News Archive

MEDIA RELEASE

5 July 2012

Children’s picture book Two Little Bugs won the Gerard Reid Award for Best Book, sponsored by Nielsen Book Services at the PANZ Book Design Awards yesterday evening.

Described by convening judge Jenny Nicholls as “a triumph – a work of wonderful charm and considerable skill”, Two Little Bugs was the small surprise out of this year’s large selection of books. Two Little Bugs was designed by Rowan Sommerset, of husband-and-wife publishing team Dreamboat Books. Rowan’s design and Mark’s text complement each other to produce books that entertain both children and parents alike.

Two Little Bugs also received the Scholastic New Zealand Award for Best Children’s Book.

This is the second consecutive year that a children’s book has won Best Book at the Publishers Association of New Zealand’s annual ceremony to celebrate excellence in New Zealand book design. Last year’s winner was Hill and Hole, designed by Vasanti Unka.

Fleur: The Life and Times of Restaurateur Fleur Sullivan won both the Mary Egan Award for Best Typography and the Random House New Zealand Award for Best Illustrated Book. The book was designed by Alan Deare of AREA Design, whose work was described by the judges as “consummate typography and design – each page layout, the cover and even the spine show the designer’s attention”, creating a book to “suit the warm, unpretentious character of Fleur herself”.

The judges commended Awa Press Young Designer of the Year candidate Saskia Nicol for her brilliant design of Tupaia, which won the HarperCollins Award for Best Cover.

Fellow Young Designer candidate Anna Egan-Reid was also praised for her innovative and intelligent design for Janet Frame: In Her Own Words, which won the Hachette New Zealand Award for Best Non-illustrated Book.

The Pearson Award for Best Educational Book was won by He Kōrero – Words Between Us: First Māori–Pākehā Conversations on Paper, designed by Sam Bunny.

The PANZ Book Design Awards acknowledge excellence in the categories of typography, cover design, illustrated, non-illustrated, educational, and children’s books, with an overall award for Best Book. The awards are administered by the Publishers Association of New Zealand. The annual competition is the only event in New Zealand that highlights the innovation and integrity of New Zealand book design.

Judges

Jenny Nichollsis Art Director for the national current affairs monthly North & South. Alongside her on the judging panel were Roger Parsons, former bookseller and owner of Parsons Bookshop in Auckland, and Gideon Keith, the Creative Partner at Strategy Design & Advertising who has worked as a graphic designer and creative director for over twenty-five years.

Also announced yesterday evening was the Awa Press Young Designer of the Year, awarded to Random House designer Megan van Staden. See accompanying press release for more details.

ENDS

PANZ Book Design Awards 2012 Winners

Three German and three New Zealand poets came together on June 6 at Tolaga Bay to witness the Transit of Venus astronomical phenomenon. They will talk about the inspiration from their transit experiences at public presentations in Wellington this week.

The visiting German poets are Uwe Kolbe, Brigitte Oleschinski and Ulrike Almut Sandig, who worked alongside New Zealand poets Hinemoana Baker, Glenn Colquhoun and Chris Price in Tolaga Bay.

New Zealand host and International Institute of Modern Letters chair Professor Bill Manhire says the poets’ visit offers a unique opportunity for an international exchange of language and culture.

“Poets have always gazed up at the stars, and it will be fascinating to watch how these creative minds spark off each other and to see how an event like the Transit of Venus inspires their work.”

Public events with the poets are:

13 June 2012, 6pm: “Passages – Readings around the Transit” at the Adam Art Gallery Wellington. German and New Zealand poets respond to the Transit of Venus 2012 celebrations at Tolaga Bay, exploring the process of writing about this extraordinary astronomical phenomenon.

14 June 2012, 5pm: “Berlin Poetry Night” at the New Zealand Film Archive in Wellington. Listen to the poets from Berlin and to Aurelie Maurin from the Berlin Literaturwerkstatt introducing the ZEBRA poetry film award and the online poetry project. Both events are free.

In October the New Zealand poets complete the exchange by travelling to Berlin to meet up with their German counterparts and to reinterpret each other’s work with the help of translators in a unique cultural exchange.

The poets will then travel to Frankfurt to take part in a programme showcasing New Zealand’s literary and artistic endeavours as part of the Frankfurt Book Fair, where New Zealand is this year’s Guest of Honour.

