FIRST INTERNATIONAL PERFORMANCE - NZ YWF to AU NYWF

NZ YWF to AU NYWF - FIRST INTERNATIONAL PERFORMANCE

Kia ora! Kō Claudia tōku ignoa. Nō Merita me Ingarangi ōku tīpuna. Kei te noho au ki Ōtautahi. I ask for your support to take up an opportunity to perform at the National Young Writers' Festival on the land of the Awabakal and Worimi peoples in Newcastle, NSW, Australia.

In April 2023 I launched my first book of poems BITER and toured it through Ōtautahi, Pōneke and down Te Waipounamu. BITER, published by Auckland University Press, stayed on the Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list for fiction for two weeks, ending April 21 and April 28. Since then I have performed at Auckland Writers Festival and the first print run of the book has completely sold out.

I have appearances booked at WORD Christchurch at the end of August, several standalone events in my calendar, and I am curating and performing at some events at the NZ Young Writers Festival in September. My experience of releasing a book in Aotearoa has been dreamy, and I am riding a wave of appreciation of and excitement for my poetry that really fills my cup. You can read reviews of BITER and the impact it is having on readers here at my linktr.ee website.

This is my first invitation to perform at a writers festival outside of Aotearoa. National Young Writers Festival (NYWF) is so-called Australia’s largest gathering of young writers, with artists bringing their craft from all parts of the country. A small cohort of writers from Aotearoa have been invited, myself included, and we are so excited to share the art we make and the mahi we do in our writing scene with writers from neighbouring countries. The trip is a chance to learn, exchange ideas, share my writing with a new audience and develop as an artist. I will be traveling from Ōtepoti to Newcastle shortly after participating in the New Zealand Young Writers Festival.

This Boosted campaign is to raise funds for: return flights from Te Waipounamu to Newcastle ($1643), accommodation at the Newcastle Beach YHA (approximately $175), transfers to and from the Newcastle airport at ungodly hours (approximately $150) and food while I’m traveling.

Thank you for taking the time to read about my campaign. All artists are struggling for funding at the moment and I know many of you feel my anxieties concerning pursuing a career in the arts.

This project has had the misfortune to fall out of the time windows of local and national funding opportunities. I appreciate any offers of support, no matter how small.

Ngā mihi maioha,

Claudia Jardine