Newspaper Article 2010 – Duff takes chance to boost reading

Duff takes chance to boost reading

by Andrew Neal
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Despite the threat of court action if he entered the country, author Alan Duff has returned home to celebrate 15 years of the Duffy Books in Homes programme.

He was making a whirlwind trip this week to schools around Hawke’s Bay and yesterday visited the “home of Duffy Books”, Camberley School in Hastings, where the whole project began.

Mr Duff started donating books in 1992 and began the Books in Schools programme in 1995.

Still a trustee of the project, which now operates in 552 schools, delivering books to more than 100,000 children, he said one of his greatest pleasures was meeting those it has helped.

“Just recently I met three girls who had been Duffy kids and are now in teacher’s training,” he said.

During his address at a “caught being good” assembly, he expressed hope that today’s children would benefit from the programme.

“I look forward to catching up one day and you’ll look up at me and say I’m a Duffy kid and now I’m at university, and that would make it all worthwhile,” he said.

Mr Duff has been known lately for personal financial issues, with debts to creditors totalling more than $3 million, to which he missed a payment deadline earlier this year. Living in France since 2008, his current visit is for less than two weeks ending on Friday.

While in Europe he has published a number of novels in an attempt to write his way out of debt.

“I’ve got a book out at the moment which is getting strong critical reaction and another one nearly finished, so I hope to change my own present situation,” he said.

He said he has had trouble writing with the financial and legal issues hanging over his head.

“I’ve probably written one million words which I’ve thrown away, and not been able to nail my voice.”

Success in France has been broader than in New Zealand, he claims, with four novels translated and the development of “a little bit of a name”, for himself.

“They really look up to authors there, and it’s helped me find a bigger market – I’m not interested in the New Zealand market any more,” he said.

Two recently published novels, Dreamboat Dad and Who Sings for Lu? sold fewer than 3000 copies of both books, Neilsen Bookscan said.

While he may be struggling to find his inspiration for writing and a way to pay back his debt, Mr Duff said he will never lose his love of encouraging children to read.

“The last 15 years have been marvellous, I’ve never lost my passion for it, none of us have,” he said.

“Because we can’t, no one else will do this for these kids. We do it and it’s all unpaid.”