The exchange is being organised by the Ministry for Culture & Heritage, the Goethe-Institut New Zealand with funding support from the German Foreign Office, the Berlin Literaturwerkstatt and Victoria University’s International Institute of Modern Letters.

German poet biographies

The poet and writer Uwe Kolbe was born in East Berlin in 1957. In 1985 Kolbe travelled in Western Europe and was a visiting lecturer at universities in Austin, Texas and Vienna. Between 1997 and 2002 he was head of the studio of literature and theatre at the University of Tübingen. He lives in Berlin and is one of Germany’s most well-known contemporary authors.

Brigitte Oleschinski studied Political Science in Berlin and worked as a contemporary historian on issues concerning political repression in totalitarian systems. She has worked as a guest lecturer and translator, participated in poetry performances and received major awards. Oleschinski published a poetry collection in 2004. She currently lives in Berlin, working as a freelance writer.

Ulrike Almut Sandig grew up near Dresden. After beginning a degree in journalism, she graduated with a master’s degree in Religious Studies and modern Indian Studies and made extended study trips to India. Author of two poetry collections, radio plays and a collection of stories, she was recently awarded a scholarship to spend time at the Literarisches Colloquium in Berlin.

(Above image: three German poets, Brigette at the front, Ulrike behind and Uwe at the back)

June 7

Anne and David Norman, owners of Whitcoulls, Farmers and other stores were named Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the Queen’s Birthday and Diamond Jubilee Honours list last Monday. Their awards were for services to business.

“It is fitting that Anne and David Norman should receive acknowledgement of the work that they have done,” said Kevin Chapman, president of Publishers Association of New Zealand. “They have gone out of their way to return New Zealand retailing icons to New Zealand ownership, and in particular in the case of Whitcoulls, the entire book industry owes them a vote of thanks. With their help, the writers, readers, and indeed publishers of the country are better off.”

Also receiving the CNZM is Owen Marshall Jones of Timaru. The distinguished short story writer, poet and novelist, better known as just Owen Marshall, was given the award for services to literature. His work has received major New Zealand literary awards.

Three authors and a publisher were named Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Geoff Chapple is a writer, scriptwriter and a leading force in developing the Te Araroa Walking Trail through New Zealand and writing a highly regarded book about the experience. His award was for services to tramping, tourism and literature.

Fiona Farrell writes novels, short stories and poetry and was nominated for service to literature. Her most recent work The Broken Book is non-fiction, her reactions to the Christchurch earthquakes, how they can ‘change everything in a flash: the words you were writing, the house you were living in, the thoughts that preoccupied you.’

John Puhiatau Pule received his ONZM for services as an author, poet and painter. He has written three novels, poetry and his art exhibition John Pule: Hauaga has recently finished showing at Auckland Art Gallery.

Bridget Williams, as reported on Wednesday, was awarded an ONZM for services to publishing.

Cookbook, travel and memoir author, the flamboyant television personality Peta Mathias, was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services as an author and television presenter.

Also receiving the MNZM – for services as a chef – was Al Brown. The restaurateur has also fronted popular prime time television shows and has written two acclaimed cookbooks, Go Fish and Stoked.

For more info please contact Jillian Ewartjillian.ewart@xtra.co.nz

ends

As a publisher, Bridget Williams Books has received many awards including the 2010 New Zealand Post Book of the Year for Judith Binney’s Encircled Lands: Te Urewera, 1820-1921.

In the Queen’s Birthday and Diamond Jubilee Honours announced last weekend, Bridget herself became an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to publishing.

Bridget (pictured right; image credit Bruce Foster 2011) told PANZ News, “I felt greatly honoured also by the words in the citation that acknowledged my part in publishing Judith Binney’s Encircled Lands. Tuhoe’s voice here meant a great deal to me, and the book continues to have resonance, as a piece of critical scholarship in Maori history that connects to the present.”

The book is one of many landmark publications in her career which has been dedicated to New Zealand publishing since 1976, producing early key titles such as The Oxford History of New Zealand, The Collected Poems of James K. Baxter and Maurice Gee's first children’s book, Under the Mountain.

With bookseller Roy Parsons and designer Lindsay Missen, she started Port Nicholson Press in 1981, producing a small distinguished list including authors Bill Manhire, W.H. Oliver and Lauris Edmond. In 1985, Bridget produced a New Zealand list under the imprint Allen & Unwin/Port Nicholson Press including the seminal Treaty of Waitangi by Claudia Orange. She later bought back the New Zealand list, and formed Bridget Williams Books.

