Fergus Barrowman
@fergusthw.bsky.social
Editor, Publisher
https://teherengawakapress.co.nz
https://teherengawakapress.co.nz
Reposted by Fergus Barrowman
Damien wrote about some NZ songs he likes/likes thinking about.
Damien Wilkins: Seven Songs - Article | AudioCulture
Damien Wilkins in 2024. - Ebony Lamb
Damien Wilkins is the author of 14 books, including the novel Delirious (2024), which won the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the 2025 Ockham NZ Book Awa...
www.audioculture.co.nz
February 5, 2026 at 3:53 AM
Damien wrote about some NZ songs he likes/likes thinking about.
Reposted by Fergus Barrowman
‘To ensure a robust, long-lasting and more equitable literary sector, the only solution is a big increase in government funding – so long as it is independent of political interference – and sustained grants that can facilitate planning and growth.’
With threats from culture wars, climate disaster and insecure funding, Australia's thriving writers' festivals face an uncertain future. Read more in @theconversation.com
theconversation.com/what-is-the-...
theconversation.com/what-is-the-...
What is the future of Australia’s embattled writers festivals?
Australia’s literary festivals are under threat from culture wars, climate risks, new hate speech laws and ongoing funding scarcity.
theconversation.com
February 5, 2026 at 12:27 AM
‘To ensure a robust, long-lasting and more equitable literary sector, the only solution is a big increase in government funding – so long as it is independent of political interference – and sustained grants that can facilitate planning and growth.’
Reposted by Fergus Barrowman
The problem with social media is that you’re only allowed to hold opinions in batches. If you believe X and Y, you must also believe Z, which is atmospherically similar to X and Y and believed by all the same people.
If you don’t do this, everyone hates you. It makes actual thinking impossible.
If you don’t do this, everyone hates you. It makes actual thinking impossible.
February 3, 2026 at 1:21 PM
The problem with social media is that you’re only allowed to hold opinions in batches. If you believe X and Y, you must also believe Z, which is atmospherically similar to X and Y and believed by all the same people.
If you don’t do this, everyone hates you. It makes actual thinking impossible.
If you don’t do this, everyone hates you. It makes actual thinking impossible.
Reposted by Fergus Barrowman
We're having so many parties this month, and you're not going to want to miss any of them. The launch of Leather & Chains will be amazing!
⛓️ Tuesday 17 February, 6pm
⛓️ Meow bar, 9 Edward Street, Wellington
⛓️ All welcome!
More info here: www.facebook.com/share/17vrfm...
⛓️ Tuesday 17 February, 6pm
⛓️ Meow bar, 9 Edward Street, Wellington
⛓️ All welcome!
More info here: www.facebook.com/share/17vrfm...
February 3, 2026 at 5:17 AM
We're having so many parties this month, and you're not going to want to miss any of them. The launch of Leather & Chains will be amazing!
⛓️ Tuesday 17 February, 6pm
⛓️ Meow bar, 9 Edward Street, Wellington
⛓️ All welcome!
More info here: www.facebook.com/share/17vrfm...
⛓️ Tuesday 17 February, 6pm
⛓️ Meow bar, 9 Edward Street, Wellington
⛓️ All welcome!
More info here: www.facebook.com/share/17vrfm...
January 28, 2026 at 1:30 AM
Advance copies come to Ligar Bay 😍@thwupbooks.bsky.social
January 19, 2026 at 4:02 AM
Advance copies come to Ligar Bay 😍@thwupbooks.bsky.social
@dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social portal or…?
Three more #kakapo matings last night:
Whenua Hou:
- Nora 💚 Tutoko
- Pura 💚 Gulliver
Anchor:
- Toitiiti 💚 Deans
Great to see genetically important Gulliver mating, and matriarch Nora starting - her first known nest was in 1981! Here she is on her 2019 nest. #conservation #parrots
Whenua Hou:
- Nora 💚 Tutoko
- Pura 💚 Gulliver
Anchor:
- Toitiiti 💚 Deans
Great to see genetically important Gulliver mating, and matriarch Nora starting - her first known nest was in 1981! Here she is on her 2019 nest. #conservation #parrots
January 18, 2026 at 9:41 AM
@dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social portal or…?
High & Dry at 270m
January 18, 2026 at 2:44 AM
High & Dry at 270m
Reposted by Fergus Barrowman
I'm approaching 2026 with the certainty I am right about everything. Farewell ambivalence tbh
I have reincarnated as a environmentalist on Twitter, wtaf lol. Ikea is a bad as Temu and Shein and I'm not even sorry about it, I mean remember when furniture used to have a personality.
