World Book Day Lecture, Thursday 6 March 2025

Monday, February 10th, 2025 | Shef Rogers | No Comments

The Centre for the Book is delighted to welcome back to campus former Printer-in-Residence Dr. Caren Florance to deliver the 2025 World Book Day Lecture, “Books as Mutable Creatures.”

Dr. Florance lives and works in Bega, NSW, within the Yuin-Monaro Nations of Australia. She is an artist and book designer/typographer, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Canberra. Her creative doctorate explored collaboration strategies used between writers and artists. Her own creative practice, often produced under the imprint Ampersand Duck, is deeply material, using handset letterpress and other processes to explore overlaps of visual poetry and text art via artist books, zines and other print formats. She aims to present text in ways that extend gallery boundaries to intrigue and provoke the public into unsolicited reading and participation. Her artwork is collected by national and international institutions, mostly libraries. In 2019 she published a commercial visual poetry volume called Lost in Case with Cordite Books.

Her talk considers how essential book components— cover, pages, text and images— have remained the same for millennia but formats and structures have regularly changed with the times. We still recognise other technologies as ‘books’ when they are just sound, like audiobooks, or just pixels, like digital books. Over (at least) the last century books as art have wantonly raided bibliographic history to play with structure and design. This presentation will showcase some of the creative ways literature and art have intersected with books, including my own interactions with contemporary writers and artists.

We hope you can join us at 5:30 pm in Archway 2.

The lecture will be followed at 7 pm by a group dinner at Ombrellos with $60 (2-course) and $70 (3-course) options, and a cash bar.  Those wishing to attend should notify Assoc Prof Paul Tankard as soon as possible, as places are limited.

Not Hearing from Us?

Tuesday, February 4th, 2025 | Shef Rogers | Comments Off on Not Hearing from Us?

It turns out our system requires manual confirmation of subscriptions, so if you have tried to subscribe and not heard from us, please send an email to books@otago.ac.nz and we’ll add you if we know you are someone with a legitimate interest in our activities (alas, most request are not from such people).  If you subscribe via the link in the blog, you should receive a confirmation email within a day or two, when I check the requests and confirm.

Apologies for the convoluted system, though it’s probably no more work than the usual verifications required–just more personal.

Be the First to Know!

Saturday, February 1st, 2025 | Shef Rogers | Comments Off on Be the First to Know!

Did you know that you can subscribe to this blog, and receive an email reminder every time a new post appears?  That way you will always know what’s coming up at the Centre for the Book, and can easily forward news of any event to others you think might be interested.

To subscribe, simply add an email address in the box to the left and hit ‘Subscribe’.  It’s that easy, and you don’t have to use an identifying email, nor will you be asked for any verification.  You’ll just be kept up to date with all the upcoming activities for the Centre.  And we promise not use your email for anything else or let anyone else use it for anything–how’s that for a straightforward privacy policy?

Recordings of the 2024 Symposium

Wednesday, November 27th, 2024 | Shef Rogers | Comments Off on Recordings of the 2024 Symposium

Metal table-stand microphoneI am delighted to be able to make available audio recordings of all the presentations along with images of each presenter’s slides (if used).  There is no video of the speakers themselves, for which I apologise—somehow we ended up in one of the only lecture theatres on the campus without a presenter camera.  The audio quality is generally excellent, though some of the questions may not be audible if the microphone had not yet reached the questioner.

We hope you enjoy the event in this asynchronous format.  The presenters all spoke in the order listed on the programme, so if you wish to listen to one particular paper, you can scroll through the relevant panel recording to locate the desired presentation.

 

Nick Gadd’s Keynote address on Thursday evening

Friday Panels:

2024 “Books and the City” Symposium this Thursday and Friday

Monday, October 14th, 2024 | Shef Rogers | Comments Off on 2024 “Books and the City” Symposium this Thursday and Friday

The full programme for this year’s symposium is now available ( 2024 Programme ). We hope you can join us Thursday evening at 5:30 for Nick Gadd’s keynote address and for the day Friday to hear our 4 panels of presentations.