The BWB imprint joined Auckland University Press in 1995, publishing under a joint imprint. Two books won the Montana Book of the Year Award in successive years – Judith Binney's Redemption Songs and Jessie Munro's The Story of Suzanne Aubert.

Bridget Williams Books emerged as an independent again in 1998. They continue to publish key titles in history and on contemporary issues, and are supported in this by the Bridget Williams Book Publishing Trust formed in 2009.

“I think the award acknowledges most of all the significance of New Zealand publishing. Writing and publishing books about New Zealand has never been easy, but at this time I believe there is a greater risk than ever of losing ‘our voice’” Bridget says. “Globalisation has a neutralising impact, and there are threats as well as opportunities in the digital revolution.

“Many work hard, in the book publishing industry, to make and produce good books about New Zealand.”

PANZ president Kevin Chapman believes the honour is well deserved. “On behalf of the industry I would like to offer congratulations to Bridget. Her publishing is widely admired and this recognition will meet with much approval.”

ends

31 May 2012

A diverse and exciting range of books have today been announced as finalists for the 2012 New Zealand Post Book Awards.

The finalists – selected from 160 entries – include a biography of Captain William Bligh (the target of naval history’s most famous mutiny), explorations of New Zealand native trees, pottery and cloaks, and a detailed re-examination of one of New Zealand’s most shocking murders – the Parker and Hulme case.

The judges unanimously found five finalists in the both general and illustrated non-fiction categories. “The non-fiction categories feature writers who are working at the peak of their craft, finding new, original ways in which to portray New Zealand in print,” said the convenor of the New Zealand Post Book Awards judging panel, Chris Bourke.

However, due to the strength of this year’s entries, the judges found it very difficult to limit themselves to just the three finalists required in the fiction and poetry categories. “Having all the categories restored to five finalists would more accurately represent the quality and breadth of New Zealand’s writing,” said Mr Bourke. “The same diversity is present in the fiction and poetry – and should be reflected in the shortlists.”

The Chair of the Book Awards Governance Group, Sam Elworthy said he appreciated the candour of the judging panel.

“We are committed to ensuring writers are best served with these awards and the reduction in fiction and poetry finalists was made after extensive consultation with the literary community. None-the-less, getting the right format for the country’s premier book awards is all-important. It is a challenge the Governance Group accept,” says Mr Elworthy.

He further commented that the Awards were under review and that exciting changes could be anticipated next year.

The 2012 judging panel comprises multi-award winning poet, writer, critic and journalist David Eggleton, writer, publisher, book designer and typesetter Mary Egan, poet, reviewer, writer and anthologist Paula Green, writer and Maori and Pacific literature specialist Reina Whaitiri (Kai Tahu) together with Mr Bourke, a journalist, producer and writer who won last year’s New Zealand Post Book of the Year prize.

Fiction finalists

Poetry finalists

Illustrated Non-Fiction finalists

A Micronaut in the Wide World: The Imaginative Life and Times of Graham Percy
Gregory O'Brien
Auckland University Press

New Zealand Film – An Illustrated History
Diane Pivac, Frank Stark, and Lawrence McDonald
Te Papa Press

New Zealand's Native Trees
John Dawson and Rob Lucas
Craig Potton Publishing

Playing with Fire: Auckland Studio Potters Society Turns 50
Peter Lange and Stuart Newby
Auckland Studio Potters Society– in conjunction with the National Institute of Creative Arts and Industries Centre for New Zealand Art Research and Discovery (CNZARD)

Whatu Kākahu / Māori Cloaks
Awhina Tamarapa
Te Papa Press

Bligh: William Bligh in the South Seas
Anne Salmond
Penguin Group (NZ)

The Broken Book
Fiona Farrell
Auckland University Press

The Hungry Heart: Journeys with William Colenso
Peter Wells
Vintage, Random House NZ

So Brilliantly Clever: Parker, Hulme and the Murder That Shocked the World
Peter Graham
Awa Press

Tupaia: The Remarkable Story of Captain Cook's Polynesian Navigator
Joan Druett
Random House NZ

For images and further details please visit www.booksellers.co.nz

People’s Choice Award
Voting opens today for the nation’s favourite book. Nominations can be made from this year’s finalist books on-line at www.nzpostbookawards.co.nz. The 2012 finalist book with the most votes will be honoured with the much-coveted People’s Choice Award.

