We’re delighted to announce the new Creative Hub–Huia Books Scholarship for a Maori / Pasifika writer, which was agreed this month between Brian Morris, Director of Huia Books and the Creative Hub.
This will allow a Maori / Pasifika writer to complete our Advanced Fiction Course, and the first scholarship has been awarded to Colleen Maria Lenihan to work on her short story collection "Cherry Blossom Girl & Other Stories"
Huia Books successfully published graduate Gina Cole, whose short story collection "Black Ice Matter" appeared last year. Huia is Aotearoa’s premier Maori – Pasifika publishing house.
Colleen Maria Lenihan
And other patrons have stepped forward this month to provide scholarships for students to be able to complete our 2017 Advanced Fiction Course, and we are delighted to thank Nancy King, Hugh Allan, and anonymous donors for their generosity.
Advanced Course
This course has got underway with gusto and flair; workshops by former Penguin publisher Geoff Walker ('The Last 20% - A Manuscript’s Final Polish'), and Hub graduate Rosetta Allan, a recent recipient of the St Petersburg Residency in Russia. Rosetta told of the thrills of writing in a cultured metropolis with such a tragic history, and the challenges of negotiating the babushkas who ruthlessly gate-keep the local cultural institutions.
Rosetta’s novel “Purgatory" about the 1865 Otahuhu murders, was published by Penguin in 2014 and received excellent reviews.
Rosetta Allan
In their first session, students on the Advanced Course were asked to write pieces stimulated by the surreal works of Roger Mortimer’s new exhibition, which hang around them in the Gus Fisher Gallery, our current home. That rarest of contemporary artists – a brilliant symbolist with an unerring draftsman’s eye, Mortimer’s works penetrate deep into the unconscious where they linger and fulminate.
Shakespeare’s Take on US Politics
Never one to shrink from a political take on literature, Hub Director John Cranna opines this week that The Donald could have learned some crucial lessons from Shakespeare’s 'Macbeth'. All sorts of problems can arise when you get your family involved in a rapid and unorthodox ascent to power: www.creativehubber.blogspot.com
SPECIAL OFFER: Recruit a friend to next month’s Introduction to Creative Writing course (17th August – details below) and receive a FREE copy of graduate Eileen Merriman’s controversial novel new, ‘Pieces of You'. 😊
Upcoming Courses
Introduction to Creative Writing
6-8.30pm Thursday 17th August, 2017, six weeks (or any time online)
Have a go! This course is intended to introduce you to some of the basic skills and techniques that can make writing so enjoyable. You might already keep a journal, or have written some poetry or short stories, but would like to find out about some of the tools professional writers use to make their work publishable. If so, this course is for you. Graduates receive a 10% discount on our 30 Week Fiction Course. Taught by Creative Hub director John Cranna. More detail..
Thirty Week Fiction / Memoir Course
Start: 8-9pm, Tuesday, 26th September 2017, or any time Online
This course is intended for those who want to write a novel, short stories, or a memoir / autobiography. We provide a stimulating environment in which you can discover your authentic writing voice. Craft and technical issues arise organically from discussion of student work in a group environment. Students keep a reading and writing journal, which helps chart their development. The main craft issues of dialogue, character, plot and structure, point of view, description, voice and theme will be addressed during this course. Each student will be matched to an established NZ fiction / memoir writer, for extended personal mentoring. Personal mentors on our fiction / memoir courses in 2017 included Tessa Duder, Sue McCauley, Fiona Sussman, Bob Glancy, and Elizabeth Smither. In addition, a number of successful NZ writers, some publishing in London and New York, will run workshops on the course. At the end of the course, the student will be provided with an analysis, in the form of a publishers readers report, on the strengths and weaknesses of her / his manuscript. If you have completed the Introduction to Creative Writing Course, or Summer Fiction School, you receive a 10% discount on the course fee. More detail here ...
