David Cohen's GREATEST HITS launches at Slow Boat Records

Greatest Hits by journalist David Cohen was launched at Slow Boat Records in Wellington on Tuesday night with Radio Live host Sean Plunket doing the honours and acting Prime Minister Bill English joining the 80-strong crowd to celebrate. 

Subtitled 'a quarter of a century of journalistic encounters, cultural fulminations and

notes from lost cities', Greatest Hits is a collection of David Cohen's journalism, and is published by Mākaro Press.

By all accounts, the acting PM – a friend of David Cohen's – was in great form on the night, discussing Jane Austen and the bible with the gathered poets, civil servants and media hounds.  Sean Plunket gave a passionate launch speech declaring everyone needed a copy of David's smart, provocative journalism, and riffing on how reading one of the articles – an excoriating piece on a Dave Dobbyn album release – made him feel like he was hanging out with an old friend (David C not David D). 

He also confessed that this was the first book he'd ever launched and was not entirely sure what to do, although he thought he'd done better than Don Brash who'd launched one of David's earlier books without having read it. 

As the night progressed, Sean went round checking that people had indeed taken his advice and bought the book.  In fact most had. Fifty books were signed and sold, including one to the acting PM. You can find Greatest Hits in Slow Boat Records, all good bookstores and at www.makaropress.co.nz for $35. The ebook is on Amazon and at mebooks $10.

Sean Plunkett in launch mode

The author with acting PM Bill English was among the guests, To his right is Jeremy Taylor of Slow Boat Records.