YA listing

Could not be more stoked to have the news that the YA novel I wrote over lockdown last year made the long-list of 12 out of over a hundred entries for the Michael Gifkins Unpublished Novel Competition. It's my second time in this position, having also had Some Things the English, the novel that placed second in the Dundee International Book Prize, in the long-list in the inaugural comp.

Short list

Some Things the English made the Cinnamon Press Novel Competition shortlist;
I couldn't be happier;
sincere thanks to Jan Fortune and all at Cinnamon Press;
and massive congratulations to overall winner Jennifer Young!

Et al knowing

There's currently a really interesting and important display on level 2 of Auckland Central City Library, giving a detailed and engaging summary of Aotearoa/New Zealand's contraception history and abortion debate.

It's a subject area I covered in my Dundee International Book Prize finalist novel Some Things the English, so I was very interested to read about the developments, and lack of them, in the law and archives.

I was pleased to see the reproduction of some of the Broadsheet magazine illustrations, having only become aware of this amazing and influential publication during my co-editorship on the Three Words Aotearoa/NZ women's comics and cartoons anthology (to be published by Beatnik very soon).

There's also an accompanying blog - the most comprehensive and readable research resource I've seen on this topic - at Auckland Libraries' Heritage & Research site "Heritage et AL".

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Fun thing: part one

My sincere thanks to the New Zealand Book Council for awarding me an International Travel grant and funding my flights to and from the UK to attend the Dundee International Book Prize gala dinner and Dundee Literary Festival. Thanks, too, to Literary Dundee for funding my accommodation at the Apex City Quay Hotel & Spa. I am grateful for your generosity, my trip would not have been possible without your assistance. 

And what a trip!


The Courier headline on the morning of the Dundee International Book Prize gala dinner:

I promptly took my person to the Street of the alleged incident.

Perhaps the alleged flasher misread the To Let sign for ToiLet.

It was in this state of naivety and openness to learning that I experienced Dundee.

On one's first visit to Dundee, one must have a room with a view, and this was mine:

from the Apex City Quay Hotel and Spa. And look right, a lighthouse on a boat. It would be easier to see if its light were on. The sun hadn't quite got its act togeether by 9.30 am, jet lagged, obviously.

But by mid norning it was a glorious day in Dundee, and how better to see the city's sights than in the company of local writer and blogger Rachel Fox, affectionately known online by moi since 2009 as T'other Rachel.

 Fancy, travelling betwixt antipodes to discover the Discovery had done it first. 

The Discovery expedition to the Antarctic was led by Robert Falcon Scott, of course, whose name I filched for my nom de plume the year I was shortlisted for the Royal Society of New Zealand Manhire Prize.

The Discovery appeared to have brought back a few unregistered passengers:

I don't know how long the penguin's been staring at that compass, but I think someone ought to say it isn't working.

 

Are we nearly there yet?

Fore word

Before I ramble on about being the runner-up in the Dundee International Book Prize, please make do with a comic about such things and associated feelings.

Tim to go

Last week, I participated in the first part of the NZ Book Council's Graphic Novelist Exchange Residency in conjunction with the NZ Publishers Association and the Taipei Book fair, at which New Zealand is guest of honour in 2015.

I'll be posting from my journal about the experience, so won't go into too much detail just now as I'm about to head off to Dundee for the International Book Prize gala dinner and prize giving, but I'll leave you with a taster of the residency from Tim Gibson, who, along with Ant Sang, made up the NZ contingent of the residency at Vaughan Park and was invited to talk about it on National Radio.

Animate

August, it seems, is almost over and I haven't blogged since being stunned in July by discovering I made the final of the Dundee International Book Prize.

But I want to take a moment to draw your attention to a very interesting chap called David Thomsen, who I met way back in May, at the Wellington City Libraries Comicfest Panel Discussion (which I blogged about here). 

 I suspect Grant Buist karate chopped off David Thomsen's fingers just prior to this photograph being taken.

David is the creative mastermind behind the most intriguing blog Three If By Murder, where, in a series of innovative animations, he answers questions posted by the public. If by chance you lean towards the surreal and have three minutes to spare, it won't kill you to check out one of his films, or send him a question.

Fine list

I am overjoyed and (unusually!) lost for words to discover my unpublished novel Some Things the English is a finalist in the Dundee International Book Prize, which is to say I am in the top two - many thanks to the judges, "Radio 4 presenter Kirsty Lang, creative writer Neil Gaiman, publisher Scott Pack, literary agent Felicity Blunt and writer, critic, reviewer and programmer Stuart Kelly" and Director Anna Day! 

The opening chapter to my novel and the others shortlisted - a fine list - can be downloaded and read for free on Kindle from Amazon.

Dundee international book prize

I made the shortlist of the Dundee International Book Prize with my novel Some Things the English. I am beyond stoked.

Congratulations to my fellow shortlistees:

Sheena Lambert, Amy Mason, Veronica Birch, Rosaliene Bacchus, Jasper Dorgan, Suzy Norman, Robin Martin, Lora Hughes, and Ben East.
 
The judges for this year's prize are Kirsty Lang, Neil Gaiman, Scott Pack, Felicity Blunt and Stuart Kelly. They've now got the task of whittling the shortlist down to the final three.

Many thanks to Literary Dundee director, Anna Day. 

Best of luck to us all!