18 SEPTEMBER – 15 OCTOBER 2006
Media Release: For Immediate Release
Date: 5 October 2006
NZ Book Month Heats Up Hamilton With Sugar And Spice
Thursday 12th October 2006 – Indian Char Bagh Gardens
Next Thursday Hamilton will witness a mixture of love and passion, naughty and nice, sugar and spice as part of New
Zealand Book Month. Flamboyant writers, Pinky Agnew, Peta Mathias, Anne Maria Nicholson, Peter Wells and Daphne de Jong
will join together to present an honest and amusing account of all things Sugar and Spice.
Phil Twyford, Project Director of NZ Book Month says, “Hamilton is in for a real treat with these writers – they’re all
as fascinating as the passionate worlds they inhabit in their writing. New Zealand Book Month is all about introducing
Kiwis to the great variety of New Zealand literature available and ‘Sugar and Spice’ is one way of doing this.”
Each of the authors at the Hamilton event has an exceptional talent to engage their audience through tales, verses and
real-life accounts that excite every emotion. Peta Mathias is one of our country’s most flamboyant foodies with a
passion for France – the home of romance. Pinky Agnew is a marriage celebrant, actor and motivational speaker with a
keen interest in verses that evoke love.
Currently the Writer in Residence at Waikato University, Peter Wells is critically acclaimed for his combination of wit,
emotional intensity and psychological insight. Anne Marie Nicholson has worked in journalism for more than 30 years. Her
first novel, the bestseller Weeping Waters, is the heart-wrenching tale of the Tangiwai Disaster.
Acclaimed romance writer Daphne de Jong will complete this seductive mix. De Jong has published close to 70 contemporary
romance novels in more than 20 languages; almost forty of these for the renowned romance publishers Mills & Boon/Harlequin. She has also published poetry, short stories and a critically acclaimed historical novel Gather the
Wind (1999). She won the prestigious Katherine Mansfield Short Story Award for her story ‘Dying Light’, and co-runs
courses in romance writing at the Kara School of Writing with writer Robyn Donald.
Chaired by Gail Pittaway, this event promises a unique chance to listen to a fantastic collection of writers with
amazing talent for emotive writing. Sugar and Spice will be held at The Indian Char Bagh Gardens, Hamilton from 6:00pm
to 7:30pm. Tickets are just $15 and seats are selling fast so visit www.bookcouncil.org.nz or call 0800 258 255 now for
your tickets.
NZ Book Month is a national celebration of NZ books and NZ writers. The month is supported by booksellers, publishers,
writers, librarians and book lovers of all descriptions and is inspired by the exceptional literary talent found in
Aotearoa. Check out www.nzbookmonth.co.nz to explore how NZ Book Month has something for everyone.
-Ends-