Thank you to everyone who got in touch - about 150 people! Applications are now closed - I hope to get back to everyone within the next week or two. 

​I’m looking for actors / voice artists! My first collection of short stories, Pet, is being released this August – and I’m thrilled to have received Creative New Zealand funding to turn the stories into a podcast series.
 
About the book
Pet is a dark and humorous short story collection that explores our relationships with children, lovers, and other animals.
 
“Hectic, chatty, very modern New Zealand, very, very readable.”
—Steve Braunias
 
About the podcast 
The podcast will be made with Otago Access Radio in Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature. It will be available free via OAR FM and the usual podcast platforms.
 
Seeking actors / voice artists
I am looking for actors to read the stories for the podcast series. Payment is $25 per page, and the stories range from one to several pages long.
 
The podcast will be recorded at OAR FM, where social distancing and hygiene measures will be in place. The recordings will be undertaken in business hours during June and July.
 
In some cases it may be possible for actors to record themselves in home studios – however we would prefer to do the recordings in the OAR studio to ensure consistent quality.
 
There are 17 stories, I would love to have a wide range of different voices featured across the series – so if this opportunity tickles your fancy, please get in touch.
 
Expressions of interest
Expressions of interest can be sent to me at info@kathrynvanbeek.co.nz. Please send me your name, contact details, and if possible, links to your past work. Please let me know if you are able to record in the OAR FM studio or if you would like to be considered for an off-site recording, and if so, what recording gear you have access to.
 
Not all of the stories are dark, but some of them do cover animal abuse and sexual violence. Please let me know if you are comfortable with reading darker stories or if you would prefer a lighter one. I will try to match each actor with the story that works best for them. 

Photo by Sunyu Kim on Unsplash

I think I might be the luckiest writer in the world - I have not one but TWO books coming out this August! 

Pet
Pet is a dark and humorous short story collection that explores our relationships with children, lovers, and other animals. In these 18 stories we meet a girl in a standoff with the neighbourhood goose killer, a druggy who turns possums into pop culture icons, and an emotional support animal gone wild.
Visit Goodreads to learn more. 

Bruce Goes Outside
Kate’s tiny kitten wants to go outside. He struggles with the cat flap, annoys a bird . . . and ends up on the wrong side of the fence. What will Kate do? Bruce Goes Outside follows on from Bruce Finds A Home, which is based on the true story of Bruce the Cat. 
Visit Goodreads to learn more. 

I wrote and illustrated both of these books, which have both been labours of love. Bruce Goes Outside took me about two years to finish ... and Pet took a few more years than that! I hope you enjoy them. 

Pre-orders will be available soon ... watch this space! 

After waking up to an orange sky on January 1, I didn't think 2020 could get much more dystopian - but I wasn't counting on a global pandemic.

Life is pretty good in my 'bubble', but it's also filled with contradictions. I'm flat tack with my paid work, and bitterly envious of everyone who seems to have time to bake bread and learn new crafts ... but I'm also so grateful to have a job. I'm following 'the rules' to protect my health ... but in my efforts to stay two metres away from an oncoming pedestrian, I slipped on some slime and smashed both my elbows (I had just had surgery on one of them). I'm experiencing the little griefs that come with being on lockdown ... but I'm so lucky to live in a country where most of us won't lose people we love.

Being in the midst of a shared, global experience, trying to simultaneously acknowledge my personal disappointments and my privileges ... it's discombobulating, to say the least. It also feels hard to help. I cared for a self-isolating family member for two weeks, I've taken a couple of older neighbours under my wing, and I've made a donation to a local food bank ... but it doesn't feel like there's much I can do to be of practical use.  

My Bruce Goes Outside picture book (which I've worked on, on and off, for about two years), and Pet, my collection of short stories (which I've worked on, on and off, for many more years than that) will still be published this year ... but quite when, or quite how I will celebrate their releases, I'm not yet sure. I hope that in-person friends and snacks will be involved. 

I decided to illustrate each of the stories in Pet with a little black and white thumbnail image, and working on these in the evenings has been a welcome break from the computer screen. Above are two of my favourites so far - a kitten and a couple of possums. The stories are relatively dark, so I'm trying to make the pictures as cute as possible as a counterbalance. 

I have also applied for funding to turn Pet into a podcast series. If my application is successful, perhaps that will be a little way in which I can support others - even if it's only by giving them the ability to take a mental break from COVID-19 for a little while. (I know I am appreciating podcasts for that reason at the moment!) 

He waka eke noa. I hope you're all doing okay. 

Pre-orders will be available soon!

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)

• NSW Rural Fire Service
• Country Fire Authority 

Help the people displaced by fires

• Red Cross Australia 
• The Salvation Army 
• St Vincent de Paul 

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. 