In addition to individual category winners, and a People’s Choice Award, there will be a Māori Language Award winner and the overall New Zealand Post Book of the Year winner announced at a gala dinner in Auckland on 1 August 2012.

The overall New Zealand Post Book of the Year Award winner will receive $15,000. Winners of the four Category Awards will each receive $10,000. The Māori Language Award winner will receive $10,000 and the People’s Choice Award winner $5,000.

Sponsors
New Zealand Post’s sponsorship of the national book awards reflects their long-standing support for literacy and education.   They maintain that focus throughout the year with initiatives such as ReadWriteGrow.co.nz, creative writing contests for school students, and the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards which they have sponsored for the past 16 years.  That commitment to promoting literacy, excellence in writing and the joy of reading sees New Zealand Post play a key role in supporting other champions of literature, such as Booksellers NZ, to promote and reward local literary talent.

The New Zealand Post Book Awards 2012 are also funded by Creative New Zealand. The Awards are managed by Book Awards Governance Group, administered by Booksellers NZ and supported by the New Zealand Society of Authors and Book Tokens (NZ) Ltd.
ENDS

Key dates:
•    6  June 2012 New Zealand Post Book Awards FINALIST ANNOUNCEMENT
•    6 June 2012 Readers’ Choice Award VOTING OPENS
•    27 July 2012 NATIONAL POETRY DAY
•    6 July 2012 Readers’ Choice Award VOTING CLOSES, 5pm.
•    1 August 2012 New Zealand Post Book Awards WINNERS ANNOUNCED.
•    2 August 2012 New Zealand Post Book Awards WINNERS EVENT.

Press release

30 May 2012

Awa Press Young Designer of the Year 2012: three portfolios shortlisted

Highly talented young book designers currently making their names in the publishing industry are the finalists for Awa Press Young Designer of the Year 2012. For Anna Egan-Reid, Megan van Staden and Saskia Nicol, book design projects showcase their impressive creative abilities and breadth of scope over a range of titles.

Each designer has submitted a portfolio of four titles to be viewed by judges North & South art director Jenny Nicholls, design firm partner Gideon Keith and bookseller Roger Parsons. Keely O’Shannessy, a previous winner of the Young Designer Award, is the advisory judge for the category.

Anna Egan-Reid has a Bachelor of Arts in art history and English and has been typesetting since her late teens. She recently worked as an in-house designer at Penguin Books (NZ). Her entry is four book designs for Penguin: the literary Janet Frame: In Her Own Words (Janet Frame; Denis Harold & Pamela Gordon, eds); an illustrated New Zealand non-fiction title Trail: Riding the Otago Central Rail Trail (Paul Sorrell & Graham Warman); children’s picture book Moon Cow (Kyle Mewburn); and Summer Houses (Andrea Stevens with photography by Simon Devitt) a book of holiday home architecture.

Megan van Staden graduated with honours in graphic design at Massey University. Megan’s four designs are for Random House, where she currently works as a designer: Te Hao Nui The Great Catch: Object Stories from Te Manawa (Fiona McKergow & Kerry Taylor, eds), discoveries in the museum’s collection; Untamed: The Extraordinary Adventures of the Swazi Man,Davey Hughes’ hunting adventures; Q & Eh: Questions and Answers on Language with a Kiwi Twist (Laurie Bauer, Janet Holmes, Dianne Bardsley, Paul Warren); and the only fiction cover in the shortlist entries, Witi Ihimaera’s The Parihaka Woman.

Saskia Nicol has an AUT Bachelor of Art and Design degree, after which she worked in magazines and for Random House, and is now a freelance designer. Saskia’s submissions were: Tupaia: The Remarkable Story of Captain Cook’s Polynesian Navigator (Joan Druett); a trip through New Zealand art in It's All About the Image (Dick Frizzell); and history in Fighting Spirit: 75 Years of the RNZAF (Margaret McClure), all for Random House. NZ New Millennium: A Decade in Pictures was designed by Saskia for Penguin.

The Awa Press Young Designer Award is part of the Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ) Design Awards and is open to designers aged under 35. Designers submit a portfolio of up to five books designed over one year. Entries are judged onthe ability of designers to consider the author’s work, the publisher’s marketing requirements and the audience appeal of the books they have designed.

