Editorial
Welcome to the very first takahē Fiction Readers’ Issue! This special mini-issue of takahē features five stories selected and co-edited by members of our Fiction Reading Team: Melanie Kwang, Rebecca Reader, Rebecca Styles, Clare Travaglia, Philippa Tucker, and Jill Varani.
Our Fiction Reading Team usually works behind the scenes, with 20 members dedicating their time to reading and providing feedback on fiction submissions. They play a vital role in helping to ensure a broad range of writers and stories are published in the magazine, and that writers all around the motu receive free supportive critique. For this special issue, however, the co-editors have taken on the whole editorial process themselves, from discussing and selecting stories, to working editorially with writers, and finalising the issue through the copy editing and proofing process.
takahē continues to work hard to give new writers their very first publication, as well as to showcase emerging and established writers alike. Extending this kaupapa to giving new editors an opportunity to showcase their skills seemed a natural innovation. The quality of the writing and editing work here signals that our commitment to fostering local talent remains as relevant today as it was when takahē was founded in 1989.
Some of the co-editors share reflections on the process:
‘It was an exciting opportunity to be involved as a co-editor of this special edition of takahē. Our selection process involved weighing up each story, gauging which we each felt drawn to championing, and assessing how they would each fit into the issue we envisaged. There were so many excellent and varied stories to choose from that our discussion rolled over longer than anticipated!’
—Clare
‘I loved being a part of this project. All of the submissions had merit so it was a challenging and slightly terrifying process, from choosing works to include to suggesting changes to what were already strong pieces. What an honour to be humoured in such a way, and many thanks to the writers for their efforts.’
—Jill
‘This issue gave us a chance to extend our work as fiction readers, and come together to curate a collection of stories that will hopefully resonate with other readers. The team took great care in considering each story, and I’m proud of the range of genres and voices we’ve selected. I’m especially thankful for our talented authors, who were generous collaborators with clear visions. It’s been an exciting journey seeing these pieces grow into what promises indeed to be a very special issue.’
—Melanie
‘Editing, like writing, is often a solitary pursuit. So, what a joy it’s been to co-edit two pieces of writing for this issue—to collaborate with the authors and one of my co-editors over a series of revisions, working together to make great stories even better. Thank you to our writers who allowed us to tug at loose threads, to examine seams, and to lengthen here or shorten there. The end result fits just right.’
—Philippa
‘As a fiction reader for takahē I’ve had an excellent time encountering landscapes and characters created by writers from across the globe. I vote in favour of a story when its world is so alive that I forget I’m at my desk in Palmerston North with the sun sinking behind the turbines. This sense of happy forgetfulness is what makes me click the thumbs up button in Submittable. Voting in favour of a story feels very much like untying a fancy yacht from its mooring, pushing it out onto the ocean, and hoping it will end up somewhere great, Tahiti perhaps.
As a co-editor of this issue, I not only untied a story from its mooring in the takahē inbox but actually jumped on board. The story’s skipper was a writer who knew exactly how he wanted the story to look when it reached Tahiti, but he never objected to a creative detour or brief island stopover suggested by his stowaway editor. To contribute in any way to another writer’s story is a privilege, but I felt especially lucky to be working with a humorous piece. The world needs a little vivacity on the page to counteract the seriousness of life, and journals like takahē can offer those moments of brightness to readers.’
—Rebecca R
We thank the writers included in this special issue and hope everyone enjoys these vibrant stories as much as we have. Mauri ora!
Zoë Meager
Fiction Editor