Standing Room Only for Sunday 5 June 2022

12:15 Taking a Publishing Punt

Agatha Christie, C. S. Lewis, Beatrix Potter, Margaret Mitchell,  James Joyce and J. K. Rowling are all best selling authors who didn't give up after being rejected by a slew of publishers.

Of course the publishing industry is a very different creature these days, and self publishing or working with small independent companies is increasingly common.

The upcoming Booktown event in Featherston in the Wairarapa has invited three publishers to talk about their experiences in an event called Taking a Publishing Punt.

Today Lynn Freeman gets a taste of what Ash Davida Jane from We Are Babies Press, Murdoch Stephens of Lawrence & Gibson Publishing, and Chris Holdaway of Compound Press will be discussing on the panel

Taking a Publishing Punt is on the 11th of June at St Teresa's Church Hall in Featherston as part of Booktown. 

 

12:30 Photographing the America's Cup on a 110-year-old camera

Using a 110-year-old Auto Graflex camera, press photographer Geoff Dale has photographed one of the most high tech sports there is - the super yachts of the America's cup.

He set out on  the Waitematā Harbour last year, amongst peers with bigger, newer, flasher cameras.

Geoff Dale speaks with Lynn Freeman about his exhibition Light on the Water, hosted by the New Zealand Maritime Museum on the Auckland viaduct.

On Wednesday, June 8th, Dale will join another New Zealand media stalwart, Peter Montgomery, to discuss his project and the wider world of yacht racing, as part of a public talk. This is a free event but spaces are limited and bookings are required. 

Light on the Water opens Friday, 3 June and runs until Tuesday, 4 October. Admission is free with museum entry.   

Photographer Geoff Dale, and Light on the Water is on at the New Zealand Maritime Museum at Auckland's Viaduct Harbour.

 

12:45 Off The Rails documentary film

The film industry has been drastically upset by Covid over the past two years. The big blockbusters get the big publicity, unsurprisingly. The studios have a lot at stake, but they also have other income streams.

Small films are often worse hit, with production shut down for months, no income and crews scattered around the world.

Take a documentary called Off the Rails, which features young men taking ridiculous risks - jumping off buildings, climbing up narrow bridges, riding on top of fast-moving trains. It's about to screen as part of the Doc Edge festival.

As its Director Peter Day explained to Simon Morris it was filmed mostly around London, while post-production took place in Glasgow and Amsterdam. Meanwhile Peter Day was in Auckland, New Zealand, with his family.

Tickets available at Doc Edge Festival 

 

1:10 At The Movies

Simon Morris reviews the highly anticipated sequel Top Gun: Maverick, Swedish romantic dramedy The Tuesday Club and Australian film How To Please a Woman.

 

1:33 Navigating misinformation a hot topic in children's literature

Helping children and teenagers to navigate their way through all the misinformation being spread through social media, is seen as an increasingly important role for those who write books for this age group.

Racism, gender equality, autism, and climate change are among the topics discussed by some of the finalists in this year's New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. 

The Convenor of Judges, Pauline Smith, is also delighted to see more writers integrating Te Reo and Te Ao Māori into their stories 

There's a record number of entries for this year's awards, just one book shy of 200, with the finalists announced during the week.

Lynn Freeman spoke with Pauline and to Anahera Morehu who's the convenor of the Te Kura Pounamu Award panel to discuss why children's literature is so important  

 

1:50 Exploring takatāpui and queer objects

A razor blade left in a gay activist's mailbox and a series of dolls dressed in garments based on costumes worn by contestants in Samoa's first Fa'afafine beauty pageant in the 1980s, are included in an exhibition of takatāpui and queer objects.

Some of the 47 objects have been made, others were found by or gifted to the more than 40 artists, designers, craftspeople and architects who've contributed to twisting, turning, winding: takatāpui + queer objects.

Lynn Freeman spoke with Richard Orjis and to one of the contributors, Yuki Kihara, who's currently in the Netherlands after attending the Venice Biennale where her exhibition Paradise Camp has been enthusiastically reviewed.
 

2:06 The Laugh Track - Melbourne Comedian Ben Volchok

Covid, war, fake news, global warming... it's hard to be a "glass half full" person in the 2020s.  So why bother?  asks today's Laugh Track guest, Melbourne based writer and comedian Ben Volchok.

His one-man show is proudly set at the end of the world as we know it.  It's called The Final Hours Hour, and we're told it manages to be both dark and extremely silly. The Final Hours Hour is about to open at Wellington's Bats Theatre. 

 

2:25 Wellington Jazz Musician Jake Baxendale previews new 'Fantasia' compositions

Off the back of his band The Jac taking out the 2021 Tūī for Best Jazz Artist, Wellington-based alto saxophonist and composer Jake Baxendale is about to reveal a new suite of compositions based on the idea of 'Fantasia' - a style of musical composition that includes elements of free-form.

Wellington's Lōemis festival has commissioned the Fantasia works, which will be performed by a 10-piece brass-heavy ensemble.

Jake's studied jazz in Berlin and New York City since graduating from the New Zealand School of Music in 2011, but as he told Lynn Freeman he can trace his love of music to his childhood in Golden Bay.

Jake Baxendale is premiering Fantasia on the 18th of June at the Dom Polski Club, Newtown as part of the Lōemis festival in Te Whanganui a Tara.

 

2:40 Author Les Allen discusses his book If That's What It Takes

Criminal law is a mainstay of books and TV shows, think John Mortimer's Rumpole of the Bailey through to L A Law and Boston Legal.

But novelist Les Allen's drawing on his time with legal firms, where private clients and businesses needed legal representation.

If That's What It Takes is set in the early 1980s. It features an unlikely pairing: Jim, a small town, decent Northland lawyer and Sean an unlicensed private investigator, who's not afraid to get his hands dirty when an unscrupulous businessman comes on their radar.

If That's What It Takes by Les Allen is self published.

 

2:49 Ad Parnassum - Purapurawhetū dance film series

 

A blend of Pacific and Mediterranean of ancient and right now, is promised in a new dance film series shot by Daniel Belton and scored by Dame Gillian Whitehead.

The work's called Ad Parnassum - Purapurawhetū and it's having a Matariki premiere in Otautahi/Christchurch.

Gillian's score is played by the NZ String Quartet and Al Fraser on taonga pūoro.

As Daniel explains, the music, choreography and the film visuals are inspired by Paul Klee's  painting "Ad Parnassum".

 

3:06 Drama at 3 - The Big Melt

Today's Classic Drama is Stuart Hoar's far-reaching comic drama The Big Melt, which explores aspects of a global financial meltdown, climate change and personal morality.