Salon event for readers

Salon event for readers

In June book-lovers have the chance to talk with two writers, Anna Smaill and Bridget van der Zijpp, in a new salon event for readers that takes place in a bookshop after-hours.

Moderator for the evening, author Kirsten McDougall, says that the relaxed and intimate environment of a bookshop is the perfect place for readers to gather and talk with writers, something they don’t usually get to do at writers’ festivals.

‘Literary salons are wildly popular on the international book scene, and we know that NZ readers love events that stimulate their minds and entertain them. We’re going to drink wine and talk big ideas just like a good book group does, only this group has access to the books’ authors.’ The writers featured in this first salon have written two very different books, though both feature music as theme. Wellington writer Anna Smaill’s highly inventive debut novel, The Chimes, is set in a reimagined London where music has replaced the written world and memories are carried in physical objects. In contrast Auckland writer Bridget van der Zijpp’s second novel, In the Neighbourhood of Fame, is set in present-day New Zealand and examines the vagaries of fame in the life of fictional local rock legend, Jed Jordan.

Both books have been drawing in readers and receiving warm reviews. A Metro magazine review recently said of In the Neighbourhood of Fame that “van der Zijpp is good at fathoming the odd ways in which people think and love and miscommunicate”. Smaill’s The Chimes, which is published in the UK and NZ was described by The Guardian as “bold…fresh and original”.

Event information:
Wednesday 3 June, 6pm–7.30pm at Vic Books, Kelburn.

Tickets $15, places are limited.

Ticket price includes a glass of wine, shared antipasto platters, plus 10% off the price of the books on the night.

Purchase tickets from VUP website:
http://vup.victoria.ac.nz/readers-salon-event-with-bridget-van-der-zijpp-and-anna-smaill

ENDS

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