• Vote responsibly. Voting in your own personal interests is a dick move, and it isn't actually in your interests anyway. Voting to help secure the health of the environment, people and animals around you is where it's at. 
• Reduce our own carbon footprints. We can't all do all of these things, but we can pick some: Eat less meat and dairy, drive less, buy second hand / quality (say no to 'fast fashion'), plant a vege garden, give up appliances you don't need (how many people really need a clothes dryer?), use video technology instead of taking flights for business purposes. Find some other tips on Stuff, The Huffington Post and The New York Times. 
• Reduce our impact on the earth in other ways. Remember the Five Rs (refuse, reduce, reuse, rot, recycle), be a more efficient power user, buy less stuff, compost your food waste, buy from companies with values that match your own, and work for companies with values that match your own (and if they don't, why not see if you can change them?). Get your workplace or school involved in initiatives such as Veganuary or Plastic Free July 
• Advocate for change. Voting is important, but we can take smaller actions too. Write to your favourite companies and ask them to make changes to their packaging / ingredients / labour practices. Sign those petitions that are always going around. Talk to your local MP about your specific concerns and how you can work together to make positive change. Talk to your local council about what they can put in place to help residents make better decisions (eg more public rubbish bins, more public drinking fountains, better curbside recycling options, etc)

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.

As a valued stakeholder of 'Kathryn van Beek: writer', please find your copy of my 2019 Annual Report below. The report is structured as follows: submissions, disappointments, successes, a tribute and a summary. 

Submissions
My goal was to make 100 submissions to journals, competitions, funding bodies etc, and I came close this year with approximately 81 submissions made. 
These 81 submissions yielded 9 successes and 38 declines. Twenty-three submissions still await their fates, and I withdrew 11 submissions after the stories were accepted elsewhere.  

Disappointments
Of those 38 declines, I would say that 35 were 'oh well' moments, while the other three led to full-blown  'what is the point in going on I should just impale myself upon my pen' crises. 
I am also disappointed in myself for not finishing the illustrations for the second Bruce the Cat book (working on them now!). 

Successes

• I won the Mindfood Short Story Prize and was Highly Commended for the Sargeson Prize
• I received a 'Complete Manuscript Assessment' from the New Zealand Society of Authors and finished the manuscript for Pet, my collection of short stories
• I completed Local Legends, a series about Port Chalmers pubs 
• I had stories published by Mindfood Magazine, takahē Magazine and The Valley Review (Massachusetts), and others have been accepted by Newsroom, Geometry and Cease Cows (USA) - look out for these in 2020
• I was asked by the Otago Daily Times to contribute to the Best Book in the World series (I picked Charlotte's Web)
• My story The Hoarder was included in Fresh Ink, and we had a wonderful book launch at the University Bookshop
• I was invited to participate in Little Landers Literature with the wonderful Robyn Belton again this year. Thanks Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature! 
• I participated in a number of events including Iona Winter's fabulous Te Hau Kāika, and the Wild Imaginings Children's Writers and Illustrators Hui (with Fifi Colston!)
• The Holidays Act Amendment Bill that I have worked on with MP Ginny Andersen had its first reading in Parliament. You can watch it being read here, and check out a One News story here
• In a success / fail mix I was shortlisted for the Surrey Hotel Steve Braunias Memorial Writers Residency (success!), but didn't secure it (fail!). However, I was described by Steve Braunias as "real funny and super talented" (success!) ... and I am just realising now several months too late that I should have made that description my Twitter bio (fail!). 

And of course I'm still managing social media for my cat, Bruce. He has over 46K Facebook followers now, the handsome devil. 

A tribute to David 
Writing the 'Best Book in the World' piece was one of the highlights of my year, and a real testament to the wonderful man behind the series - talented journalist and really nice bloke David Loughrey. Unfortunately David passed away recently. I don't know what to say except David, in the short time that I knew you, you really enriched my world. Thank you.   

Summary ... and hopes for 2020
Though I didn't get the exact feather in my cap that I really wanted this year, I did pick up a bunch of other very nice feathers. 

In 2020 I hope to publish both Pet and Bruce Goes Outside (my second children's book), and get a little further along on my doctorate of professional practice. 

A huge thank you to everyone who has supported me this year. I love Aotearoa's literary scene - everyone I've met has been so generous and kind. Wishing all of you a happy and successful 2020. 

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

• Track the progress of the Bill. 
• Read the Guardian article about the Bill. 
• Read my Spinoff article about the Bill. 
• Read my Spinoff article about miscarriage care. 

If you or someone you love is going through miscarriage, you can find helpful resources on the Miscarriage Support website. 

Photo: Needpix.com.