Advisory judge Keely O’Shannessy was impressed with this year’s submissions. “All the entries – and this is the biggest number yet – were of a very high quality,” said Keely. “It was really hard to choose the final three, but we were impressed by the diverse portfolios of the three finalists who showed real ability in design across different genres.”

The winner of the Awa Press Young Designer of the Year Award will receive a prize of $1,000 at the PANZ Book Design Awards ceremony in Auckland on 5 July.

For book images and more info please visit:

www.bookdesignawards.co.nz

For further details please contact:

Alice McDowell

Whitireia Publishing

Mobile 027 3376377

https://www.facebook.com/PANZBookDesignAwards
www.bookdesignawards.co.nz
Twitter: @PANZ_BDAwards

Watch the video below of the 2012 design awards shortlisted entrants!

Press release

30 May 2012

PANZ Book Design Awards 2012 Shortlist: titles with impact

Art books, biographies, vivid history, children’s books, educational titles and the best typography will compete for New Zealand’s major book design awards, the Publishers Association of New Zealand’s PANZ Book Design Awards 2012.

On the judging panel are art director of North & South Jenny Nicholls, design company partner Gideon Keith and bookseller Roger Parsons. With well over 100 books submitted, they’ve had a hard task just arriving at a shortlist of each category. Jenny said the judges looked for consistency of design from front cover to back cover. “The best designs had a sense of play,” said Jenny. “Book covers, in particular, did not work when marketing departments overplayed their hand, sacrificing emotional impact – not to mention aesthetics.

“Design is less about self-expression, more about problem solving, than many would believe,” Jenny commented. “When designers are let off the leash you’ll see the most exciting books.”

In the Random House New Zealand Award for Best Illustrated Book, two art-related books vie with the biography of culinary legend. A Micronaut in the Wide World (Gregory O’Brien: Auckland University Press), designers Keely O’Shannessy (cover), Katrina Duncan (interior) is about the art of Graham Percy. De-Building (Justin Paton: Christchurch Art Gallery) is a handbook of the collective exhibition of 14 New Zealand and international artists designed by Peter Bray. In contrast, the third book shortlisted is the beautifully designed Fleur: The Life and Times of Pioneering Restaurateur Fleur Sullivan (Fleur Sullivan: Random House) and the designer is Alan Deare of AREA Design.

The Hachette New Zealand Award for Best Non-illustrated Book sees a shortlist beginning with Janet Frame: In Her Own Words, her published non-fiction writingalong with letters, reviews and essays (Denis Harold & Pamela Gordon, eds: Penguin), with Anna Egan-Reid as the designer. Pieces of Mind (Michael C. Corballis: Auckland University Press) designed by Sarah Maxey (cover) and Katrina Duncan (interior) is an introduction to what we’ve learned about the brain over the last 25 years. The third nominee is Tupaia: The Remarkable Story of Captain Cook’s Polynesian Navigator (Joan Druett: Random House), designed by Saskia Nicol.

The Scholastic New Zealand Award for Best Children’s Book pits a digger, bugs and a travelling restaurant against each other. The books are Bruiser (Gavin Bishop: Random House), designers Gavin Bishop and Carla Sy; The Travelling Restaurant (Barbara Else: Gecko Press), designer Luke Kelly with cover and internal illustrations by Sam Broad; and Two Little Bugs (Mark & Rowan Sommerset: Dreamboat Books) designed by Rowan Sommerset.

The Pearson Award for Best Educational Book choice will be made from texts on maths, marketing and an aspect of Maori-Pakeha history. The trio are Marketing: Real People, Real Choices (Michael R. Solomon, Greg Marshall & Elnora Stuart: Pearson), designers Cameron Gibb (cover) and Marie Low (interior); Theta Mathematics (David Barton: Pearson) also designed by Marie Low; and He Kōrero – Words Between Us: First Māori–Pākehā Conversations on Paper (Alison Jones & Kuni Jenkins: Huia), designed by Sam Bunny.

The HarperCollins Publishers Award for Best Cover will be judged between two titles nominated for other PANZ Design Awards this year, Tupaia: The Remarkable Story of Captain Cook’s Polynesian Navigator, designer Saskia Nicol; Janet Frame: In Her Own Words, designer Anna Egan Reid. The third nominee is CSA: The Radical, the Reactionary and the Canterbury Society of Arts 1880–1996 (Warren Feeney: Canterbury University Press) designed by Aaron Beehre.

