NZSA Auckland Branch Virtual Event This April
NZSA Auckland Facebook page, 3 April, 7.30pm
Facebook Q&A with Eileen Merriman
Kia ora fellow members
In light of the current situation with the Covid-19 pandemic, we regretfully advise that the Auckland Branch in-person meetings for April and May will be cancelled. We are replacing these with exciting virtual opportunities (see more below).
New Zealand has to date only eight confirmed cases but we have seen from the examples of Italy and Iran and, closer to home, Australia, that lacking strict measures of containment leads to an exponential rise in cases over the course of days. Australia’s confirmed cases went from 28 on 1st March to 376 two weeks later. We currently have the opportunity in New Zealand to do better. I’m thinking about not only our older and more immune-compromised people but also of our doctors and health services providers who will be overwhelmed if New Zealanders don’t change their behaviour now.
Ngā mihi nui
Auckland Chair, Weng Wai
How as authors should we respond to our current times? Who better to tell us than highly successful author, doctor, and NZSA member Eileen Merriman!
Eileen Merriman’s three young adult novels, Pieces of You, Catch Me When You Fall, and Invisibly Breathing, were finalists in the NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults in 2018 and 2019, and are all Storylines Notable Books. Her first adult novel, Moonlight Sonata, released in 2019, was longlisted for the Ockham Acorn Foundation Fiction prize. Her latest YA novel, A Trio of Sophies, was released in March 2020.
Her other awards include runner-up in the 2018 Sunday Star-Times Short Story Award, third for three consecutive years in the 2014-2016 Sunday Star-Times Short Story Awards, second in the 2015 Bath Flash Fiction Award, commended in the 2015 Bath Short Story Competition, and first place in the 2015 Graeme Lay Short Story Competition. She works full-time as a consultant haematologist at North Shore Hospital.
How Our Facebook Q&A will work:
- Like and Follow our Facebook page
- Sign up to the Facebook event when you see it to be reminder of the Q&A
- At 7.30pm, Friday 3 April, jump online to our Facebook page. You will see a post saying that Eileen is live and ready to answer your questions
- Add your questions as comments to the post
- Eileen will answer members questions and give her thoughts, ideas and feedback for up to half an hour