Dracula’s Been Busy

Picture of Dracula, dressed in black against a dark background

Why so gloomy, Drac? Let the sunshine in!

Dracula in the Colonies, my new poetry collection, has been stepping out into the spring light with pleasingly positive results and surprisingly few scorch marks:

As a bonus, my climate fiction, and climate fiction in general, has had a lovely boost from Claire Mabey in The Spinoff. It’s been a good way to finish the year.

Cover of Tim Jones' poetry collection "Dracula in the Colonies", showing a stylised map of Aotearoa on a yellow background with the title and author name in red

Three Ways To Make Dracula Count

If you’d like to help Dracula in the Colonies meet more readers, here are three things you can do:

  • Ask for it in bookshops: If your local bookshop doesn’t stock Dracula in the Colonies, please ask them to! All the details they’ll need are on The Cuba Press order page for the book.
  • Ask your local library to order it: Many libraries have pages where you can ask for books to be added to the collection. If your local library doesn’t stock the book, please request it.
  • Goodreads: If you use Goodreads and have read Dracula in the Colonies, please add a rating, or even better a review, to the book’s Goodreads page.

Dracula Makes His Debut

It was a dark and stormy night – no, really, it was! – when my new poetry collection Dracula in the Colonies, together with Mandy Hager’s new “Chasing Ghosts” mystery Revenge and Rabbit Holes, were launched at Unity Books Wellington earlier this month.

Photo of Tim Jones speaking at the launch of his new poetry collection "Dracula in the Colonies" at Unity Books Wellington on 1 October 2025. Author is speaking at a microphone with a desk to his left and bookshelves behind him.
Photo credit: James Fraser

Happily, that didn’t prevent a good crowd gathering to attend the launch, enjoy the lovely food put on by Unity Books, listen to the speeches, and buy some books.

Colin Marshall of the Whitireia Publishing Programme, who helped to put together the launch, also doubled as videographer – here are his videos of publisher Mary McCallum, my “launcher”, poet Harvey Molloy who said some lovely things about my work and my writing career, and myself speaking at the launch.

Mary McCallum from The Cuba Press gets the book launch underway:

Harvey Molloy’s launch speech for Tim Jones’ new poetry collection “Dracula in the Colonies”:

Tim Jones speaks at the launch of his new poetry collection “Dracula in the Colonies”:

Since then, I’ve had a nice My Wellington profile in The Post, although you may find it firewalled. Watch out for more interviews and events to come!

You can buy Dracula in the Colonies from Unity Books Wellington, other independent bookstores, and direct from the publisher.

Next, I’m looking forward to reading Mandy’s book! Here’s my review of the first in the series.

My new poetry collection “Dracula in the Colonies” is launching in Wellington on Wednesday 1 October!

My new poetry collection Dracula in the Colonies is launching at Unity Books Wellington on Wednesday 1 October from 6-7.30pm. It’s a double book launch: my  Dracula in the Colonies and Mandy Hager’s new novel Revenge and Rabbit Holes.

Image version of the launch details included in this post, showing the covers of Dracula in the Colonies and Revenge and Rabbit Holes

All are welcome – no need to RSVP. And if you invite your friend, friends, partner, partners, or large and lavishly remunerated workplace* along, even better!

*Possibly fictional.

Dracula in the Colonies has received a couple of very nice endorsements from poets whose work I admire:

Janis Freegard: “Tim Jones’ powerful new collection takes us from Grimsby to Antarctica, traversing family life, migration, politics, climate change and loss. This is honest, tender, funny and intelligent writing from a story-teller poet.”

Erik Kennedy: “Eminently readable but never comfortable … Dracula in the Colonies is full of characters you’ll love to hate from a poet whose work we know to love.”

Thank you, Erik and Janis!

All the details

The launch will be at Unity Books, 57 Willis St, Wellington, from 6-7.30pm on Wednesday 1 October 2025. There will be drinks, nibbles, and books for sale and signing.

The Facebook event is here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1159319136008748/

My thanks to everyone who has already said they plan to attend, and those who’ve let me know they can’t make it.

I can’t make it, but I’d love a copy of the book:

The Cuba Press has you covered! You can pre-order Dracula in the Colonies here: https://thecubapress.nz/shop/dracula-in-the-colonies/

You’re invited to a double book launch on Wednesday 1 October: Dracula in the Colonies by Tim Jones and Revenge and Rabbit Holes by Mandy Hager

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You and your friends are warmly invited to a double book launch at Unity Books on Wednesday 1 October: my new poetry collection Dracula in the Colonies and Mandy Hager’s new novel Revenge and Rabbit Holes.

All are welcome – no need to RSVP!

The launch will be at Unity Books, 57 Willis St, Wellington, from 6-7.30pm on Wednesday 1 October 2025. There will be drinks, nibbles, and books for sale and signing.

The Facebook event is here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1159319136008748/

My thanks to everyone who has already said they plan to attend, and those who’ve let me know they can’t make it.

If you can’t make it, please pre-order Dracula in the Colonies here: https://thecubapress.nz/shop/dracula-in-the-colonies/