Flying Solo - An anthology of creative writing about the experience of solo parenthood in Aotearoa New Zealand

Jess Young is a solo mum from Timaru, South Island, who has raised two daughters on her own with the support of her caring, extended family. She is recovering from Covid at the moment, so we are thrilled to have her read her moving poem for us today. It's about applying for the DPB as a young mum in desperate circumstances, with a toddler and a newborn in tow.

Deepest gratitude to the single benefactor who contributed a whopping amount of moolah yesterday to give Flying Solo a huge push towards the finishing line.

We so appreciate your contribution which demonstrates a deep commitment to supporting writers and artists and the creative endeavors of fellow New Zealanders.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

WE ARE NOW SO CLOSE! PLEASE HELP US GET THERE!

Prolific short story writer, performance poet, theatre improv adept, mean-as journalist, brilliant copy writer, intrepid wilderness explorer, and consummate Kiwi creative and mover and shaker, Mike Botur, reads an excerpt from his Flying Solo contribution, Survive September, in which a Dad with 'issues' is left in sole charge of his toddler daughter.

Dear lovers of New Zealand Literature and supporters of single parents. This is a really big achievement having already raised nearly half of our funding target! This is a unique project with many new and interesting submissions from veteran New Zealand writers and identities, as well as emerging ones. We are very excited to be working with Jenny to put this together. But we still have some way to go. Please help us to make this project a reality by pledging a little. 

A HUGE THANK YOU to those who have supported Flying Solo's campaign in the past couple of weeks, especially the corporate sponsor who very generously donated $500. We have now reached 40% of our goal! WOOHOO!!!

However, THERE IS STILL A WAY TO GO so we are again appealing to everyone out there who believes this project is worthwhile to step up and donate before the campaign expires on the 15^th July. (NOTE: the funds we are raising here are specifically for our wonderful contributors; the design, publishing, marketing and distribution costs for Flying Solo are being covered by money raised from other sources.)

Helping us raise the funds needed to pay our wonderful creatives and writers for their contributions to Flying Solo is a unique way of contributing to a collaborative book project which will provide a permanent korero around the experience of solo parenting in Aotearoa New Zealand, where we have approximately 280,000 households supported by a single parent (Census 2018), a figure which is expected to rise to half a million by 2030.

This is a HUGE ACT OF SUPPORT for this community who are often overlooked and sometimes have a pretty rough time of it.

Exciting new contributions are continuing to flow in from accomplished and well-known writers like Siobhan Harvey and Maxine Alterio. We have also received a contribution from a single dad about how he has navigated the complexities of the legal system. But it's not all doom and gloom! Some of the stories and anecdotes we have received are incredibly funny, entertaining and provocative!

FLYING SOLO IS GOING TO BE AN AMAZING BOOK!!!

Former Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, in her role as Minister of Arts & Culture, is on record as stating: “It is vitally important New Zealanders see and hear themselves reflected in the arts." Flying Solo intends to make it possible for all kinds of solo parents who have raised future generations to contribute their stories to our social history.

ALL DONORS WILL BE INVITED TO ATTEND FLYING SOLO'S BOOK LAUNCHES WHERE YOU WILL BE ABLE TO MIX AND MINGLE WITH SOME OF OUR COUNTRY'S BEST WRITERS AND NOTABLE IDENTITIES, AND BE ABLE TO PURCHASE A COPY OF THE ANTHOLOGY AT COST PRICE.

Your support for this worthwhile book project is hugely appreciated!!! Thanks to your generosity, we have already reached 15% of our projected fundraising goal. 

Herewith, a brief taster of some of the entertaining and provocative content that will be included in Flying Solo, with a big shout out to all our talented writers and contributors:

• fathers who come and go leaving mothers and children to fend for themselves (Alice Tawhai)
• a Korean mother cares for her son alone, while the boy’s difficult father works overseas (Jessie Neilson)
• Dr Joanna Kidman on solo mums doing it hard on the DPB in 1980s Newtown, Wellington
• an unemployed dad is left in sole charge of his toddler who doesn’t yet qualify for childcare (Michael Botur)
• Airana Ngarewa’s gifted yet troubled young protagonist's older brother needs to be both ‘mother’ and ‘father’ to him
• a neurodiverse kid has a meltdown when his estranged Dad lets him down on an important occasion (Suzie Watt)
• Whiti Hereaka recreates the story/myth of Papatūānuku, solo mum of a family of six boys: Tāne, Tangaroa, Tāwhirimātea, Tū, Haumia and Rongo
• Veteran New Zealand writer and national treasure Renée on growing up fatherless and poor in 1930s Hawkes Bay
• Saraid de Silva on being raised by her beloved grandmother in Hamilton after her parents’ separation
• a desperate single father turns to phone sex to be able to take care of himself and his baby son (Campbell Taylor)
• poet JC Sturm reflects on a whakapapa of dysfunctional parenting and family relationships
• a little girl travels regularly between her estranged parents, her whole life contained within a suitcase (Michael Johnson)
• Robin Hyde writes about the joy of spending precious stolen time with her secret illegitimate son
• a teacher with three young children on the run from a troubled past starts over in Aotearoa New Zealand (JCL Purchase)
• a father who espouses the teachings of Zen discovers he is incapable of coping with the demands of parenthood (Rachael Taylor)

AND MUCH MORE!