December 31, 2025 at 11:47 PM
I'm approaching 2026 with the certainty I am right about everything. Farewell ambivalence tbh
Reposted by Fergus Barrowman
Just heard Duke Ellington use a magnificent phrase in a 1974 BBC interview with Stanley Dance. Asked whether he regrets never having received a grant to sit at a university somewhere and compose in peace, he says he has no interest in such a stretch of “ornamental stagnation.”
December 26, 2025 at 4:05 AM
Just heard Duke Ellington use a magnificent phrase in a 1974 BBC interview with Stanley Dance. Asked whether he regrets never having received a grant to sit at a university somewhere and compose in peace, he says he has no interest in such a stretch of “ornamental stagnation.”
Reposted by Fergus Barrowman
‘Miracle’ of Zealandia: chick is born to rare takahē pair thought to be infertile
‘Miracle’ of Zealandia: chick is born to rare takahē pair thought to be infertile
Unexpected arrival is a boon for birdlife in New Zealand, where there are only 500 takahē left
A pair of rare native New Zealand takahē birds who were believed infertile have stunned staff at the world’s largest urban eco-sanctuary, after hatching a “miracle” chick.
The roughly seven-week old chick was discovered inside Zealandia, a fully fenced eco-sanctuary 10 minutes from Wellington’s city centre, in November, but its arrival has been a closely guarded secret to ensure its safety. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
December 21, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Reposted by Fergus Barrowman
The bird with a big mouth. The bird who leads the flock. The bird who announces the day. The bird who sounds the alarm. The dark bird. The rare bird. The noble, silly, insomniac parrot we’re going to have to learn to live with, all over again.
www.nzgeo.com/stories/fort...
www.nzgeo.com/stories/fort...
Forty names for kākā
The bird with a big mouth. The bird who leads the flock. The bird who announces the day. The bird who sounds the alarm. The dark bird. The rare bird. The noble, silly, insomniac parrot we’re going to ...
www.nzgeo.com
December 20, 2025 at 8:01 PM
The bird with a big mouth. The bird who leads the flock. The bird who announces the day. The bird who sounds the alarm. The dark bird. The rare bird. The noble, silly, insomniac parrot we’re going to have to learn to live with, all over again.
www.nzgeo.com/stories/fort...
www.nzgeo.com/stories/fort...
Reposted by Fergus Barrowman
Huge thanks to the cover designers, editors, typesetters, reps, booksellers, event teams and reviewers who all play such a vital part in the process of making books happen, and to everyone who has read, bought, borrowed, recommended, and celebrated our books this year.
December 20, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Huge thanks to the cover designers, editors, typesetters, reps, booksellers, event teams and reviewers who all play such a vital part in the process of making books happen, and to everyone who has read, bought, borrowed, recommended, and celebrated our books this year.
Reposted by Fergus Barrowman
This is by far the best thing I have read about writing and ai. Also this collection is stunning - I'm quite heartbroken to see it disqualified. Thank you Jiaqiao Liu.
'AI got my poetry collection disqualified from the book awards – here’s my side of the story.'
thespinoff.co.nz/books/20-12-...
'AI got my poetry collection disqualified from the book awards – here’s my side of the story.'
thespinoff.co.nz/books/20-12-...
AI got my poetry collection disqualified from the book awards – here’s my side of the story
"Personally, I am more interested in the artistic reasoning behind a writer's choice to use generative AI."
thespinoff.co.nz
December 19, 2025 at 8:42 PM
This is by far the best thing I have read about writing and ai. Also this collection is stunning - I'm quite heartbroken to see it disqualified. Thank you Jiaqiao Liu.
'AI got my poetry collection disqualified from the book awards – here’s my side of the story.'
thespinoff.co.nz/books/20-12-...
'AI got my poetry collection disqualified from the book awards – here’s my side of the story.'
thespinoff.co.nz/books/20-12-...
The Ockhams brings more shame down upon us. Maybe @thwupbooks.bsky.social should withdraw our books? thespinoff.co.nz/books/20-12-...
AI got my poetry collection disqualified from the book awards – here’s my side of the story
"Personally, I am more interested in the artistic reasoning behind a writer's choice to use generative AI."
thespinoff.co.nz
December 19, 2025 at 5:56 PM
The Ockhams brings more shame down upon us. Maybe @thwupbooks.bsky.social should withdraw our books? thespinoff.co.nz/books/20-12-...