The Mary Egan Ltd Award for Best Typography finalists all gained recognition in other PANZ Design Awards categories: Fleur: The Life and Times of Pioneering Restaurateur Fleur Sullivan designed by Alan Deare; De-Building, designer Peter Bray, and CSA: The Radical, the Reactionary and the Canterbury Society of Arts 1880–1996, designed byAaron Beehre.

The Gerard Reid Award for Best Book, sponsored by Nielsen Book Services, will be chosen from the winners of these six categories.

“Designers are standing up for themselves and speaking out,” says convenor Jenny Nicholls. Whose skills speak most eloquently will be revealed when the PANZ Design Awards 2012 are presented at the Gus Fisher Gallery in Auckland on 5 July.

For book images and more info please visit:

www.bookdesignawards.co.nz

For further details please contact:

Alice McDowell

Whitireia Publishing

Mobile 027 3376377
https://www.facebook.com/PANZBookDesignAwards
www.bookdesignawards.co.nz
Twitter: @PANZ_BDAwards

Watch the video below of the 2012 shortlisted entrants!

Fifty years ago, Keith Sinclair and some University of Auckland colleagues first uttered the words ‘Auckland University Press’ and set about hiring an editor. Since then, Auckland University Press has become New Zealand’s leading scholarly publisher.

After 50 years, the publishing house thought it was time for a fresh look and a new way to talk to the world. Yesterday, they rolled out a new logo, new e-newsletter, new catalogue, new website, even a new-look office.

“Finding big ideas and turning them into books that change minds is what Auckland University Press is all about,” says Press director Sam Elworthy.

“That was true in 1962 and it’s true today. Now we reckon we’ve found a look and a language to embody those core values on book spines and imprint pages, at conferences and launches, on facebook and in our front window.”

The new look was designed by award-winning ALT Group, whose founders are University of Auckland alumni Ben Corban and Dean Poole.

“We loved what ALT had achieved working with the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival, the Museum and the Art Gallery. They brought a conceptual clarity to the job that got us thinking hard about what we do at Auckland University Press and how to communicate that vision to the world.”

Auckland University Press staff with key members of the Alt team and the new Press logo, L to R: Dean Poole, Sam Elworthy, Katrina Duncan, Christine O’Brien, Anna Hodge, Poppy Haynes, Ben Corban. Missing: Marian Hector (AUP). Photo credit: Godfrey Boehnke, University of Auckland.

Written by KEVIN CHAPMAN • 27 March 2012

It's possible that you don't even know the Leipzig Book Fair exists. If that's the case, you'd not be the only one, writes Kevin Chapman. But for New Zealand publishers and authors, it has been an overwhelmingly positive experience.

This very old and very well attended fair for the German public does not get the coverage that its big cousin, Frankfurt, does. But the fact is that there is a vibrant book fair going on in this rather lovely city in the former East Germany. And it dates back centuries. But its main difference from its western relative is that it is a public fair, not focused on trade to trade as Frankfurt is.



We, the New Zealand Guest of Honour Frankfurt 2012 programme team, got interested when we heard from our Icelandic precursors how successful Leipzig 2011 had been in getting their programme working. So after Frankfurt last year we zipped into Leipzig for an 18-hour recce, to see what the opportunities were for us. And what we saw was a manageable Messe, smaller than Frankfurt but still a decent size, and an opportunity not only to engage with the German media, but to have a practice run for the big Frankfurt programme in October this year.



And that is what we did. We took to Leipzig 10 authors and six publishers plus some of the project team. The idea was to do a number of things: to introduce our authors to the German public, or if they were published in Germany, to enhance the public's knowledge of them; to give our publishers a chance to meet with more German publishers, as Leipzig is a good publisher working fair as well as a public fair; to engage with the German media wherever possible, as they are well represented at this fair; and to rehearse the process of curating an author programme in a German-language environment.



So, what did we find, and what did we experience?



First, Leipzig was an overwhelmingly positive experience for all us. The old city is beautiful. The fair was efficient and easy to navigate. We were helped by the fact that the Frankfurt Book Fair team had arranged for us to have space on the stand that they shared with the German Publishers and Booksellers Association, and they were incredibly supportive. So our home base at the fair was easy and welcoming.



Second, our authors were really well received. Our whole approach to GoH has been to say that we need to showcase our entire writing community, regardless of genre. We have talented writers across the board, so we want to show that. We took 10 authors who demonstrated that. Literary, crime, children's, historical fiction, poetry, non-fiction – we attempted to show it all. Incredibly, an NZ author who wasn't at Leipzig, but will be part of our programme, turned up at number seven on the Spiegel bestsellers list the week we were there. And that is in paranormal romance. So it helped make our point.



