First off, a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who takes the time to read my posts (having subscribed to them), who’ve engaged with rocks in my pockets (the new podcast), and purchased books. It’s infinitely more meaningful to me to hear from you, rather than the anti-social nature of what’s called ‘social media’, because you’ve made the time to connect.

Episode 2 of rocks in my pockets, this month’s podcast – in conversation with Debby Curreen (Te Rarawa, Ngāti Kurī) – has been posted here https://ionawinter.com/podcast/

Elixir & Star Press (aka me) is hard at work, having read and viewed truckloads of mixed-media submissions for the next grief almanac a liminal gathering 2. I’m delighted to share that around 120 artists have had their work accepted, and editing has begun. My next steps, other than typesetting, design, layout and editing, are to apply for (what’s become a tiny pool for small presses in Aotearoa New Zealand) literature funding to support publication of the next almanac. I’ve had a couple of generous offers of koha (donations) from people who want to support the non-profit work that I do with ESP* – another round of grateful THANKS to them! https://ionawinter.com/elixir-star-press/

Nui te aroha, much love, Iona x

(p.s. here’s a few photos from the beautiful southern West Coast where I live)