Reposted by Fergus Barrowman
you don't need to buy store brand Harry Potter, it and every other "magical scooby gang goes to school and has adventures" YA is actually the same "chosen one's real destiny was the friends he made along the way" but with a different cover
December 18, 2025 at 11:43 PM
you don't need to buy store brand Harry Potter, it and every other "magical scooby gang goes to school and has adventures" YA is actually the same "chosen one's real destiny was the friends he made along the way" but with a different cover
Reposted by Fergus Barrowman
So, the administration that wishes we’d just give up trying ALSO hates essays? How very on brand.
Head to the comments to co-sign our EIC @kristenmiller.bsky.social’s ✨holiday message✨ to the NEA. We’re not going anywhere.
#literarycommunity #essay
Head to the comments to co-sign our EIC @kristenmiller.bsky.social’s ✨holiday message✨ to the NEA. We’re not going anywhere.
#literarycommunity #essay
December 17, 2025 at 7:05 PM
So, the administration that wishes we’d just give up trying ALSO hates essays? How very on brand.
Head to the comments to co-sign our EIC @kristenmiller.bsky.social’s ✨holiday message✨ to the NEA. We’re not going anywhere.
#literarycommunity #essay
Head to the comments to co-sign our EIC @kristenmiller.bsky.social’s ✨holiday message✨ to the NEA. We’re not going anywhere.
#literarycommunity #essay
Happy birthday, house
December 14, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Happy birthday, house
Reposted by Fergus Barrowman
Dressing for World Book Day as the river in Barbara Comyns's 'Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead'.
March 6, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Dressing for World Book Day as the river in Barbara Comyns's 'Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead'.
Reposted by Fergus Barrowman
What I read in 2025 (1):
Damien Wilkins' Delirious.
Like reading King Lear; domestic routines amidst physical, emotional, mental deterioration; the loss of personhood; the effect on survivors; violent gusto of voice in Pete's mother, one word gurgling in Claire, no voice in Wil. Tough read. Genius.
Damien Wilkins' Delirious.
Like reading King Lear; domestic routines amidst physical, emotional, mental deterioration; the loss of personhood; the effect on survivors; violent gusto of voice in Pete's mother, one word gurgling in Claire, no voice in Wil. Tough read. Genius.
December 8, 2025 at 10:56 PM
What I read in 2025 (1):
Damien Wilkins' Delirious.
Like reading King Lear; domestic routines amidst physical, emotional, mental deterioration; the loss of personhood; the effect on survivors; violent gusto of voice in Pete's mother, one word gurgling in Claire, no voice in Wil. Tough read. Genius.
Damien Wilkins' Delirious.
Like reading King Lear; domestic routines amidst physical, emotional, mental deterioration; the loss of personhood; the effect on survivors; violent gusto of voice in Pete's mother, one word gurgling in Claire, no voice in Wil. Tough read. Genius.
One book of the holy bible
December 7, 2025 at 5:17 AM
One book of the holy bible
newsroom.co.nz/2025/12/05/a... Good news! All publishers need is enough notice to abide by the rules.
AI cover ban overturned for book awards
Ockham reverses its ban on two books with AI covers
newsroom.co.nz
December 4, 2025 at 9:36 PM
newsroom.co.nz/2025/12/05/a... Good news! All publishers need is enough notice to abide by the rules.
Reposted by Fergus Barrowman
All the Dorothies are on sale during @nyrb-imprints.bsky.social's sitewide sale for the next (checks watch) 36 hours! 📚🎁
Go: www.nyrb.com/collections/...
Go: www.nyrb.com/collections/...
December 4, 2025 at 5:20 PM
All the Dorothies are on sale during @nyrb-imprints.bsky.social's sitewide sale for the next (checks watch) 36 hours! 📚🎁
Go: www.nyrb.com/collections/...
Go: www.nyrb.com/collections/...
Reposted by Fergus Barrowman
In the belly of Hungus is the Mantis: an amorphous, many-faced being, as fluid and full of history as the moana. Through this elusive entity, Hungus tells stories of addiction that settle like a film on tea, that crawl into the home, that devour us from the inside out.
🎨 Katrina Steak | 📷 Julie Zhu
🎨 Katrina Steak | 📷 Julie Zhu
December 4, 2025 at 2:16 AM
In the belly of Hungus is the Mantis: an amorphous, many-faced being, as fluid and full of history as the moana. Through this elusive entity, Hungus tells stories of addiction that settle like a film on tea, that crawl into the home, that devour us from the inside out.
🎨 Katrina Steak | 📷 Julie Zhu
🎨 Katrina Steak | 📷 Julie Zhu