We've cancelled the Dunedin book and podcast launch for my short story collection Pet due to Covid-19 alert level uncertainty - but never fear, Newsroom has come to the rescue with an online launch, and there will even be goodie bags!
Yes, I have figured out how to have wine and chocolate at an online event! The link to the online festivities will be shared on the night. Hope to 'see' you there! Join the Facebook event for updates. A huge thank you to everyone who has pledged to children's book Bruce Goes Outside on the Kickstarter page, and to everyone who has shared the link - as of today, we are 50% funded! That means we're one paw step closer to turning Bruce Goes Outside into a real book. Pre-order your copy on the Kickstarter page. Below - check out some of the illustrations from the story. I'm so lucky to have been able to work with director Charlotte Wanhill and her amazing team to bring our myth-busting web series about miscarriage, Misconceptions, to the small screen. A new episode will be added to nzherald.co.nz each weekday until July 3.
Find the Misconceptions web series here.
I think I must be the luckiest writer in the world because I have not one but TWO books available for pre-order now!
Music by bensound.com.
The next Bruce the Cat book, 'Bruce Goes Outside', coming soon!
It's been an eerie start to the year here in Ōtepoti, Aotearoa. The day dawned ... except, it didn't. The air was thick and yellow-hued. The birds were silent. 'It almost looks like an Australian bushfire sky,' I thought. 'But those fires are over 2000km away in a different country. It can't be that.' But it was. It is. And it's been a very unsettling way to ring in the new decade - a visceral reminder of how precious our world is, and how connected we all are ... and how badly we are failing our own habitat and the other animals we share it with. I've seen a lot of people sending thoughts and prayers via social media, but I don't think thoughts and prayers will do a lot. What we can send - those of us with $5, or $50, or whatever to spare - is cash. And if you don't have any spare cash at this rather financially draining time of year, I have some other ideas further down.
Help fund fire services (seems crazy, you would think the Australian Government would be onto this)
Help the people displaced by fires What else can we do? Climate change has made these bushfires more catastrophic than they were in the past. It is up to all of us to do our best to reduce our impact on the environment.
As I finished this post I had to run outside to break up a cat fight. I couldn't see a single star in the sky. Photo: Christian Reusch, Flickr, 2013. I live in historic Port Chalmers, Otago, and my neighbour Andy Thompson happens to be a very talented photographer. We teamed up to create a photo essay about three historic Port Chalmers pubs that are still thriving today: The Portsider, Mackie's Hotel and Carey's Bay Hotel. After spending a lot of time interviewing the publicans and sifting through Papers Past, we are thrilled that our story, Local Legends, has been published in local magazine Down in Edin today.
Read the Local Legends story here See more of Andy's beautiful images here It's likely that the Holidays (Bereavement Leave for Miscarriage) Amendment Bill will have its first reading next week.
The current wording of the Holidays Act makes it ambiguous as to whether bereavement leave can be taken in the event of pregnancy loss. The Bill, which is being championed by Labour MP Ginny Andersen, would make it clear that the unplanned end of a pregnancy by miscarriage or still-birth constitutes grounds for bereavement leave for the pregnant person and their partner or spouse, and that the duration of the bereavement leave should be up to three days. The Bill came about as a result of a letter I wrote to Clare Curran about the ambiguity in the Act. If this change goes through (after the first reading it needs to get through two more readings and two committees before being put forward for Royal Assent) it will be a small change for employers, but a huge improvement for people bereaved by miscarriage. Miscarriage is still a taboo subject and this is reflected in how we talk about it (it is barely mentioned in pregnancy books) and in the standard of care that people who experience miscarriage receive (most do not receive the support of a midwife). I hope that this change will help people bereaved by miscarriage feel supported by society at what can be a very lonely and isolating time. I also hope that by talking more openly about miscarriage we can help remove some of the stigma from what is unfortunately a very common experience. If you would like to show your support for the Bill, please add your name to the Change.org petition. More information
If you or someone you love is going through miscarriage, you can find helpful resources on the Miscarriage Support website. Photo: Needpix.com. |
AuthorKathryn van Beek has a doctorate on the topic of 'writing for positive change', and an MA from Victoria University Wellington Te Herenga Waka’s International Institute of Modern Letters. She is a winner of the Mindfood Short Story Competition and the Headland Prize, and she was the 2023 Robert Burns Fellow and Winston Churchill McNeish Fellow. Her collection of short stories, Pet, is available as a podcast, and her work has also appeared in Overland, takahē, Newsroom, and the Sunday Star-Times. She lives in UNESCO City of Literature Ōtepoti Dunedin. Archives
January 2024
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