The symposium takes place at the University of Otago College of Education, Tower Block Lecture Theatre, G.07, 155 Union Street East, Dunedin.

Looking forward to seeing you.

Scholarly Opportunities Near and Far

Monday, September 9th, 2024 | Shef Rogers | Comments Off on Scholarly Opportunities Near and Far

Heart image with 'Study Opportunities' below.Two book-oriented opportunities are currently open to receive applications.  The first is the University Book Shop Summer Writing Residency in Dunedin, the second a research fellowship at the University of Western Australia Library in Perth.  Details for both follow.

University Book Shop Summer Writer in Residence, in Association with the Robert Lord Writers’ Cottage Trust

Not only a room of one’s own, but an office at the bookshop and a furnished cottage for six weeks. The residency is open to emerging writers who are normally resident in New Zealand and write for adults, young adults or children. They may write in any genre, including poetry, drama, fiction, narrative non-fiction, graphic novels, biography, autobiography, essays or literary criticism.

Applications close 6 October for a residency in January and February 2025 in line with the University of Otago’s summer term.

Full details and definitions of ’emerging are included in this PDF, with contact to obtain the application form.  Sharpen your quills!

The Dorothy W. Collin Fellowship in the History of the Book
University of Western Australia (UWA) Library

The University Library administers the Collin Fellowship, which was established with a generous gift from Dr. Dorothy Windus Collin and the late Dr. Robert Collin. The Fellowship, worth $2,000 in 2024, supports the study of the English or European language holdings of the UWA Library’s Special Collections. The study should treat an aspect of book history and should focus on the book or script as historical evidence.

Fellowship conditions, eligibility criteria and a link to the application form can be found on the UWA Library website.

Applications for the 2024 Dorothy W. Collin Fellowship should be submitted via the online form by the closing date, 5:00pm AWST Thursday 10 October 2024. Late applications will not be accepted. The successful applicant will be notified in early November 2024.

Please circulate news of these opportunities to anyone you think may be eligible.

Call for Papers for 21–22 November 2024 Symposium–“Books and the City”

Monday, August 12th, 2024 | Shef Rogers | Comments Off on Call for Papers for 21–22 November 2024 Symposium–“Books and the City”

Although the CFP has been previously circulated, we wanted to post it here for easier distribution to anyone you think may wish to contribute or attend.

As Dunedin celebrates its tenth anniversary as a UNESCO City of Literature, the Centre for the Book proposes to think collectively about what books and cities have to do with each other.  As well as considering the epiphenomena of books in cities, and if and how cities support or undermine book-based culture, we also want to think about what it might mean to be a “literary city,” by keeping in mind the city as (Latin) civitas, and asking in broad terms what books have meant and can mean for the lives of cities and their citizens.

Possible topics might include but are not limited to:

  • Bookshops in (particular) cities, and their contribution to the ecology of print
  • Newspapers, ditto.
  • School policies, reading practices and distinctive Dunedin approaches
  • Publishers and publishers of works about cities and their literary lives
  • Libraries (public, private) in cities
  • Other institutional structures supporting authors, writing and reading in cities: Festivals, Fellowships, Residencies
  • Scholarship, books and essays in Dunedin
  • City-based literary tourism
  • Events associated with books: signings, launches, readings, book groups, exhibitions, etc.
  • Handpress printing in Dunedin or other cities
  • Guidebooks to cities and their writers and publishers
  • Depictions in film and literature of books and book-related activities in the life of cities
  • Books and urbanity (urbs = [Latin] city, geographical; walled town); books and politeness (polis = [Greek] citadel, city, or community)
  • Books and civility /civilisations /citizenship (civitas = [Latin] city, social and political): that is, the values appropriate for life in cities.

Dates and details

Call for Papers issued Mon. 1 July
Proposals for papers by 1 Sept., to books@otago.ac.nz
We hope to send acceptances by 15 September.
The Symposium will be on Thurs (evening), Friday (all day), 21-22 November
The venue will be the Otago College of Education Tower Block, Theatre G07.

