Kia ora e ,

I went to the pretend eras tour! Here's me all ready to go with sparkly eye shadow and sparkly jacket:

(I'm low key obsessed with this makeup and would wear it every day - I might need to kidnap my make up artist...) Then on mothers day I to went to All Killa No Filla live (true crime comedy podcast), an awesome week for my interests!

Retreat planning is rolling along. Dates will be 24-31 July 2026 (shh I haven't told the society yet) and I got a little over excited about the merch. Still a couple of months away from being able to book, fingers crossed it all goes to plan.

What hasn't gone to plan? The Austen meeting next Saturday. The Costuming meeting has shifted to the end of September and now we're going to have a round of short talks by members instead. I'm excited to get to hang out with my Austen friends and I always have something Austen to talk about... And anyone who comes along has a chance to win two tickets to the French Film Festival.

Our first role playing session was sold out and all had a great time. I'm hoping to convince our GM, Johnny Bowtie, to offer some online in future - watch this space! (Also, he'll be at the May meeting talking about Good Society, the role playing game)

And I have exciting news about my writing that It's been killing me not to tell anyone but I'm finally allowed to! My collaborative writing project is a finalist for the NZSA Laura Solomon Cuba Press Prize. This is what they told me:

Judges Cassie Hart and Anne Kennedy said of your application: Call it Hope - 'This comedy of manners about a divorced woman on a journey of discovery is fast and funny, and at the same time a moving account of contemporary society.' 

Hope to see you in a couple of days and be sure to check out the retreat merch.

Ngā mihi nui,

Frances Duncan (she/they)

Author, Austenite, Life Coach

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2025 Austen Society Events

24 May: Lightning Talks Eventbrite or Humanitix $30

25 June: Calling hour $10

24 July – 16 October: Group Read: Sense and Sensibility $30

26 July: After Austen: Em Eventbrite or Humanitix $30

27 August: Roleplaying $20

17 September: Calling hour $10

18 October: Book Club: Sense and Sensibility $25

19 November: Role playing $20

16 or 17 December: Austen’s 250th Birthday! TBC

Future Years Austen Society Events

2026: Diversity

• Group read/ book club: Unmarriageable, plus an online Q&A with the author Soniah Kamal (group read only)
• What if Wentworth Was a Woman. Talk by Amy Blythe, author of Within My Reach a Sapphic retelling of Austen’s Persuasion set in contemporary New Zealand
• Jane Austen and Bodily Diversity. An online talk by Kathleen James-Cavan 
• Beyond the Bookshelves: Diversity in Austen Retellings. A talk by Rachel Pilios

2027: Austen and Other Authors

• Harry Ricketts on Austen and Kipling
• Mark Houlahan on theatre in Mansfield Park with a focus on Lovers' Vows and Henry the Eighth
• Jocelyn Harris on Austen and Richardson
• Group read / book club: Old Friends and New Fancies (the first published Austen fanfiction)

2028: Austen and Medicine

• Dr Emma Dunning on Gout in 19th Century Literature
• Group read / book club: Sandition