Grace Taylor: WORD Christchurch Writers and Readers Festival

WORD Christchurch Writers and Readers Festival is a mere few weeks away – it kicks off on 27 August. We’ve asked three quick questions of festival guests:

Grace Taylor – poet

What (or who) are you most looking forward to at WORD Christchurch?

 Anis Mojgani, Tusiata Avia and local poets from Christchurch.

What do you think about libraries?

I wish I could get lost in a library everyday. I love to see libraries alive in communities with literature spilling out the doors with young people.

Share a surprising fact about yourself.

 I did ballet for 8 years.

• Grace Taylor appears at WORD Christchurch Writers and Readers Festival in:
  Fiercely Hopeful: Saturday 30 August, 6.30pm
  The Catalyst Roadshow: Saturday 30 August, 9pm
• Read more Festival guest picks and WORD Christchurch posts.

The creator of the Moomintrolls – Tove Jansson Centenary

Saturday 9 August was celebrated in Finland and worldwide as the 100th anniversary of the birth of Tove Jansson, Finnish artist and writer. Born in Helsinki into a Finland-Swedish family of artists – her father was a sculptor, her mother an illustrator – Tove Jansson is perhaps best known in this country as the creator of the Moomintrolls.