09 Jul 2013
A vast astrological murder mystery and award-winning anti-memoirs of Scottish writer Janice Galloway headline the 2013 season of Writers on Mondays, an annual literary event series presented by Victoria University’s International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML).
Wellingtonians will get a first look at The Luminaries, the extraordinary follow-up to internationally acclaimed author Eleanor Catton’s much-praised début novel The Rehearsal.
Later in the series, audiences are invited inside the moving but unsentimentally rendered childhood and adolescence of Janice Galloway in This is Not About Me and All Made Up (Scottish Book of the Year, 2012), and into the dark side of Scotland that’s revealed in her short fiction.
The series starts on 15 July with novelist Carl Shuker—winner of the 2006 Prize in Modern Letters—whose return to New Zealand to take up the 2013 Creative New Zealand/Victoria University Writer-in-Residence position coincides with the release of his latest book, Anti Lebanon, a cross-genre political thriller and horror novel set in the Arab Spring.
The following week, Kate Camp unpacks the suitcase of poems she brought home from her prestigious Creative New Zealand Berlin Writers’ Residency.
Next, two exciting new writers—Emma Martin and Amy Head—offer their take on the art of contemporary short fiction in conversation with Emily Perkins.
To mark National Poetry Day, Writers on Mondays present an opportunity to hear some of the Best New Zealand Poems in the popular annual reading.
On 26 August, Dave Armstrong guides audiences on an expedition into the blogosphere with Wellington bloggers Danyl McLauchlan and Giovanni Tiso who have earned themselves hordes of online followers with their respective blogs, The Dim-Post and Bat, Bean, Beam.
In September the series looks to the New Zealand literature of the future with a tour of début poetry collections by three diverse new-generation poets—Ashleigh Young, Therese Lloyd and Amy Brown.
Damien Wilkins, Director of IIML, says, “The wonderful combination of new voices and established writers makes this series a brilliant fixture on the literary calendar.”
Writers on Mondays events run from 12.15–1.15pm at The Marae, Level 4, Te Papa, except for: Short Sharp Script 1 & 2: Circa Theatre, Mon 23 and 30 September, 12.15–1.15pm
The full 2013 Writers on Mondays programme appears below. The programme can also be viewed and downloaded here: http://www.victoria.ac.nz/modernletters/about/events/writers-mondays.aspx
Admission is free, all are welcome.
Writers on Mondays is presented by Victoria University’s International Institute of Modern Letters with the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and additional support from Circa Theatre. Janice Galloway’s visit is jointly funded by the IIML and the Melbourne Writers’ Festival.
For further information contact Chris Price, Senior Lecturer, IIML, on 04-463 6854 or chris.price@vuw.ac.nz.
Writers on Mondays 2013
12.15–1.15 pm, The Marae, Level 4, Te Papa, except for:
- Short Sharp Script 1&2—Circa Theatre
15 July: The Method Actor: Carl Shuker
‘Brash and fearless’, is how the New York Times described Carl Shuker’s first novel, The Method Actors, which won him the 2006 Prize in Modern Letters. His latest novel, Anti Lebanon, has just been published in the United States, where Publishers Weekly reviewed it as ‘a haunting and riveting account of war, loss, and exile’. Shuker is this year’s Creative NZ/ Victoria University Writing Fellow. Chair: Damien Wilkins.
22 July: Snow White’s Coffin: Kate Camp
May saw the release of Kate Camp’s fifth poetry collection, Snow White’s Coffin. Written during her spell as the 2011 Creative New Zealand Berlin resident, the book renews the spooky and measured lyricism we have come to love in her poems. The recipient of the 2011 New Zealand Post Book Award joins chair Jane Stafford to discuss what gets charmed and what gets buried in the work at hand.
29 July: Two Tough Girls: Emma Martin and Amy Head
‘A short story is a love affair, a novel is a marriage’, writes author Lorrie Moore, a short story is a photograph; a novel is a film. We welcome Emma Martin and Amy Head to discuss these important distinctions and share from their eagerly-awaited debut story collections, Two Girls in a Boat and Tough. Hear what these exciting new writers think about the craft of contemporary short story-writing and the perils and delights of a first publication. Chair: Emily Perkins.
