Review

It's almost a year since I worked on the illustrations for First fox, the debut fiction collection by Auckland writer Leanne Radojkovich, so it was a smashing surprise today to see Iona Winter has reviewed it in Landfall: 

"Radojkovich shows us things that are not often spoken of aloud, and I admire the way she illuminates the social, cultural and political in First Fox [...]"

"Stunning black and white illustrations by Rachel J. Fenton support the writing and lend another dimension to the tales."

It's a grand review, not least because it's so unusual for a reviewer to read* the illos with the text - but the benefits of doing so are clear from Iona's review. Many thanks to her, and to Landfall.

Promotion

 

Cooked Up is the brainchild of writer and editor Elaine Chiew who managed to get Ben Okri to contribute fiction alongside Nikesh Shukla and yours truly. I'm still getting my head around that.

 

Overland were brill enough to publish my poem from their Transtasman issue on their website, but don't let that stop you from subscribing to this radical journal. 

 

I'm incredibly proud to have been invited to work on Sexual Textual Tennis, a graphic interpretation of an essay by Carolyn Gage, a playwright I admire immensely.  

This book is a wonderful fundraiser for Médecins Sans Frontières, edited by Mandy Pannett.

I have historical fiction in The Stinging Fly, "The Lawrence Tree".

Contains comics from NZ creators plus my graphic poetry and a very abridged version of my essay on comics and colonialism that first appeared in Three Words.

 In From 2014 - 2016 I worked on two books that I was lucky enough to represent at the Taipei International Book Exhibition in 2016, Island to Island and Three Words.

Three Words contains comics by New Zealand's most relevant creators, plus essays, including my essay on comics and colonialism, published and available to buy via Beatnik.

Island to Island is available to buy through Unity Books and Wheelers.

 

I have a comic about the UK 1984/5 Miners' Strike in the Money Issue of Poetry Bus Magazine, plus poetry in PB5.

 http://thepoetrybusmag.wixsite.com/change

 

I subscribed to The Rialto for years and had such a fan moment when they published my poetry.

 

One of the publications I'm most proud to have a part in, Remembering Oluwale.

 

A dream come true moment to have poetry alongside that of Carol Ann Duffy.

 

Another dream came true when I illustrated First fox by Leanne Radojkovich for The Emma Press.

I have fiction in issue One and issue Seven.

 

New Zealand's oldest literary journal now contains my most recent poetry from a sequence about Charlotte Bronte and her friend Mary Taylor, whose biography CNZ are supporting me to write with an Arts Grant. Other poetry from this sequence is forthcoming from English: Journal of the English Association | Oxford Academic.

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Interview

I've been a massive fan of Nuala O' Connor's writing since I started blogging, back in 2009, so it's something of a dream-come-true to have been invited to her blog Women Rule Writer for this interview with Leanne Radojkovich about writing and illustrating First fox (The Emma Press).

First fox

First fox is launched! And what a launch.

Early arrivals to Mojo's Bledisloe were greeted with warmth from the staff and a glass of bubbles!  

Unity Books ordered in seventy copies for the launch.

Big thanks due to Anita Arlov - she was a superb emcee, bringing her characteristic generosity of spirit to the introduction of First fox.

Big thanks, too, to Lawrence Brock for setting up and running the sound system and much of the behind-the-scenes work that made the launch run beautifully.

 Leanne gave a moving reading of her title story, "First fox".

 

 And cracked everyone up with her comic timing at the end. She finished with a story called Hummingbird, that isn't in the book -- I am already looking forward to the launch of the book it makes it into!

 

Yours truly read "The Very Old Mother".

 

Then Frankie McMillan read from her collection My Mother and the Hungarians, also part of the Auckland Writers Festival, with some laugh-out-loud moments.

 

 Heaps of laughs and applause all round meant it was time for book signing!

More behind-the-scenes thanks due to Jane Brock.

 

 Chatter, nibbles and drinks followed and more books were sold.

 

New friends were made.

More books were sold.

 

 Leanne signed and signed and signed.

 Everyone was talking about First fox.

It was particularly wonderful to see a New Zealand writer get the long overdue praise and attention she deserves! 

 

 Every launch copy of First fox sold!

Leanne Radojkovich is a writer to watch! And if you're in Auckland, you can do just that on Sunday May 21, in the Limelight Room of the Aotea Centre at 12 noon, as part of Auckland Writers Festival.


I'm so very grateful to have been given the opportunity to be a part of First fox. This book was made beautifully by The Emma Press, with design and production values to die for that set it apart as an artisan press. The Emma Press is a truly exciting small press run by Emma Wright, a remarkable woman with an amazing vision for what a publisher can be. Having previously published only poetry pamphlets, she took a leap into the unknown with Leanne's fiction collection, but I'm sure you'll agree, it's paid off.

First offer

I'm chuffed to bits that while I was in England I got to meet Emma Wright, the one-of-her-kind inspirational woman behind the innovative and imaginative The Emma Press.

Here we are holding First fox, the debut fiction collection by New Zealand writer Leanne Radojkovich that I was lucky enough to illustrate.

First fox is available to buy direct from The Emma Press and online.

First fox

I had the privilege to illustrate First Fox, the stunning debut by leading NZ short story writer Leanne Radojkovich, published by The Emma Press.

I'm very much looking forward to the launch at Auckland Writer's Festival, on Tuesday 16 May, 5 - 6.30pm, Mojo Bledisloe, Wellesley Street West. I hope you are too!