It’s been a phenomenal few weeks (months, truly) and there are some exciting things on the horizon!

I hosted yesterday’s ‘Neighbourhood’ on Eden Terrace and it was awesome because I was able to feature quite a few family members and great spots around my hood that have become family-ish and give me the warm fuzzies whenever I think of them. You can check it out on demand here Eden Terrace in the house!

The Auckland Writers Festival 2015 kicks off this week and I have to say that I was really blown away by this year’s programme that features Haruki Murakami and Carol Ann Duffy and many more. As part of the festival this Sunday May 17 I’m excited to be discussing Janet Frame’s first novel ‘Owls Do Cry’ in a panel led by Kate De Goldi alongside Anne Kennedy and Damian Barr, you can find out more about the event here This opportunity is pretty special to me because I’ve always adored Frame, especially her posthumous collection The Goose Bath that unwittingly entered my life at a time when I was similarly found and unfound in a collection of loose leaf poems.

As some of you would know, I was a very grateful recipient of a Creative New Zealand Arts Grant last year in November for my project ‘Tail of the Taniwha’ – a new book of short stories. Writing this manuscript since December 2014 has felt a bit like trying to tame an actual taniwha while now and then gleaning indescribable beauty and finding out new things about myself and my process. I’m very excited that two works out of ‘Tail of the Taniwha’ that were written earlier this year, were recently selected for publication within an upcoming volume on pacific culture in collaboration between both La Trobe University and Melbourne University. I have to credit a formidable team of supportive and excellent individuals who have constantly encouraged me to push myself out of myself – beyond my ribs and ideals and comforts – out into startling unknown.

There are other really cool things coming up, including more poetry workshops for some fantastic organisations working with youth and domestic violence survivors, I’m grateful for the chance to connect with so many strong people across Auckland. I will be holding public readings for ‘Tail of the Taniwha’ in the coming months, I’ll be sure to post up times, dates and locations on here so I hope to see some of you soon!

❤