09 Mar 2020
Recently established Coalition for Books will place writers centre stage at the upcoming Pasifika Festival, to be held in Auckland across the weekend of 14 – 15 March.
Writers, including current Poet Laureate David Eggleton and rising star Tayi Tibble, will be among those performing on stages throughout the two-day event, with its expected 60,000-strong crowd. They’ll also sign books and meet readers at a new Māori and Pasifika bookstand.
A striking colour brochure of 50 books will be available from the festival bookstand, to enhance the promotion of the best Māori and Pasifika books available in Aotearoa, along with a competition to win books from the catalogue. An additional 35,000 catalogues will be distributed to readers, schools and libraries nationwide.
Coalition for Books is a dynamic collaborative organisation, recently formed to make a tangible difference to the literary landscape of Aotearoa, supported by seed funding from Creative New Zealand.
Coalition for Books Chair, Melanie Laville-Moore says “selecting the titles for inclusion was a genuine eye-opener. It was clear that while there is a growing range of books targeting Māori readers, books for Pasifika readers are not as widely available. We’re confident that this initiative will positively impact the wider diversity discussion for publishers, writers and readers, as well as create genuine demand that we hope will lead to more books being published in future.”
The Coalition has a clear kaupapa: to complement the work of existing organisations, identify gaps in activities and develop initiatives that serve authors, publishers, booksellers and festivals. Through strategic activity and by mobilising the literary sector, it aims to enhance the visibility, sales and overall opportunities for New Zealand books and their writers.
Its membership has wide literary cross-sector support that includes, amongst others, NZ Society of Authors, Booksellers NZ, Publishers Association of New Zealand and Auckland Writers Festival.
For further information, contact Jill Rawnsley, Coalition for Books Manager on jill.coalitionforbooks@gmail.com or 027 294 6779.
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