New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (PEN NZ) Inc announces new digital initiatives

April 3, 2020

Like all New Zealanders, organisations and businesses, NZSA is adapting to the challenging circumstances brought about by the unprecedented COVID-19 emergency.

“We are really concerned about the ongoing welfare, income and mental and physical health of our members. Many do not qualify for wage subsidies and cannot replace their lost incomes” says NZSA CEO Jenny Nagle. “As soon as it became clear our National Writers Forum, Writer’s Festivals, workshops, events, and book launches would not be able to take place for the indefinite future we began planning how to respond and support our writers.”

This has resulted in three new initiatives to support, promote, educate and encourage writers in Aotearoa.

NZSA President Mandy Hager says “In the middle of this unsettling time, our National Office team has come up with a wonderful range of online initiatives to reach out to our members. With many of us wondering how we’ll survive this long term, the chance to share learning and experiences is vital to our ongoing mental and physical health. I hope you’ll embrace these opportunities. Stay safe. Stay well.”

#NZSA Writers Read

‘#NZSA Writers Read’ provides dedicated playlists on the NZSA Youtube channel of authors reading from their published work, creating a platform for writers to promote their new books. The channel and the hashtag #NZWritersRead is available to publishers, authors and others to promote new or recent books and they can also embed these clips in their websites and social media. Videos are welcome from all NZSA members.

 #NZSA WebWorkshops

A new series of webinars will enable ongoing professional development. NZSA will begin a series of #NZSAWebWorkshops launching April 15.

This series is kicking off with some workshops we had planned for the NZSA National Writer’s Forum 2020 and we will deliver them digitally. There will be a limit on available places.

Writers and industry professionals will offer virtual workshops initially on topics such as self-publishing, romance writing, poetry, structure, short stories, pitching, contract advice, dystopian writing and the business of writing.

More information and booking details for the first three workshops will follow in the NZSA Literary Bulletin April 9.

THE FIRST SESSION WILL RUN WEDNESDAY APRIL 15  –  SAVE THE DATE!
Writer, publisher and blogger Steff Green will run a webinar on SELF-PUBLISHING.
We realise some of you will be using this Zoom technology for the first time and we will issue instructions and log-in 48 hours before the event.                    Zoom is free to download 
Details of the workshop will follow.