5 August: The Luminaries: Eleanor Catton
Internationally acclaimed author Eleanor Catton discusses her second, much-anticipated novel, The Luminaries. Set in Hokitika during the gold rush of 1866, and described as an ‘astrological murder mystery’, the book draws immediate comparisons to the vast and macroscopic novels of the 19th century. In conversation with Fergus Barrowman, Catton will describe the origins, mysteries and fates that led to this extraordinary new work.
12 August: Best New Zealand Poems 2012
In honour of National Poetry Day on 16 August, Chris Price introduces a taster of the poets whose work was chosen by last year’s editor, Ian Wedde, for the online anthology Best New Zealand Poems 2012. Featuring Sarah Jane Barnett, James Brown, Zarah Butcher-McGunnigle, Geoff Cochrane, Siobhan Harvey, Helen Heath, Gregory O’Brien, Harry Ricketts and Ashleigh Young.
19 August: All Made Up: Janice Galloway
Scottish writer Janice Galloway is celebrated for her work across many forms, including short stories, novels, prose poetry, collaborations with visual artists and opera libretti. Most recently her ‘anti-memoirs’, This is Not About Me and All Made Up, have won wide acclaim, including Scottish Book of the Year. Her writing is valued for its ‘lethal accuracy’, lyricism and compassion. A special opportunity to hear this engaging author read from and discuss her work with Emily Perkins.
26 August: Writing the Unspeakable: Danyl McLauchlan and Giovanni Tiso
In the age of the blog, how is the written word received, rated, and disseminated? Does worldwide and instantaneous access to writing put new pressures on the writer? Danyl McLauchlan and Giovanni Tiso have earned themselves hordes of online followers with their respective blogs, The Dim-Post and Bat, Bean, Beam and now McLauchlan has moved into the world of print with his novel Unspeakable Secrets of the Aro Valley. Join chair, Dave Armstrong, to hear them talk the tech, speak the unspeakable and more.
2 September: Poetry and Other Animals: Amy Brown, Therese Lloyd and Ashleigh Young
Three poets, representing the imaginative range and unique voice of a new generation in New Zealand poetry, join us to share a sampler of their recent work and discuss how their poems came to be. Last year saw the release of Therese Lloyd’s Other Animals and Ashleigh Young’s Magnificent Moon, two stunning debuts. Amy Brown’s second poetry collection, The Odour of Sanctity, reinvents a neglected form—the epic. They reflect on three ways into New Zealand poetry with Harry Ricketts.
9 September: The Next Page (1)
Each year we preview talent emerging from the Master of Arts Writing for the Page workshops at the IIML. This week nine writers read from prose and poetry in progress: Avi Duckor-Jones, Claire Orchard, Deb Potter, Sue Foot, Kate Kilkenny, Emma Hislop, Jessica Todd, Helena Brow and Linda Bennett are introduced by Chris Price.
16 September: The Next Page (2)
Another smorgasbord of new writing from the IIML’s 2013 Master of Arts Page workshops. Emily Perkins introduces Charmaine Thomson, Raqi Syed, Morgan Bach, Matt Bialostocki, Gay Buckingham, Kirsten Le Harivel, Rachel Kerr, Kevin O’Donnell, Viv Smith and Linley Boniface.
23 September: Short/Sharp/Script (1) at CIRCA
How much drama can you cram into 60 minutes? Find out as actors perform rehearsed readings of work produced by Master of Arts (Script) students at the IIML. Ken Duncum introduces snappy dialogue from Jacob Buellens, Christine Cessford, Lisa Cherrington, Jane Fletcher, and Lou Harness.
30 September: Short/Sharp/Script (2) at CIRCA
Five more funny, fast and furious mini-dramas by Master of Arts scriptwriters are delivered fresh and hot. Emma Kinane, Alison McLachlan, Hamish Parkinson, Maryse Ridler and Colin Rowsell are on show with Ken Duncum, once again cooking up the most entertaining lunch-hour in Wellington.
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