Janis Freegard's Blog, page 5

Poetry in Paraparaumu

Delighted to be reading with Rachel McAlpine, Mary Cresswell, Richard Langston and Simon Sweetman at the Paraparaumu Library on Sunday 7 Feb. Would love to see you there!

Sir Julius Vogel Awards

Named for the former New Zealand Prime Minister who wrote Anno Domini 2000 – A Woman’s Destiny, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Association of New Zealand (SSFANZ)’s annual awards are now open for nominations. Sir Julius Vogel Awards (sffanz.org.nz). (Anno Domini 2000 – which I confess I haven’t read yet – is generally regarded as New Zealand’s first full-length science fiction novel and envisaged a utopian future with women holding many positions of authority)

Anyone can make a nomination for the awards via SFFANZ’s webform. The works that will eventually appear on the voting form are determined by how many nominations each work gets. Members of SFFANZ and the National Science Fiction convention vote on the finalists.

I’m delighted that my book ‘Reading the Signs’ (published by The Cuba Press and featuring artwork by Neil Johnstone) has been nominated in the Best Production/Publication category. If you would like to help it along and give it a chance to get on the voting form, you can nominate it here: SJV Nominations – 2021 (google.com).

‘Reading the Signs’ contains poetry, science, speculation and magical realism

Kāpiti Writers Retreat

I’m looking forward to the Kāpiti Writers Retreat next month: 26-28 February 2021 at El Rancho at Waikanae Beach. I’ve been to some of these before (previously under the Kahini umbrella) and found them a great way to generate new material, learn from some great writing teachers and socialise with other writers. More info at The Kāpiti Writers’ Retreat – Writers Practice

Trees, El Rancho

This year the workshops will be run by six excellent New Zealand writers – Brannavan Gnanalingam, Cassie Hart, Darusha Wehm, Pip Adam, Rob Hack and Rose Lu. There will be workshops in the mornings and writing discussions in the afternoons. The lovely Helen Lehndorf will be offering yoga for those who can struggle out of bed in time. Here’s the programme.

There are scholarships and volunteer opportunities available, but you’ll need to apply for those by 15 Jan.

Ngā mihi mō te Tau Hou; Happy New Year!

Wellington you good
on a can’t beat day

Panoply of Poets

If you missed it, you might want to check out Simon Sweetman and Wellington City Library’s “festive panoply of poets” that ran on the WCL blog in the countdown to Christmas. I was delighted to be included in the line-up, reading from ‘Reading the Signs’. Chris Tse kicked things off, with subsequent appearances by Mary McCallum, Richard Langston, Sam Duckor-Jones, Rachel McAlpine, Simon Sweetman, Oscar Sweetman, Maggie Rainey-Smith, Michael Fitzsimons, Ruby Solly and me.

You can watch them all here: Festive Panoply of Poets – Library Blog (wcl.govt.nz)

A few people have asked me where ‘Reading the Signs’ is available. Recent Wellington-based sightings include Food Court Books in Omārōrō Newtown, Good Books in Jessie St and Unity (pictured at lower left on the Unity poetry table below, in the very good company of ‘Meowing Part 1’ and many great books). I was also very pleased to find ‘Reading the Signs’ on Chris Tse’s reading list in the DomPost.

Hope you’re having a good break. Onwards and upwards for 2021!

The One That Got Away

A book I really enjoyed reading this year was the Wellington political intrigue novel ‘The One That Got Away’ (Town Belt Press), by “Jennifer Palgrave”.  Jennifer Palgrave is the pen-name for Lois Cox & Hilary Lapsley. I interviewed them about the book.

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This is a real Wellington novel (although partly set in the UK), with places like the Whistling Sisters and Te Papa. What gave you the idea to write about a plot to kill David Lange?

We were talking about the disastrous effect Rogernomics had had on New Zealand and remembering how divisive the policies had been, not only in the country but also in the Labour caucus. With feelings running so high, David Lange wanting to stop for a cup of tea might have seemed outrageous enough for a fanatic or two to consider poison…


While this is a work of fiction, there are a number of real people mentioned in the book, like David Lange and Kim Hill. Were there ethical considerations in how you portrayed people?

We had to be aware of such considerations. We wanted the novel to seem possible but, for example, we couldn’t have portrayed some of the real people enthusiastic about Rogernomics as villains (although we were tempted). We were happy to feature people like Kim Hill doing what they do in public weekly. Some of the more private scenes involving Lange, for example, his kindness to the fictious MP, Michael, can be imaginatively deduced from the various memoirs written about him and the era. Other scenes like the Oxford debate have been exhaustively described in non-fiction pieces.

