Iona Winter

Category: A Counter of Moons

• A Counter of Moons creative writing grief guest writer Lifting the Lid Festival New Zealand social issues suicide bereavement

  Speaking to suicide bereavement – A Counter of Moons at Lifting the Lid Festival (audio)

  Heartfelt thanks and my deepest respect to the 2025 Lifting the Lid Festival last weekend. Thank you for providing such a generous and inclusive space to discuss all things death and dying. Thanks to Dr Annetta Mallon for having a fearless conversation with me, about suicide bereavement and my creative…

  November 20, 2025
• A Counter of Moons creative writing grief Lifting the Lid Festival love New Zealand Literature parenting poetry Reuben Samuel Winter social issues suicide bereavement women writers

  Lifting the Lid Festival 2025

  I’m delighted to share that I’ll be presenting at the Lifting the Lid International Festival of Death and Dying again this year. The 5th annual festival lifts the lid on everything death and dying, through conversations, interactive events, workshops, art and craft sessions, live music, poetry and performance from around the…

  November 3, 2025
• A Counter of Moons Aotearoa grief love New Zealand Literature Non-fiction Reuben Samuel Winter suicide bereavement

  The dichotomies of grief

  This year’s theme for World Suicide Prevention Day was “changing the narrative around suicide”. How can we do this, when there’s no way to sugarcoat suicide bereavement? It’s not a thing you survive; this kind of grief accompanies you for life. I’ve attempted to challenge “the narrative around suicide” by…

  October 13, 2025
• A Counter of Moons creative writing grief suicide bereavement

  Grief and the healing powers of creativity: Interview with Helen Lehndorf

  Helen Lehndorf and I recently had a slow cooked interview via the ether, and she has generously shared it on her blog this week (link below). Once again, I am grateful, indebted, thankful, relieved (insert any other useful descriptor here) that a writerly friend hasn’t shied away from speaking about…

  August 21, 2025
• A Counter of Moons CLNZ/NZSA Writers’ Award creative writing Flash Frontier grief NZ Books Reuben Samuel Winter social issues suicide bereavement women writers

  ‘Keep the kōrero open’ book interview

  Recently, I had the privilege to speak with friend and writerly colleague Michelle Elvy at Flash Frontier, about A Counter of Moons (interview link below). https://flashfrontier.com/keep-the-korero-open-iona-winter-talks-with-michelle-elvy-about-her-new-book-a-counter-of-moons-artwork-by-kirstie-mckinnon/ Responding to interviews about this book, while welcomed, hasn’t been easy. A Counter of Moons is the most vulnerable kind of writing I’ve done,…

  August 11, 2025
• A Counter of Moons grief New Zealand NZ Books suicide bereavement

  Companionship in the Hard Places

  Last week at the New Moon, good friend, poet and artist, Kirstie McKinnon had a chat with me about A Counter of Moons (link below). We shared a gorgeous heart-centred conversation about the book, suicide bereavement and its complexities, the coexistence of pain and love, and the importance of breaking…

  July 29, 2025
• A Counter of Moons grief mental health NZ Books poetry suicide bereavement

  A Counter of Moons interview and a new poem

  Heartfelt thanks to Robin Barratt at Poetry for Mental Health (UK) https://www.poetryformentalhealth.org/interview-with-iona-winter In this interview I speak about mental health and my journey with it, including the body of work I’ve done since Reuben took his life. Alongside this, Robin has also published a new poem The sound of raupō…

  July 20, 2025
• A Counter of Moons book reviews grief love NZ Books suicide bereavement

  A Counter of Moons (Art)

  Last week I had a long kōrero (conversation) with my good friend Kirstie McKinnon about A Counter of Moons. In a couple of weeks, she’ll be interviewing me about the book too. Kirstie is a phenomenally talented writer, a loving friend, and also an intuitive and conscious painter. To read…

  July 10, 2025
• A Counter of Moons grief In the shape of his hand lay a river love New Zealand Non-fiction NZ Books poetry Reuben Samuel Winter suicide suicide bereavement women writers

  The book(s)

  Kā mihi aroha ki a koutou, my loving thanks to everyone who has purchased and begun reading A Counter of Moons. In case you missed it, A Counter of Moons is available via Steele Roberts Aotearoa https://steeleroberts.co.nz/product/a-counter-of-moons/ or your local bookshop should have them in stock by now. The feedback…

  July 3, 2025
• A Counter of Moons CLNZ/NZSA Writers’ Award grief loss love New Zealand Literature Non-fiction NZ Books Reuben Samuel Winter Steele Roberts Aotearoa suicide suicide bereavement

  New Book: A Counter of Moons

  Kia ora friends, whānau and writerly colleagues. Today’s news is that my new book A Counter of Moons has been printed and published with Steele Roberts Aotearoa. A Counter of Moons shares my initial grief experiences, after my son Reuben Winter took his life in 2020. Each chapter explores a…

  June 11, 2025