Book now for Word Café Raglan

By Emma Brooks, Word Café Raglan

Love reading? Harbour a secret desire to write a bestseller but haven’t a clue where to start? Then make sure you check out Raglan’s very first readers and writers festival taking place 10-12 May.

Featuring a dynamic mix of workshops, talks and interactive sessions with both local and national writers, Word Café Raglan aims to showcase and inspire reading and writing in all its forms.

Guest speakers include bestselling author Deborah Challinor, travel writer and blogger Megan Singleton, Nourish Magazine editor Vicki Ravlich-Horan and Letters of Frank Sargeson author Sarah Shieff. 

Raglan’s very own award-winning children’s authors Sarah Johnson and André Ngāpō will be running a session on writing for children, while local writer Tui Allen will be presenting an introductory workshop on the ever-expanding world of self-publishing.

For children, a free storytelling session takes place at Raglan Library on Saturday afternoon, followed by a story-writing workshop for teenagers.

And don’t miss Saturday night’s double bill of entertainment, featuring Cambridge e-book writer turned HarperCollins US author Julie Thomas, and some spectacular live word wizardry from Antonio Te Maioha,

Word Café Raglan takes place 10-12 May at the Old School Arts Centre and other locations around Raglan. Tickets for workshop sessions and author talks cost $20 per person. If more than three sessions take your fancy, take advantage of our all-day ticket for $60. Children’s sessions and Saturday night’s entertainment are free of charge.

For further programme details and to book tickets, please head to our website: www.wordcaferaglan.co.nz. You can also buy tickets in person at the Old School Arts Centre Stewart St Raglan, Phone 825 0023.

WORD CAFÉ RAGLAN

SCHEDULE

Saturday 11 May 2013

First Steps in Writing for Children

9am-11am, Old School Arts Centre

Sarah Johnson

Local author Sarah Johnson writes books for children and adults, when she is not making her living as a freelance writer. Her latest picture book, Wooden Arms (Scholastic NZ, 2012), won the 2011 Joy Cowley Award and has since been published in English and Maori (as Poupou Tauawhi). Sarah will share what she has learned about getting started as a children’s writer during the 17 years that she has been writing stories. She will be joined by award-winning writer and musician André Ngāpō.

André Ngāpō

André Ngāpō is of Ngāti Tamaterā, Marutūahu, Ngāti Awa, and Ngāti Porou descent, and currently lives with his family in Whaingaroa/Raglan. He was the 2008 Sunday Star Times Short Story Competition Open Division Winner and Best Unpublished Writer, having won for his story ‘Te Pou’, and has been a preliminary judge for the competition since 2009. His fiction has been published by the Tertiary Education Commision, Learning Media in their “School Journal” series, and in anthologies including Ora Nui (Māori Writers Anthology), and The Best New Zealand Fiction 6, edited by Owen Marshall.

Ticket price: $20.

Writing for the Food Industry

Vicki Ravlich-Horan
10am-11am, Old School Arts Centre

 An avid foodie, Vicki was first introduced to the hospitality industry as a student. Several years working overseas followed, with Vicki eventually returning to New Zealand to open her own cafe and catering business. After selling the business Vicki started Feast, which offered cooking classes, gourmet tours and event management. To promote her skills and expertise she also launched a small magazine, which quickly grew a following, and so in September 2010 Nourish was launched. A quarterly, free publication, Nourish now has two editions, one in the Waikato and one in the BOP, with a combined print run of 20,000. Despite the current economic climate and the fact most print media is struggling, Nourish continues to grow. In this session, Vicki will share the story behind Nourish Magazine, as well as delving deeper into food blogging and the art of writing for the food industry.
Ticket price: $20.

Have Blog, Will Travel

Megan Singleton
11am-1pm, Old School Arts Centre

 Megan Singleton is an award-winning freelance travel writer based in Auckland but ready to dash off at a moment’s notice. She has been writing for 14 years and blogging for seven. Now as editor of her own site Travel Blogger at Large she is learning how to grow her business largely through social media. Megan’s stories are entertaining and informative and in this session she will be reading some of her favourite posts about encountering different cultural norms with hilarious results, as well as discussing how she got into the crowded world of blogging, and how you can too – whatever your niche.
Ticket price: $20.

Storytelling for Children

Sarah Johnson
1pm-1.40pm, Raglan Library

A storytelling session with local children’s author Sarah Johnson.
FREE event.

The Letters of Frank Sargeson

Sarah Shieff
1.30pm-2.30pm, Old School Arts Centre

 Sarah Shieff is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Waikato. Her main teaching and research areas are New Zealand literature and cultural history, Gothic fiction, and food writing. She is the author of Talking Music: Conversations with New Zealand Musicians (2002) and she recently edited Speaking Frankly: The Frank Sargeson Memorial Lectures 2003-2010 (Cape Catley, 2011), a collection of essays celebrating the legacy of one of New Zealand’s most prominent literary figures. Her most recent publication is a scholarly edition of the letters of Frank Sargeson (Random House, 2012). Sarah has been the editor of The Journal of New Zealand Literature since 2005. In this session, Sarah will talk about the research and editing process behind Letters of Frank Sargeson – and the sometimes tough decisions editors must make.
Ticket price: $20.