One of your characters talks about women in politics doing “emotional shitwork”. Do you think things have changed much since the Lange era?

Any place where men and women interact, that still goes on to some extent! But we’ve had three women Prime Ministers since then and there is a much greater proportion of women in Parliament now. We hope things have changed.

You wrote this collaboratively. What was your process?

We talked about the shape of the book as well as the plot details as we went and would each write particular scenes. All done in longhand at the dining table! Then we would dictate them to each other as we typed them into the computer. Some editing would happen then. Once we had a full draft, we edited together – and now, we’re not even sure who first wrote various pieces.


How have you drawn on your own experiences in writing ‘The One That Got Away’? Was there much research involved?

We’re old enough to have lived through the eighties as adults, and Lois was very involved in the Labour Party until about 1984. We used places we knew and experiences we’d had to flesh out the story. For example, Hilary had enjoyed a holiday on Naxos; and Lois had spent time in Cambridge, though not as an undergraduate. We both like the walks around Wellington – and Lois confesses that Monty in the book is very closely modelled on her daughter’s late dog, Duchess. Some of the house interiors are based on houses we know – but our characters are not based on the people who live in them.

We still had to do research. We read about the international money-go-round and the lives of the super rich. The books we mention in our afterword reminded us of the time and told us more about the inner workings of Lange’s office.

Who do you think this novel will particularly appeal to?

As our heroine identifies as lesbian, we expected that we would get a readership in the lesbian community but have been pleased that many others have enjoyed the book too, for its portrayal of politics then and now.

What’s next for “Jennifer Palgrave”?

We’re glad you asked that. We’ve been writing about what happened to our heroine Lauren, the year after the events in The One that Got Away. In that book, she helped with Jacinda and Labour’s successful campaign in 2017. Now Lauren has turned her attention to climate change and finds herself embroiled in the possible murder of a climate change activist. The book about that adventure will be available in early 2021.

Where can people buy a copy of ‘The One That Got Away’? 

Unity Books and Another Chapter in Wellington have copies and the Women’s Bookshop in Auckland. It is also available online as a Kindle book.

Thanks Lois and Hilary. Looking forward to the sequel!

Meowing Part 1 – reading & zine

The Meow Gurrrls poetry group will be reading from our new zine at Photospace Gallery, Level 1 Courtenay Place this Saturday 21st November,
1 – 3pm. Meow Gurrrls reading on the day will be Abra Sandi King, Mary-Jane Duffy, Mary Macpherson, Sudha Rao and Janis Freegard and there will be music from Ainsley Day. The zine also includes work from Rewa Morgan and Kirsten Le Harivel and lovely illustrations by Mary-Jane Duffy. Copies will be available for sale in the gallery.

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Hope to see you there! You can also watch our Meow Gurrls videos on Youtube.

Courage Day – 16 November 2020 at Vic Books Pipitea

Every year, the New Zealand Society of Authors celebrates Courage Day (the New Zealand name for the Day of the Imprisoned Writer). The official day is 15 November, but this year, the Wellington branch of NZSA will observe the day on Monday 16 November.

Courage Day recognises writers who have been imprisoned or oppressed because of their writing and is named after James Courage, a New Zealand novelist and poet. His book, A Way of Love (1959), is regarded as the first published gay novel by a New Zealander and it was banned here.

We are very lucky to have Dr Christopher Burke joining us to talk about James Courage, having studied his life, literary works, journals and correspondence.

Mandy Hager, author and president of the NZSA, will also talk to us about Courage Day and the ’empty chair’ movement.

The meeting is at 6pm at Vic Books Pipitea and all are welcome to attend. There will be a cash bar and we ask for a small contribution towards venue costs if you can.

Reading from Reading the Signs

Here’s a clip of me reading at the launch, from the Wellington City Library’s Youtube channel. Always a bit weird to watch oneself!

A few people have asked me where ‘Reading the Signs’ is available. You can order directly from the publisher, The Cuba Press, at or look out for it in indie bookshops, like Food Court Books, opening soon in Newtown.

Palmie, here we come!

Looking forward to reading in Palmerston North with these wonderful Cuba Press poets on Tuesday night 6:30pm 27th October 2020 at the Palmerston North City Library. I will be reading from my new book, Reading the Signs.