Several months ago, I was over the moon to learn my 2010 novel Head over Heels had been chosen to go to Frankfurt - one of 100 New Zealand books to be featured as part of our country's special guest spot at the Frankfurt Book Fair. But with the book fair looming in October, it would seem that being featured doesn't necessarily lead to anything much at all. However, if I was a New Zealand chef, dancer, film-maker, opera singer or visual artist I'd probably be clutching my air ticket right now ready to board the airline equivalent of a gravy train.
As former Penguin editor Geoff Walker so astutely puts it in the latest edition of the NZ Society of Authors newsletter, there's been criticism already that "there's too much emphasis on travel, food and drink in New Zealand's Frankfurt approach and not enough on literature"...."Music and dance might be great for tourism - but for literature and book rights sales? Will the singing and dancing swamp authors and publishers trying to do the business?"
I think Mr Walker has nailed it. The Ministry of Culture and Heritage has poured megabucks into promoting New Zealand at Frankfurt, at the expense of promoting New Zealand authors.
It's exactly the same with NZ Book Month, which book stores have turned into an excuse to promote sales of books like Fifty Shades of Grey and the usual blockbusters from overseas that are going to sell anyway. Their claim is that it promotes reading. Their omission is that it does very little, and possibly nothing, to promote sales of books by New Zealand authors.
I've enjoyed getting that off my chest! Does anyone agree?
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