Book Launch: Short | Poto edited by Michelle Elvy and Kiri Piahana-Wong

Scorpio Books and Massey University Press warmly invite you to the Ōtautahi Christchurch launch of Short – Poto: The big book of small stories – Iti te kupu, nui te kōrero edited by Michelle Elvy and Kiri Piahana-Wong. This event will feature readings from: Claudia Jardine, Māia Te Whetū, Erik Kennedy, Gail Ingram, Heather McQuillan, Isla Huia, James Norcliffe, Nod Ghosh, Rachel Smith & her daughter Olive, Sile Mannion, Vana Manasiadis, and Siobhan Collins reading for Rose Collins.

All welcome, refreshments provided. Please send in your RSVP. Pre-order your copy today!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Short, short stories, sometimes known as flash fiction or microfiction, are one of the trickiest forms to write. Create a resonant world in fewer than 300 words? Not so easy! In this collection of 100 stories, a range of New Zealand writers, both well known and emerging, deliver emotionally charged stories that punch well above their weight and length. And there’s more! Each of the stories has been translated into te reo Māori (and some are written in te reo and translated into English) by some of this country’s most experienced translators, making this book a valuable contributor to our literary landscape that rewards repeated readings.

ABOUT THE EDITORS

Michelle Elvy is a writer, editor, writing tutor and mentor. She is founding editor of the literary journal Flash Frontier: An adventure in short fiction and Aotearoa New Zealand’s National Flash Fiction Day, and managing editor of the international Best Small Fictions series. Her anthologies include Bonsai: Best small stories from Aotearoa New Zealand, Ko Aotearoa Tātou | We Are New Zealand, A Kind of Shelter Whakaruru-taha and Te Moana o Reo | Ocean of Languages. She is the author of the everrumble (2019) and the other side of better (2021).

Kiri Piahana-Wong is a poet, editor and publisher who is of Māori (Ngāti Ranginui), Chinese and Pākehā ancestry. Her work has appeared in over 50 journals and anthologies, and she has performed at numerous literary festivals across the New Zealand. In 2023 Kiri co-edited Te Awa o Kupu with Vaughan Rapatahana. She is the author of the poetry collections Night Swimming (2013) and Tidelines (2024).