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NZSA TOP OF THE SOUTH NEWS

17 July 2015

Send Top of the South news to Chrissie Ward at or phone 03-546-9818. Let me know about meetings, coming events, book launches, new publications, literary successes, etc. Don’t forget to tell me if you change your email address. Past newsletters are archived for a month on our website www.topwriters.co.nz

LAUNCH OF HORIZONS 2 ANTHOLOGY

We are delighted to announce the forthcoming publication of

Horizons 2 – winning stories from Page & Blackmore national short story competitions & poems selected for The Nelson Provincial Museum window.

The anthology will be launched on Thursday 20 August at The Nelson Provincial Museum, 6 – 7.30 pm. Seifrieds are generously donating wine, and the catering will be by Annika Ohlson-Smith. We would love to see you at this event; please RSVP so we know how many to cater for.

AND you can buy the anthology at the discounted price of $15 up to the date of the launch, after which it will sell for $20.

The form giving details of the launch, how to RSVP, and how to order copies of the anthology at the discounted price appears at the end of this newsletter, and is also attached separately.

Published by NZSA Top of the South branch, Horizons 2 features the winning and short-listed stories from the 2014 and 2015 Page & Blackmore Short Story Competitions, as well as the poems that have appeared in the window of The Nelson Provincial Museum in 2013 and 2014.

Maurice Gee, the branch’s most illustrious member, says of the anthology:

This is a wide-ranging collection of stories and poems. Some vividly evoke the local scene and the people who live here. Others go out into the world, sometimes into strange places, or dark places in the mind. There’s even one highly entertaining historical spoof.

Big subjects are tackled. We have politics and, here and there, philosophical musings, but sad or happy domestic tales and quiet landscape poems also have a place. It’s an enjoyable collection by writers who know what they want to say and how to say it.

BOOK LAUNCH IN NELSON TONIGHT

The Turning, part two of Belinda Mellor’s epic two-part fantasy novel Silvana is just published, and you are invited to join her in celebration!

Part one, Silvana: The Greening appeared in 2013. Silvana: The Turning will be launched with live music, a reading, drinks and nibbles on Friday 17 July, 6.30 pm at The Copy Press, 141 Pascoe Street, Annesbrook (just around the corner from WOW, next to Lighting Direct). Feel free to bring friends and family.

NELSON LIVE POETS

The next meeting of Nelson Live Poets on Monday 20 July features well-known local poet Carol Don Ercolano. The evening begins at 6.45 pm with music from Hone Simpson, and the first open mic session happens from 7 pm. After a break, guest poet Carol Don Ercolano features at 7.45 pm. The second open session runs from 8.15pm.

The venue as usual is The Free House, Collingwood Street, Nelson. Open mic performers can register on the night. Koha entry. For more information contact Mark Raffills at or

027 2154 969.

TUESDAY TOPICS AT PAGE & BLACKMORE

Page & Blackmore Booksellers announce their new winter series of interesting talks about life in different places. The talks take place in the bookshop at 254 Trafalgar Street, Nelson, starting at 5 pm. All welcome!

Tuesday 21 July: The Puzzle of the Middle East. Firooz Zadeh, author of the award-winning book The Power and the Peril of Oil, will be talking about Iran’s nuclear facilities, divisions in Islam, the turmoil and the power struggle between the West and Islamic State (IS) for control of the region and its oil. What is IS, how and when was it created, how is it funded, and what are its ultimate plans? Read more about Firooz here: http://www.topwriters.co.nz/firooz-e-zadeh.html

Tuesday 28 July: North Korea. In 1984 Robin Robiliard was the second western journalist to get into North Korea since the Korean Peninsula was divided in 1953. Her aim was to study ‘ordinary people’ in diverse countries, to learn how politics, religion, culture and economy affected their lives. Robin is now a best-selling author with her memoir, Hard Country: A Golden Bay Life.

WRITE FOR FREELANCE

Freelance is a quarterly publication that has recently changed format under its new Editor-in-Chief, Jenny Argante. There are opportunities for writers to contribute, with deadlines approaching:

Magazine: invites articles related to the craft of writing and the business of being a writer, from beginner to best-seller. Word count is 450-950 words, and articles should be submitted by email to but contact the editor before sending anything unsolicited. Payment is $30 plus a free copy. The deadline for the September publication is 25 July.

Anthologies: submissions are open for an anthology to be published by The Little Red Hen Community Press. Home Affront: Women’s Experience of Domestic Invasion, will be published in October, with a deadline for submissions 31 July. Note there is no monetary payment for the anthology. For further details and a writer’s advice sheet, please contact editor Jenny Argante at or send an SSAE to Freelance Anthology Series, Unit 76A Vale Street, Otumoetai, Tauranga 3110.

For more information about Freelance, see www.writershelpingwriters.nz

THE SUNDAY STAR-TIMES SHORT STORY AWARDS 2015

Entries close soon for the 2015 Sunday Star-Times Short Story Awards. This is one of New Zealand’s most prestigious writing awards and is sponsored by Penguin Random House and Kobo.

