I've just returned from a whirlwind trip to Hamilton! My short story The Nor'Wester was highly commended for the 2019 Sargeson Prize. I thought going up for the prize-giving might be a bit over-the-top ... until my husband pointed out that I could consider myself in the 2019 'All Blacks of short story writing' squad. Well, that justified a trip to The Tron!

I also thought it would be a great opportunity to meet other writers - and it was. I had a wonderful time meeting writers from both the open and the secondary schools divisions. I also got to meet literary genius Catherine Chidgey who was so lovely and kind to us all. 

The prize-giving was held after the Frank Sargeson Memorial Lecture. Dylan Horrocks gave an amusing and inspirational lecture about the history of comics in Aotearoa, and treated us to a slide-show packed with glorious images. 

A huge thank you to Catherine Chidgey, the University of Waikato and everyone who administered the competition (and read the 800 entries!). And of course massive congratulations to the winners - I'm looking forward to reading your stories in the upcoming editions of Landfall and Mayhem. Also, a shout-out to the University of Waikato librarians who helped us out with some emergency life admin. Librarians rock! 

Fresh Ink 2019 launched in Ōtepoti Dunedin at the wonderful University Book Shop earlier this evening. 

Dunedin-based contributors Madeleine Child, Febriani Idrus, Henrica Schieving and I read our brand new stories, hot off the press! I read my story The Hoarder, which is about a woman who has more cats than I do. 

Thank you to the University Book Shop, to the Cloud Ink team (in particular, Thalia Henry), the other writers and of course all the attendees for a wonderful night. 

In the lead-up to the event, Henrica and I were interviewed by the wonderful Jeff Harford on Otago Access Radio. 
You can listen to the interview here. 

To help ensure the voice of kārearea (featured on the cover) continues to be heard by future generations, $1.00 from the sale of each book will contribute to falcon conservation.