Meet favourite NZ authors
When Louise de Varga published her first children’s picture books, she wondered whether other first-time authors faced the same sorts of dilemmas and questions she did. “I found it difficult to get into bookshops because the first questions would be, ‘who’s the publisher?’ and ‘who’s distributing it?’” she recalls.
On finding other new authors did have similar issues, De Varga organised a festival that would help independently published New Zealand authors overcome these challenges and get their books in front of readers.
This year, the NZ Book Festival turns five, having started in Devonport in 2014 and gone from strength to strength. About 100 authors and publishing industry professionals, including distributors, editors and booksellers, from as far away as Oamaru will attend the 2018 event, which is free and open to the public.
De Varga says the number of readers keen to search out new books or talk to authors whose work they’ve come to love increases, too. They’re expecting well over 1000 people, who can choose from mystery, fantasy, chick lit, historical romance and crime, as well as non-fiction and general fiction books.
“People can’t believe it’s free and they’re also blown away by how many authors attend and the range of locally-published books available,” she says. “We get feedback saying they’ve never had the chance to meet so many authors in one space. The festival encourages the experience of being part of the book world in New Zealand.”
Kirsten McKenzie is one of those authors. The former customs officer became a writer after working in her father’s antique shop for 10 years where, surrounded by objects with stories to tell and meeting real-life characters, she was inspired to write Fifteen Postcards about a woman who runs an antiques store and is caught up in a historical mystery.
The sci-fi historical fiction book is now part of a trilogy (the last is soon to be published) while McKenzie is also writing horror novels — a genre that’s back in vogue. Her first,
Painted, made it to No. 1 on the Australian horror charts and No. 2 in Canada and the United Kingdom.
“And just for a couple of days . . . it was ahead of Stephen King on the US Amazon horror chart.”
She and De Varga say there have long been New Zealand authors who do exceedingly well overseas but are little known at home. Best-selling romance writer Julie Thomas and sci-fi/fantasy author T.G. Ayer are recent examples, while emerging crime writer Nikki Crutchley will be one to watch.
“The festival builds up awareness of the independent publishing industry; things are changing in that there is more support for selfpublished authors,” says De Varga. “If you want to do well, you can’t turn out badly published books because they have to stack up against what’s being published elsewhere. We maintain high standards at the festival in terms of how things are presented and displayed and it’s important authors do the same.”
Dionne Christian