Exciting Exhibition Coming to Dunedin Public Library from 22 August

Tuesday, August 6th, 2024 | Shef Rogers | Comments Off on Exciting Exhibition Coming to Dunedin Public Library from 22 August

“Wind Between the Pages”:
David Elliot Exhibition
Reed Gallery, Dunedin Public Library
22 August to 27 October 2024

 What a Treat!

Award-winning Dunedin illustrator and writer, David Elliot, has delved into the art of 3D drawing, an exciting and original way of ‘lifting illustrations’ from the pages of the books he loves.

David’s re-imaging of illustration showcases a range of well-known titles, including Melville’s Moby Dick, Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and his own, personal response to Lewis Carroll’s The Hunting of the Snark.

Whatever is going on, these models and drawings are essentially about his on-going fascination with books and the imagined worlds they contain. Many of them also celebrate where David lives on the edge of the wild Otago Coast and delve into the literature of the sea. Winds howl through their pages, storms rage against their bindings, tiny ships are flung across their pages and strange creatures are cast up onto their margins.

David will also give a talk on August 22nd at 5.30 p.m. on the genesis of his creations and reveal the hows and whys of this original artform.  All are welcome to attend.

New Publication for Bibliography

Monday, August 5th, 2024 | Shef Rogers | Comments Off on New Publication for Bibliography

The Bibliographical Society of Australia and NZ is proud to release its newest Occasional Publication, Carlo Dumontet’s Collation, Reference Notation & Statement of Signing: A Workbook, available directly from the Society.

For more details, see this PDF flyer.

Intended for all book lovers who have occasionally been mystified or daunted by collation statements describing the physical structures of books, Dumontet’s volume includes exercises and numerous illustrations to dispel the confusions that sometimes accompany the art of collation statements.  Distilled from the authoritative sources, this book makes the topic approachable in a much more user-friendly format.

Reading Allowed Schedule of Texts for 2024

Wednesday, May 1st, 2024 | Shef Rogers | Comments Off on Reading Allowed Schedule of Texts for 2024

For those who love hearing great literature, Reading Allowed offers a monthly treat of two selections, one read by Paul Tankard and the other by Lorraine Johnston.  Whether revisiting an old favourite or wanting a fun introduction to a book you know you should have read, Reading Allowed offers something for everyone.

Readings take place at the Moray Place Dunedin Public Library at 5:30 on designated Wednesdays.

Here’s the schedule:

March 13

Of Mice and MenJohn Steinbeck
Possession: A RomanceA. S. Byatt

 April 10

The Pilgrim’s ProgressJohn Bunyan
A Short Story by Saki

May 8

Boswell’s Life of JohnsonJames Boswell
Flight of the Fantail. Steph Matuku (NZ)

June 12

The ChangeoverMargaret Mahy (NZ) (Note: It is 40 years since The Changeover won the Carnegie Medal – the second Carnegie won by Mahy/other was in 1982 for The Haunting – (she was second person to win it twice – but first from outside UK and first woman). Also Mahy is the “Theme” for Continued Sense of Wonder on June 19.
A Short Story by P. G. Wodehouse

July 10

The Children of Green KnoweL. M Boston
The Book of Secrets. Fiona Kidman (NZ)

August 14

The Secret AgentJoseph Conrad – to be read by Lorraine (100 years since Conrad died)
The HobbitJ. R. R. Tolkien

September 11

The Golden KeyGeorge MacDonald
Heidi. Johanna Spyri

October 9 

A History of Tom Jones, a FoundlingHenry Fielding
Howl’s Moving Castle. Diana Wynne-Jones

November 6 (1st Wednesday of the month – to accommodate for second November reading)

The Woman in WhiteWilkie Collins (200 years since Collins born)
Inside Dope by Paul Thomas (NZ)

November 27 (in lieu of a December offering)

1066 and All That. W. C. Sellar and R. J. Yeatman
The Lady of Shalott. Alfred, Lord Tennyson