 2020
Entries are now open for the Top of the South Short Story Competition and the closing date is 31 March 2020. The competition is open nationwide to writers residing in New Zealand aged eighteen years and over. The word limit is 1500 words. Work must be original, previously unpublished fiction and not under consideration for publication. Stories should not be previously placed (i.e. winning or commended) in another competition. Stories may not be entered into another competition until after 30 May 2020. Entries are restricted to the first 125 received – notification that the limit has been reached will be posted on www.topwriters.co.nz
National Flash Fiction Day Competition
The annual NZ National Flash Fiction Day Competition opens on 25 February and closes on 15 April. All submission details can be found here.
For information on other competitions and awards check out the Calendar of Opportunities on your NZSA website’s members-only page.
Blogoholics
Follow the links to read the latest blog posts by our members. If you want your posts to be featured here, please email Wendy at northlandauthors[at]gmail.com with your name and website address.
- Kerikeri Anthology – Where to start? – Pavlova Press
- Wordplay – Pavlova Press
- Author Review: Maggie Stiefvater – Kathy Derrick
- Every new writer should… – Jo Danilo
- Each book is a gift a writer made for strangers – Jo Danilo
- On the old mission route – Heather Whelan
- Boots bikes and backroads – Heather Whelan
- A love of paradox – Wendy Megget
Classifieds
Please send us any little bits and pieces that you think might be useful for our Northland members. This includes any writing services you offer, links to useful (or fun) websites that you want to share, writing jobs you hear about, or even a request for a copy of an out-of-print book. Priority will be given to fresh content. Please refer to the contributors’ guidelines for requirements.
Please email Wendy at northlandauthors[at]gmail.com if you have any announcements, items of interest or achievements you would like included in this monthly newsletter.
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