Gavin Chai is a figurative painter and artist based in Auckland. He specialises in the traditional technique of oil painting on wooden panels and canvases and paints the world through a subtle introverted glaze.

Do you have any rituals that you follow to get into your creative practice?

Every morning after breakfast, I would pick up an art book by certain artists, flip to specific pages, mostly featuring painting reproductions that might tell me something about my ongoing works. I'd then make a cup of strong coffee and top it off with a playlist of music rich in polyphony. I need the combined alchemy of colour, music and taste to brew ideas, dream fantasy, cultivate sensibilities, or at least to wake myself up. Perhaps I also enjoy daydreaming and taking a walk to the beach, although I can hardly call them rituals.

This video is made with the support of NZ on Air Public Interest Journalism Fund.

When Emily Broadmore decided to start NZ’s newest literary journal, Folly, the word she kept hearing was ‘brave’. 

After all, they were “basically three women who nobody knew in the industry, who had no literary credibility.” And who, with no prior literary publishing experience, decided to create a brand new literary journal. 

Broadmore, fellow co-founder and Marketing Director Tiana Jones and Art Director Dana Turner, faced skepticism and patch protection in starting the journal. But none of that stopped them in their pursuit of a new kind of literary journal that they say embraces funny, silly and sexy writing that they feel hasn’t had a home in Aotearoa.

This is a story of rejection - met with the subtle skill of not taking no for an answer and sticking to your guns.

For WOMAN magazine, by Sharon Stephonson

November 2023

As part of Folly’s “fun, provocative, risqué” shtick, and as a way of funding the project, Emily decided to hold a series of events at a local Wellington sauna. It sounds delicious: a group of 15 women sitting around in hair wraps, sweating out toxins while being read pieces from the first issue. 

Not everyone was on board: some in Aotearoa’s literary community brandished their online pitchforks, displeased by such an unconventional approach.  

Fritha Waters is a UK writer based in Norfolk, who writes mainly short and flash fiction.

Catherine Hart is a writer who completed her master's in creative writing at AUT last year. She primarily writes romance novels centered around polyamorous queer aliens. She also enjoys crafting more general fiction in shorter formats. Catherine first learned about Folly through the New Zealand Society of Authors, which inspired her to write this piece.

Snakes is an old nickname and the pseudonym of a New Zealand writer who has spent much of their time living overseas and working in the creative arts.

George's story, "I'm Obsessed with You," took home the top prize in Folly's Inaugural Short Story Competition. Learn more about this emerging writer as we delve into their background and writing journey in our five (or so) questions series.

We are delighted to announce the winners of the inaugural Folly Journal Short Story Prize.

Folly Journal submissions closed this month with a staggering number of entries, totaling over 1400 across the poetry, non fiction and prose categories.

Tiana Jones, originally from the United States, migrated from London to NZ with her young family in 2019. As a founder of Folly, her experience in marketing overseas has seen her managing the journal’s launch into New Zealand.

Emily Broadmore, our EIC, shares with us how Folly Journal came about.

Dana Turner, our head of art direction, has been diligently researching emerging NZ artists whose works align with our vision. She shares with us her journey and experiences thus far.

Submissions for the 2023 Folly Journal Short Story Competition have closed.

Caroline Barron joins Folly Journal selection team