Out of the East

Chris McMaster

Kaituhi Rawhiti (eastern scribes) is the title of the Tairawhiti Writers’ Hub upcoming anthology.

Kaituhi translates to writer, scribe, author, novelist; rawhiti is eastern, so as the name suggests, all contributions or contributors are from Tairawhiti or have a link to the East Coast.

Four editors are involved in the selection and developmental process and now it is time to meet them.

“I craved mountains,” said educator Chris McMaster who left Alaska and came to New Zealand in 2007 and lived in a church in Ruatoria with a view of Hikurangi.

A year later, when the call of cafes and bookstores became too strong, he moved into Gisborne.

Science fiction writing is both a creative outlet and balance for the academic writing he has been involved with.

“I have written about eight academic books. I find that writing formulaic is writing for a select group of readers. I wanted to write a novel.”

So he wrote a science fiction trilogy, the first of which has been picked up by a publisher in the US. That experience extended into engagement with the editing and publishing process.

“The days of publishing thousands of copies — we don’t do that any more. People are self-publishing. All you need is a good editing team.

“You register as a business. You have a developmental editor and cover art people. For the anthology, we will edit submissions and put the anthology together, then we will use some of the grant money to hire a professional editor.”

Successful in their application for Margaret Spencer Writers Encouragement Trust funding, the Kaituhi Rawhiti editorial team aim to stay true to the spirit of the grant.

“We try to keep that encouragement principle at the forefront.”

Long-time member of the Tairawhiti Writers Hub, poet Gillian Moon came up with the idea of putting together the anthology.

“I took it to the group and said ‘how do you feel about putting together an anthology of writing from Tairawhiti?’ It was one of those lightbulb moments and a project for us to collaborate on.”

After submitting a funding application to the Margaret Spencer Writers Encouragement Trust, the editorial team sought submissions that expressed the diverse character of this region.

“We advertised on Facebook, put up posters and held a meeting to talk about the anthology,” said Moon.

“We got a really good turnout. We are trying to cast our net far and wide to reach as many people as we can. We want to celebrate diversity.

“We hope to have our book out by the end of this year.”

While the lockdown put the world on hold, Moon took the opportunity to begin writing a lockdown journal and to take part in online writing courses.

“We are going through something that is making history. The journal is something my grandchildren will read one day.”

The move out of Alert Level 4 and down the levels also means the deadline for submissions has been extended. Submissions can range from science fiction to romance, from haiku to memoir, but must be previously unpublished. Short stories can be up to 4000 words in length and submissions should include a short bio (100 words). Submissions should be made as a Word document and sent to tairawhitiwrite@gmail.com

“In my mind, the book is about encouraging local writers who need that nudge or who might not know outlets are out there, and to showcase that talent,” said Gisborne writer/editor Aaron Compton.

A writer of speculative fiction himself, Compton was last year awarded a 3D-printed trophy from Weta Workshop for his part in the creation of a New Zealand anthology called Te Korero Ahi Ka (to speak of the home fires burning).

Having volunteered as a mentee editor to work on shaping the anthology and to extend his own skills, Compton was guided in the art of editorship by Grace Bridges of Splashdown Books and multi-award-winning writer; science fiction, fantasy, and horror editor Lee Murray. The editors read all submissions and had a spreadsheet to put their thoughts on.

Kaituhi Rawhiti’s editors also have a spreadsheet they can share their thoughts on.

All kinds of writing have crossed the Kaituhi Rawhiti editors’ desks, and, while Compton is mostly focused on the stories, he is keen to see essays and creative non-fiction in the anthology.

“When people think about creative writing, they think of poetry and short stories but there’s a lot of creativity in essay writing.”

“It spoke to me,” said writer/editor Claire Price of the anthology.

“I loved the idea of showcasing local writing talent.”

While Price enjoys poetry, short stories and crime writing, variety is key to the anthology, she said. If a submission has potential or promise but needs work, the team will go back to the author to ask if he or she is open to working with them on it.

“It’s nice to see people sending in pieces about the experience of living in this area. It’s that thread that can be woven through to give it a local flavour, to contextualise it.

“Each editor has areas they are stronger in than others but it’s good to have diverse views on everything. We all have input into all of the submissions but will defer to those who are most experienced.

“We’re all learning, we’re all growing.”