A co-operative book documenting life under lockdown in Fiordland was officially launched last night, with the first print run sold out already.

The idea of collating writings about the lockdown experience was sparked by Lathee Verrall – a former English teacher at Fiordland College, who is a published author, an avid reader, and also runs a book club – who issued a community-wide invitation for contributions.

What began as a simple project to record how the lockdown affected everyday people into a single documented stored at the Te Anau Library, soon gained momentum.

The result is myriad of styles and feelings – from poetry diaries and a letter from the future, to both emotional and humorous anecdotes, pure fiction and even a song. All are illustrated with contributed photographs also capturing the essence of lockdown in Fiordland.

With assistance from contributing writers Alina Suchanski, Alessandra Menegatti and Crystal Brindle, designer Tim Mann, along with the Te Anau Friends of the Library and the Rotary Club of Fiordland, the book was produced for sale.

A large number of people turned out for Friday’s launch where many of the contributors read excerpts of their work.

Book contributors read excerpts of their work at Friday night's launch.

All of the 200 printed copies of the book were ordered and sold prior to the launch and an eager queue formed to collect the first copies. The line-up continued with people who had missed the pre-order, ensuring a second print run will be commissioned.

Mrs Verrall earlier said she thought anyone reading the stories would be surprised at the quality and depth of the writing.

“It’s everyone seeing the same thing, but differently… telling their own narrative.”