Writers on Mondays: From the Country of The Novel

Charlotte Randall lives in Christchurch. She was Writer in Residence at Victoria University in 2000. Her 6th novel, ‘Hokitika Town’, was published this year by the Penguin Group NZ. Set in the gold rush of 1865, it’s the story of a coin boy, Halfie, told in his own unique take on the English language. Three of her earlier novels were runners-up for the Montana New Zealand Book Awards.

Laurence Fearnley lives in Dunedin. She has written 8 novels, two of which have been runners-up in the Montana New Zealand Book Awards. Her latest, ‘The Hut Builder’ (Penguin 2010), is part of the PhD in Creative Writing she is working on at Victoria University. Mt Cook, Sir Edmund Hillary and Charles Brasch enter this very southern story set in 1950s New Zealand.

Tim Wilson is well known as a TVNZ US correspondent and as a print journalist. He is based in New York. Over the years he has had much short fiction published. His first novel, ‘Their Faces Were Shining’, came out from VUP in 2010. Exploring the notion of The Rapture, as the author says ‘it describes relearning love in late middle age while the world ends’. Fergus Barrowman will chair this session.

Writers on Mondays is presented with the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and additional support from Circa Theatre and City Gallery Wellington. Held in the Marae, Level 4, Te Papa.