Paekākārikian David McGill is a New Zealand social historian and fiction writer who has published 64 books. And now he is about to launch his definitive memoir The Notetaker.
The launch takes place on September 5 in the Paekākāriki Railway Station tearooms at 2pm. David has launched a number of books from the venue with his mate Michael O’Leary.
“This memoir is really an autobiography as it covers my life up to now,” says David.
“It is really satisfying, and a little daunting, to get it all between 242 pages. The front and back cover illustrations are by Tom Scott.”
David says the book is a reflection of both his Scottish and Irish character and he says it was important that the book be entertaining.
“There are quite a few blunders in there which readers will enjoy.” David mentions the time he was interviewing celebrated actress Sian Phillips in the UK for the TV Times and during a break was talking with her husband, actor Peter O’Toole, when a whisky-fueled chat about rugby ended as one might expect with Peter O’Toole….
Born in Auckland, educated in the Bay of Plenty and at a Christchurch seminary, he trained as a teacher and did a BA at Victoria University of Wellington. He worked as a feature writer for The Listener, Sydney’s The Bulletin, London’s TVTimes, wrote columns for the Evening Post in Wellington and edited a local lifestyle magazine before becoming a full-time writer in 1984.
A teacher, journalist, world traveller and author, David says Paekākāriki is home again.
