Eastbourne Anthologised

MEDIA RELEASE: EASTBOURNE Anthologised

Eastbourne: an anthology to be launched December 5 2013, 6.30 pm at Rona Gallery Eastbourne.

Eastbourne is a fresh collection of writing that has sprung from Wellington’s eastern bays. With work by acclaimed New Zealand authors and poets such as Denis Glover, Lloyd Jones, Steve Braunias, Kate de Goldi, and Robin Hyde, the anthology also showcases young and emerging talent like Sarah Laing and Airini Beautrais. Unlike many literary anthologies, there there is new work as well as previously unpublished. Writers with a connection to the Bays have offered stories and poems, and some with no history of publication have worked with the editors to take their submissions to publication standard.

An extraordinary 130 authors were behind the 190 submissions and discoveries of poetry, fiction, memoir and essays the editors had to select from, with 96 authors making the cut. The youngest authors were seven years old when they wrote their pieces: Lauren Excell with a poem called The Sea and Tatum Collins with Why We Need the Fire Brigade. The oldest authors – in their eighties – include WH Oliver with his poem Māhina Bay and Eastbourne Mayor Elaine Jakobsson who writes as poet Helen Jacobs. She has four poems in the anthology including Littoral.

The editors say the anthology is not a coffee table book but a collection of work that gets under the skin of life on the ‘other’ side of Wellington Harbour where 4700 people live between bush and sea on a road that ends with Pencarrow lighthouse. Over twenty local artists have also donated drawings of the area, and Stacey O’ Neill’s painting Slice of Heaven is on the cover.

The editors are local writers and editors Mary McCallum, Anne Manchester and Maggie Rainey-Smith who decided it was time Eastbourne deserved a book that captured the special nature of the community and the environment and the lives of those who live there, as well as celebrating local writers and writing. They have poured hundreds of voluntary hours into the project over two years.

Creative Community funding, and private donations have supported the publication which is by  Eastbourne-based publishers Mākaro Press. The editors say they have been impressed by the depth and richness of the work they have been offered and the serendipitous discoveries they have made, but more than anything by the sheer amount of exciting writing out there.

‘It’s blown us away,’ says Mary McCallum. ‘For decades, people have been writing about Eastbourne and the Bays, but we had no idea it was quite this much. Many locals if asked to name an Eastbourne writer would say ‘Katherine Mansfield’ and stop. Now we know better, and we hope they will too.’ 

The editors say they believe they’ve created a book to treasure and give to others. ‘Eastbourne is beyond our wildest dreams,’ says Anne Manchester. ‘We’re sure our community will be as excited as we are when it is launched on December 5 at local bookshop Rona Gallery. It will be a real community event with readings from people that include Helen Jacobs, who is launching the book, as well as Lloyd Jones and his son Avi Duckor-Jones reading extracts from their contributions.

To order Eastbourne, an anthology email eastbournewriting@gmail.com subject: ‘anthology order’. Each book is $35 and the prelaunch special is for two books @ $65 and three for $95. Each contributing writer and artist receives a free copy. 

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Back Cover

ENDS

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