We had arranged a variety of events over the four days of the fair. There were two stages available to us. One, quite small, was on our stand, and the other was on a larger international stage within our hall. Events were scheduled on both stands, starting with a press conference on the first morning. Our Ambassador came from Berlin to support us, and Juergen Boos, the Frankfurt Fair Director, opened it up for us. The focus author was Alan Duff, who authored Once Were Warriors, which is still a big seller in Germany. And because we like to always come singing and dancing, we had an NZ soprano come over, Aivale Cole, and she sang Maori ballads that had all of us fighting back tears. So then we had our author events, for which our expectations were modest given that it was a German public audience and the events were in English, albeit with simultaneous translation available.



Well, we were gobsmacked. The event would be put up on the stage screen in advance and people would turn up and sit down. And once our guys started talking more people would turn up. The German public. And often eschewing translation, happy to listen in English. Bloody great audiences. And right through the fair we expected little and got confounded by how wrong we were. It did your heart good. It really did.



In addition to this we brought in the NZ String Quartet, who were already in Europe on tour, and had a night with them and another London-based NZ soprano. This event was hosted by the NZ Embassy, and the programme included works on literary themes.



That alone would have made it worthwhile. But the publisher meetings were great. The media interaction was good. A lot of the German media going down to NZ as part of our "incoming media programme" was at Leipzig, and it proved to be useful as a briefing point. And we learnt so much about curating the author event programme that it has been invaluable for Frankfurt this year.



So, Leipzig as an experience? Special. Small and manageable. Beautiful city. A way to engage with the German public. Simply no negatives, only positives. If you get a chance, go to Leipzig. For the Book Fair. Or just to see to see the city. Definitely worth it.



Kevin Chapman is Managing Director and Publisher of Hachette New Zealand and President of the New Zealand Publishers Association 

Article courtesy of BookBrunch www.bookbrunch.co.uk

A tired but elated Kevin Chapman (PANZ President) spoke to PANZ News last night from Berlin. “Leipzig was way ahead of anything we’d expected. New Zealand authors only had to get up on one of the two stages and an audience quickly gathered.”

The author interviews/discussions, with a moderator and a translator, were in two places – one, a small stage on the large exhibition area shared by the Frankfurt Book Fair, a German publisher and the New Zealand contingent. The other was the much larger International Stage, where there were often 30 or 40 people waiting. “But as soon as the talking started, people filled the seats. The German audience is fascinated by New Zealand.”
 
German photographer Antonia Steeg, who now lives here and whose work will shortly be published by Te Papa Press, showed a video presentation of shots taken on the South Island’s high country stations. According to Kevin, this really pulled the crowds – and must have been a huge push for German tourists to visit here.
 
“German publishers were very welcoming to us,” said Kevin. He also spoke to the commissioner of the Iceland Guest of Honour programme who he’d met previously at Frankfurt. “I was told by him that feedback he’d heard was that ‘everyone was amazed how much we’d got done so quickly.’ I hope it is true!”
 
Kevin said the Leipzig presence was a small-version practise in putting together a cultural programme, one that will be hugely expanded for September and October in German cities Cologne, Berlin and Hamburg prior to the Frankfurt Book Fair.
 
Sopranos Aivale Cole and Madeleine Pierard were stars of the cultural programme along with the New Zealand String Quartet – Pierard sang Kiwi composer Ross Harris’ The Abiding Tides with the quartet in an exotic rococo Leipzig setting. Sarah Ropata’s work in bringing together authors and topics and the cultural programme was outstanding, said Kevin.
 
The New Zealand contingent – ten authors, six publishers – were also sought-after media interview subjects at Leipzig. It is expected plenty of German media will be coming through New Zealand in the next few months.
 
Before leaving Leipzig, the New Zealand delegation had an informal dinner for the whole team. Kevin concluded that “the good thing about us New Zealanders is that we just get up and go for it!”
 
Antonia Steeg called her presentation Living the New Zealand Dream, said Kevin. “I realised that is true – so many Germans dream of living here, an un-crowded land of natural beauty. To them, we are exotic!

www.nzatfrankfurt.govt.nz

www.facebook.com/NZatFrankfurt