Coming up soon is the Northern Lights Poetry Tour featuring Nick Ascroft, Emma Neale (pictured) and James Norcliffe.

Ascroft is the co-founder of the literary magazine Glottis, and has published two collections of poetry: From the Author of (2000) and Nonsense (2003). He was the Burns Fellow at Otago University in 2003.

Emma Neale’s first novel, Night Swimming (1998) was followed by the collections of poetry Sleeve Notes (1999) and How To Make a Million (2002). She is a past recipient of the Todd New Writers' Bursary.

James Norcliffe’s Letters to Dr Dee and Other Poems (1993) was shortlisted for the New Zealand Book Awards in 1994. He has also published four novels for young adults and won awards including the Lilian Ida Smith Award 1990 and the NZ Poetry Society's international competition 1992. In 2000 he was the Robert Burns Fellow at Otago University.

This is the schedule:

Wednesday 5 May: Gisborne
Thursday 6 May: Opotiki & Whakatane
Friday 7 and Saturday 8 May: Tauranga
Sunday May 9: Rotorua

For more detailed information, contact David Howard of Firebrand on (03) 482-1092 or email maxgate@clear.net.nz.