The Antipodeans launched in style last night

Many of this country's finest writers gathered at the beautiful Dear Reader bookshop in Grey Lynn last night to help officially launch Greg McGee's brilliant new novel, The Antipodeans.

The book, published in New Zealand last week by Upstart Press, has received sensational early reviews and is, from all accounts, selling extremely well. It tells the story of families from Italy and New Zealand who discover an intergenerational legacy of love, blood and betrayal.

Dear Reader was heaving with friends and colleagues eager to salute McGee. Amongst the guests were Tom Scott, James Griffin, Susan Jacobs, Steve Braunias, John Daniell, Noelle McCarthy, Mark Sainsbury, Duncan Greive, Eric Young, Sir Bob Harvey, Sir Don McKinnon and Lady McKinnon, Clare de Lore.
Chris Hampson delivered a superb launch address which I hope to publish on the blog if I can get hold of it.

McGee is one of this country’s most versatile and admired writers. He has won numerous awards for his plays, crime novels and television scriptwriting. Perhaps his most highly regarded work prior to The Antipodeans was the widely acclaimed play, Foreskin’s Lament (1980). In 2012 McGee wrote Richie McCaw’s biography, The Open Side, which went on to sell 120,000 copies in New Zealand. 

Read my review of The Antipodeans here.

Greg will appear at Going West Festival 11-13 September www.goingwestfest.co.nz . for tickets go www.iticket.co.nz