Margo Lanagan's Blog, page 17

Westport

Actually, I'm in Christchurch now, but here's a blog entry I wrote up a few days ago and haven't had a chance to put up: Woke up this morning and looked out at the view, which was unimpressive last night, all grey horizon.

Overnight a mountain range had sprung up across half the view, and there was a tiny sprinkling of snow on the topmost peak. And then (so unexpectedly! :) ) the sun came up and turned the mountains from silhouettes to solid crags.

We drove across the South Island today, and it...

Kaikoura

Let me think, now. What's happened since Friday?

Well, the session with Simon Schama was good. I had been warned that I would need to be assertive to be heard at all, but fortunately our chair, Lydia Wever, directed enough questions my way for me to get a word in here and there. I don't think I actually interrupted Simon at all - if you have ever heard him public speak, you will know that he's too charming and lively for you to want to interrupt him. Still, we managed a fascinating panel, the ...

Wellington 5

Wow, it's so cold, now! There was a fire evacuation from the hotel yesterday—the quickest evacuation and return I've ever experienced—and the people who'd had to come from the restaurant (unlike us who'd been lounging in our rooms with jackets and bags nearby) were all huddling together out in the car park, so as not to die of exposure in the five minutes it took the NZ Fire Service to determine that there wasn't a fire!

Yesterday's session with Neil Gaiman went swimmingly. Kate de Goldi wrang...

I would give you the Wellington 5 post...

But someone is hogging the program I need to copy it across from:


So, briefly, Writers and Readers Week commitments fulfilled. Schama panel dazzling—excellent crowd and top chairing by Lydia Wevers. Lovely party last night up the hill. Katherine Mansfield's birthplace today. Weather's looking promising. Back soon with details when you-know-who lets the rest of us into our Word docs. :D

Wellington 4

Yes, so a couple of hundred people came and spent An Hour With Margo Lanagan (and Eirlys Hunter) this afternoon, at the Downstage. It was a great session; Eirlys's questions were interesting without being curly or putting me on the spot, and ; people responded to everything pretty well—no heckling, you know; no hurling of missiles.

Weather, though; weather is happening in Wellington. Nothing wild yet, but all of a sudden it was winter, when we walked out of the theatre, and then it rained and ...

Wellington 3

A few clouds around today, but yesterday was fine, all fine. After a morning's internetting (hotel + Starbucks), we hunted down a hair salon that could fit us in (we were turned away from two places, though—Wellington hairies do a brisk trade on a Wednesday morning, for some reason), and we both had haircuts. Then we took our newly neatened selves up (and up, and up—they do good up-ness here in Wellington) to the Adam Art Gallery on the campus of Victoria University to see the Anthony McCall...

Wellington 2

We faffed around too much yesterday to complete everything we wanted to do, but we did manage the cable car/Botanic Gardens bit. We learned how all these Wellingtonians keep themselves looking so trim and Antarctica-ready—place was full of mad people running up and down those hills we were taking at our leisurely pace with occasional rest map-reading stops.

On the way back from the Cable Car stop we shopped for gifts, hats and, oh, books. We happened on Unity Books, independent booksellers w...

Wellington 1

Here we are, then, in Wellington. I've been in a position to almost trip Audrey Niffeneger up on the way out of the lift; also I've seen Sarah Waters in the hotel lounge. Writers are gathering, rumble-rumble.

The Gala Opening is tomorrow night, by which time Steven and I plan to be worn out from a cable car trip, a Botanic Gardens walk and a choof around the harbour on a ferry. A bit of gala-ing around should top the day off nicely.

It was sunny and fresh today and not as windy as Wellington is...

(En)rol up!

For my 'Blood, Boggarts and Battlestars: An Introduction to Speculative Fiction' workshop at New South Wales Writers' Centre this Saturday, if you haven't already (and quite a few people have, so get in quick!).

Radio NZ interview can be heard...

...here.