Lani Wendt-Young, one of the most prolific Samoan writers of this generation, will be a speaker at the 2018 National Writers Forum happening on 21-23 September 2018. Organised by the New Zealand Society of Authors, this conference is the only national conference for writers from across the profession.
Wendt-Young is the 2018 ACP Pacific Laureate, and winner of the USP Fiction Prize. Her YA Telesa Series is a core text in university Pacific Literature papers throughout the world, ranked number one on the Top Rated World Literature listing and the most borrowed books by any Pasifika writer in the Auckland Libraries. Wendt-Young’s 2015 contemporary romance series – Scarlet Lies and Scarlet Secrets, debuted on the Australian Top 100 bestseller list and was Amazon’s number one Hot New Release.
To date, she has nine books published and digitally distributed worldwide, as well as a large selection of short stories and essays. Her essays incorporate topics such as feminism, culture, religion, domestic violence and child sexual abuse, which have created dialogue in many forums worldwide. She is commended for her inventiveness in her writing ambitions, making reading attractive to young readers.
“Writing is a breeze. I love doing it. I’m not writing to impress and astound with my grasp of imagery and language – no, I’m writing to tell a story. I’m a storyteller. And I’m always hoping and trying to improve.”
– Lani Wendt-Young
Alongside her writing, Wendt-Young is also an editor, publisher and journalist. With her wide range of experience in today’s increasingly hard publishing industry, she will be leading the How to Self-Publish workshop at the National Writers Forum. She will also join authors Catherine Robertson and Steff Green in the Getting Hot and Bothered panel, and Mandy Hager and Anna Mackenzie in the YA or Not YA, That Is The Question discussion.
For further information on Lani Wendt-Young visit her site.
She will be joined by Australians Dr Anita Heiss and John Marsden and local writers from across New Zealand. Tickets are on sale now with discounts offered for NZSA Members. Early bird tickets are available until 5 August.
For more information, to establish interviews or for images please contact Kirsten Le Harivel at programmenwf@gmail.com or Jenny Nagle at director@nzauthors.org.nz
