Starling holds first Auckland launch next week

Literary magazine Starling will hold its first-ever Auckland launch next Saturday.

Starling is a creative writing journal for writers under the age of 25. The Auckland launch will celebrate Issue 12, which went live this morning.

Starling editorial committee member Tate Fountain, who is organising the Auckland launch party, says it will not only be Starling’s first launch in Auckland but "the first-ever Auckland Starling event of anything".

All past Starling events have been in Wellington.

“It’s great to get a new opportunity for our Auckland readers who have never had somewhere to read [their work] before – it’s new and exciting,” she says.

Francis Cooke, a Starling editor since its inception in 2015, is also delighted Aucklanders can head along to the literary event.

Launch parties “allow people to celebrate the writing that they’re reading".

"Writing can really come alive when people are reading it out loud.

“It’s a different experience to reading on the page, and it gives a chance for the writers being published to meet and see people who are reading their work.

“It’s great to go out and actually meet people who are passionate about the same things as you – who are passionate about new New Zealand writing,” he says.

Maisie Chiton’s cover art for Starling Issue 12, titled She Will Sleep. Image: supplied

Poet Lily Holloway says Starling in an important part of Aotearoa’s literary scene.

“It’s more than just an online literary journal—it’s a community of young people who engage with and uplift each other’s work,” she says.

“We always wanted Starling to help create a community and to be a part of the broader Aotearoa literary community, but [also be a place] that gave space to young writers,” Mr Cooke says.

Ms Holloway will perform at the event, along with fellow Starlings poets Ruby Macomber, Maddie Ballard, Holly H. Bercusson, Brecon Dobbie, and Bianca Rogers-Mott.

The Auckland launch party will kick off at the Open Book place next Saturday.

Starling is also running launches in Christchurch and Wellington.