Tailoring the Tale (Ages 12-16)

Merren Tait
2pm-4pm, Raglan Library

Merren Tait has been teaching creative writing to adolescents for nearly ten years. As a literary graduate, she has been a teacher of English and is currently the head librarian at the Raglan Library. Tailoring the Tale is a dynamic two hour session for 12 to 16 year olds, designed to get the creative juices flowing and sharpen the skills of good story writing.
FREE event but places still need to be booked.

A Writing Life

Deborah Challinor
2.30pm-3.30pm, Old School Arts Centre

Deborah Challinor is the author of 12 books, including ten historical novels set in both the 19th and 20th centuries. Of those, seven have reached number one on the New Zealand bestseller list. No stranger to the Waikato, she taught researching and writing historical fiction at Waikato University for several years and wrote for the Waikato Times as an opinion columnist and a feature writer. Deborah currently lives in New South Wales, and is working on a series of historical novels about four convict girls transported to Sydney in the early 1830s, very loosely based on her own ancestors. The first of these, Behind the Sun, was released in New Zealand in November 2012, and in Australia the following month. The second in the series, Girl of Shadows, will be released in 2013. In this session, Deborah will talk about how she got started as a writer and the research process behind her novels, as well as addressing issues such as getting published, e-books and writing markets.
Ticket price: $20.

Getting Started in Self-Publishing

Tui Allen
3.30pm-4.30pm, Old School Arts Centre

 Te Pahu author Tui Allen is an avid convert to self- and e-publishing. Having previously published several children’s books through traditional channels (her first book Captain Clancy and the Flying Clothesline remains a firm favourite with young listeners to National Radio’s Children’s Hour), she turned down a contract with a US publisher in order to go it alone with her latest novel, Ripple.
Ripple tells the story of a young female dolphin who is inspired by love to an achievement that changes the universe. It has already taken Tui to the famed Frankfurt Book Fair and been put on the books of the well-known Richards Literature Agency. Join Tui to learn about the satisfying pluses (and occasional pitfalls) of publishing your own work.
Ticket price: $20.

From Russian Princesses to HarperCollins US

&

An Evening of Storytelling

7pm onwards, Banteay Srey Khmer Restaurant and Café

Julie Thomas

A ‘fascinating journey exceeding her wildest expectations’ is how Cambridge writer Julie Thomas describes her recent success as first an e-book publisher, and more recently, a HarperCollins US author. Julie’s latest novel, The Keeper of Secrets, is due to be published in the US, NZ, Australia and the Netherlands on 1 June. Chronicling the fate of a rare violin during, and after, the Second World War it had already sold over 50,000 copies as an e-book before being picked up by HarperCollins US. Join Julie to hear more about her ‘fascinating journey’ and enjoy an exclusive Raglan preview reading from The Keeper of Secrets.

Antonio Te Maioha

As a writer and performer of his own spoken word poetry and storytelling, Antonio is often busy composing and presenting his work at conferences, festivals and events throughout the North Island. Antonio was the Kāpiti writer in residence on Kāpiti Island in 2011, and in 2012 was a finalist in both the Scribe With Me and Eat Your Words poetry competitions. A performance of his poem “Let me tell you about Tame,” on the award-winning television show Native Affairs became a massive hit on Facebook.  An opportunity to hear Antonio perform live is not to be missed. Join us for this very special evening of storytelling magic.

FREE event. Please come early to secure your spot.

BUY TICKETS
We’ve tried to make the ticket buying process quick and easy…simply book places at your chosen workshops or talks using one of the methods below. Remember, spaces are strictly limited for each session, so please book early to avoid disappointment.

 $60 all-day ticket
If you’d like to attend more than three sessions, you can take advantage of our $60 all-day ticket. To book this ticket you’ll have to phone or email us with your session requests, because our online booking system appears unable to handle the complexity of this task! See details below for getting in touch by email or phone.

Online booking
You can buy individual tickets for Word Cafe Raglan using our secure, shopping cart below. We accept payment to our bank account or you can post us a cheque. (Sorry, but we don’t accept credit cards at this time). You will receive an email ticket once your payment has been received. You’ll need to print this out and bring it with you on the day.

By phone
To book tickets by phone including the $60 all-day ticket, please call the Old School Arts Centre on 07 825 0023. The centre isn’t manned everyday of the week, but if you leave a message we’ll give you a call back.

By email
To book tickets by email including the $60 all-day ticket, please send details of the events you would like to attend to tickets@wordcaferaglan.co.nz. We’ll be in touch with payment details.

In person
If you are local to Raglan you are welcome to visit the Old School Arts Centre during their open hours and pay by cash or EFTPOS.

Questions? Queries?

Email us at hello@wordcaferaglan.co.nz or leave a message at the Old School Arts Centre and we’ll call you back. 07 825 0023.