S2E4: Rachael King
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In this episode of Bad Diaries Podcast, Tracy talks with award winning writer, reviewer, former literary festival director and ex-bass player Rachael King about reading journals, her love of a good boot, and why she’s no longer writing novels for adults.
Rachael’s latest novel, The Grimmelings – “folk horror! for kids!” – is proper scary. And it’s a finalist in the New Zealand Children’s Book Awards, for the Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction. In this episode of the podcast, we wonder whether writing for younger readers is having a bit of a buzzy moment – in Aotearoa New Zealand, at least – and we talk about why writing books for children is more important to Rachael than ever.
We turn to diaries, and look at the unique perspective Rachael brings to the Bad Diaries universe. As literary director of WORD Christchurch festival, she booked the first Bad Diaries Salon outside Australia (and our first festival collab); she’s been a Bad Diaries Salon reader; and she’s been in the audience for several salons. We’re thrilled to expand her connection to Bad Diaries, by welcoming her to the podcast.
Rachael King is a writer from Aotearoa New Zealand. She is the author of two novels for children, The Grimmelings and Red Rocks. Red Rocks won the Esther Glen Medal in 2013, and is currently being produced for television by Libertine Pictures and Sky TV.
Her first novel for adults, The Sound of Butterflies, was published internationally and translated into eight languages, and won the award for best first novel at the 2007 Montana New Zealand Book Awards. Her second novel, Magpie Hall, was longlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.
Rachael was programme director of WORD Christchurch Festival for eight years until late 2021. She received a Waitangi Day Honour Award in 2020 from the New Zealand Society of Authors (PEN NZ) for her work at WORD bringing exiled Kurdish writer Behrouz Boochani to New Zealand. In 2023 she was named Best Reviewer at the Voyager New Zealand Media Awards. She lives in Ōtautahi Christchurch
In this episode:
Fun fact: The Grimmelings has an epigraph from Nick Cave, from the 2022 film This Much I Know to be True
The Grimmelings is a finalist in the New Zealand Children’s Book Awards, for the Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction; winners will be announced at an award ceremony in Wellington in August (Tracy will be there to celebrate)
The Esther Glen Award (or Medal) is NZ’s longest running literary medal in Aotearoa New Zealand; Rachael won the award in 2013 for Red Rocks, her first novel for younger readers
Rachael’s recent piece in The Spinoff (24 June 2024), Why I’m no longer writing novels for adults
There’s a buzz about children’s books at the moment in Aotearoa, and several of the writers we mention in this episode – including Claire Mabey, Jane Arthur, Steph Matuku, Bren MacDibble and of course Rachael King – are (conveniently!) included in this very recent piece in The Spinoff – ‘Children can change the world’: Aotearoa children’s writers on why they write for kids
Another local champion of books that we mention is Courtney Johnston, who wrote this wonderful review of The Grimmelings
Rachael sings the praises of The Sapling, a website all about children’s books, founded by Jane Arthur and Sarah Forster
We mention Jane Arthur and her new middle grade novel Brown Bird – here’s an interview Rachael did with Jane Arthur on The Sapling
Rachael’s interview with British writer SF Said, published on The Sapling
Rachael gives a shout out to Claire Mabey, and what she’s doing as Books Editor at The Spinoff; Claire’s debut middle grade novel, The Raven’s Eye Runaways, launched in July; Claire is founder of Verb Wellington and LitCrawl Wellington, and a great friend and supporter of Bad Diaries Salon
Rachael mentions her “old children’s books” columns – Six children’s books that are still great reads now you’re a grown-up, and More children’s books that are still great reads now you’re a grown-up
Rachael’s critique of The Raven’s Song (“a literary vodka for kids”) by Zana Fraillon and Bren MacDibble in Newsroom is a rare example of a long-form review of writing for children in mainstream books pages
We name-check several literary/writers festivals in this episode, including the marvellous WORD Christchurch, where Rachael was literary director for eight years, from 2013 to 2021; in news just out, Bad Diaries Salon is returning to WORD Christchurch in 2024 – catch us there!
Tracy mentions Wellington taxidermist Antoinette Ratcliffe and the world’s handsomest stoat; here’s a TedX talk Antoinette did, What’s So Ethical About Ethical Taxidermy?
Rachael talks about taxidermist/jeweller/vegan Julia Deville, a New Zealander based in Australia, and connections with the character of Rosemary in Rachael’s novel Magpie Hall
British writer and psychiatrist Catherine Storr wrote Marianne Dreams (1958); the novel was made into a TV series for children, Escape Into Night (1972)
Rachael’s first novel for younger readers, Red Rocks, is being made into a TV series, and production is currently underway in Wellington
As literary director of WORD Christchurch, Rachael programmed our first ever Bad Diaries Salon outside Australia, in 2018, featuring Ray Shipley, Emily Writers, Stacy Gregg … and US writer AJ Finn (aka Dan Mallory), before his great fall from grace; here’s a review and a great suite of pics of the salon (from the fabulous folks at Christchurch City Libraries)
Read about AJ Finn’s fall from grace here, in the New York Times
Rachael mentions (and Tracy was in the audience for) a memorable and extraordinary literary event with musicians Aldous Harding and Kristen Hersh at WORD in 2014 – like Bad Diaries Salon, you had to be there in the room (but see Tracy’s photo from the session, below)
We mention Charlotte Grimshaw observing her writer father CK (Karl) Stead crafting emails with an eye on the archive – Charlotte’s The Mirror Book is extraordinary (she talks about it in the 18th Annual Frank Sargeson Lecture, From fiction to fact: how writing a memoir changed my brain – read the full text here)
Rachael’s dad – the writer, historian and biographer Michael King – died in 2004, 20 years ago this year
Rachael’s preferred “exercise book” for notes is a Moleskine Cahier, with plum-coloured cover (Cranberry Red)
Rachael’s Best Film is Truly Madly Deeply (1990), with Alan Rickman and Juliet Stevenson
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Bad Diaries Podcast is recorded and produced in Naarm Melbourne, Australia, on the lands of the Kulin Nation; and in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, on the iwi lands of Taranaki Whānui, and Ngāti Toa Rangatira. We pay our respects to Mana Whenua, and to Elders past, present and emerging, of these lands.
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