There are three categories: Open Division (3000 word limit), Secondary School Division (3000 word limit), and Non-Fiction Essay themed ‘In the Neighbourhood’ (1000-1200 words). All categories have substantial cash plus additional prize packages. There is a limit of two entries per category that an individual may submit. Each entry must be submitted individually and must be accompanied by a completed entry form which can be downloaded from www.sundaystartimes.co.nz/short-story Entries close on Friday 31 July.

MARLBOROUGH BOOK FESTIVAL

Tickets are on sale for the second Marlborough Book Festival, which takes place Friday 24 – Sunday 26 July. Nine of New Zealand’s contemporary writers, and one documentary maker, will be interviewed by Marlborough personalities at beautiful venues in and around Blenheim. The writers coming are: Joy Cowley, Patricia Grace, Liam McIlvanney, Fiona Farrell, Nicky Pellegrino, Joe Bennett, Nicky Hager, Mike White and Judith Hunt, plus Judith Curran, producer of the documentary series Our Big Blue Backyard.

Some events have already sold out, including those with Patricia Grace and Joy Cowley. Others are going fast, so don’t delay! For the full programme and to buy tickets, see www.marlboroughbookfest.co.nz

WRITERS’ AND PUBLISHERS’ FORUM IN PICTON

The second Writers’ and Publishers’ Forum will be held at Picton Little Theatre, Dublin Street, from 14 – 16 August.

The object of the forum is to enable writers to share their work with other writers and the public while expanding their skills by learning from each other and discovering what specialist publishing services are available.

Briefly, the programme is:

Friday 14 August, 7 – 9 pm: Registration and a chance for writers to display their books on the sales table and meet other writers.

Saturday 15 August, 9 am – 5 pm: Writers will be allocated a time to present their work to the audience, and will have the opportunity to sell and sign copies of their work and talk to publishers.

Sunday 16 August, 9.30 am – 12.30 pm: Guest speakers will provide a panel discussion on the production of books and the changes that are taking place in the industry.

A $10 registration fee is required from participants. Numbers are limited to the first twenty, and registrations close on Friday 24 July. Entry is free for the general public and partners of participants. For full programme and registration form, contact Peter or Irene Thomas, 027 249 3146 or 03-972 0638, or download it from the branch

website at http://www.topwriters.co.nz/coming-events.html

POETRY IN THE NELSON MUSEUM WINDOW

Each month a poem is displayed in the Trafalgar Street window of Nelson Provincial Museum. The poem for July is Simple Pleasures by Jan Trafford, and the war poem being displayed upstairs is Marching Home by Roger Lusby.

Carol Ercolano is always looking for poems suitable for the window. Theme: preferably reflecting the Top of the South, although it is more important to display poems that people passing by and stopping to read can readily identify with. The museum is also involved inthe selection process.

Length: preferably not more than 30 lines, asthe lettering can become too small to be read comfortably from the footpath. However, an extract from a longer poem could be displayed as lines from .... If you would like a poem of yours considered for the window, send a selection of up to three as attachments to Carol Ercolano at

Horizons 2 – Winning Stories from Page & Blackmore National Short Story Competitions

& Poems Selected for The Nelson Provincial Museum Window

We are delighted to tell you that the NZSA Top of the South Branch anthology Horizons 2 will be launched on Thursday 20 August and we extend a warm invitation to you to attend the event.

Launch function to celebrate the publication of Horizons 2

Date: Thursday 20 August 2015

Venue: The Nelson Provincial Museum, corner Trafalgar & Hardy Streets, Nelson

Time: 6 pm to 7.30 pm, with drinks and finger food

If you are coming, please RSVP to Ann Neale by 13 August at or 03-546 5689 (so we know how many to cater for)

You have the opportunity to buy copies of the anthology at a pre-launch price of $15.00 each. These can be ordered in advance and either collected at the launch or posted to you afterwards. This offer runs until the evening of the launch, after which the price is $20.00.

To take advantage of this offer, please complete the Order Form below and return it

either by email to Ann Neale at

or by post to NZSA Top of the South, 106A Nile Street, Nelson 7010

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ORDER FORM

I wish to order copies of Horizons 2 at the pre-launch price of $15 cost: $

plus post & packing if applicable (see below) P&P: $

Total: $

I will attend the launch and collect my copy/copies there

Payment can be made at the launch by cash or cheque (the Branch has no EFTPOS or credit card facilities), or in advance – see options below

I will not be attending the launch; please post my copy/copies to me

Name & address ......

......

If purchasing one copy, add $2.50 P&P

If purchasing two or more copies, add $5.00 P&P

I am paying by internet banking to Top of the South account 031355 0632693 00,

with my last name and ‘Horizons’ as references

OR my cheque for $ made payable to NZ Society of Authors Top of the South is enclosed