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Otago Daily Times
Monday, 13-November 2000
Dunedin author in dispute over book
By Margot-Jane Smith
A book on the controversial Peter Ellis child sex case will not be
published by Canterbury University Press after a dispute with the
award-winning Dunedin author.
Canterbury University Press managing editor Mike Bradstock said Lynley Hood's
book, A City Possessed , had exceeded the length stipulated in her contract
but Ms Hood would not agree to it being cut.
Mr Bradstock confirmed Ms Hood's contract had been terminated but was not
prepared to discuss the matter.
Ms Hood (57), who has spent the past seven years working on the book, would
not comment on the reasons behind the dispute either.
"My silence doesn't necessarily imply that I accept what the publisher
has said . . . I just don't want to get into a public dispute," she
said. "I respect Canterbury University Press as publishers, and feel
goodwill towards them, and regret."
She would not comment on the future of the book other than to say it would
"definitely" be published.
In a February interview with the Otago Daily Times , Ms Hood said the book
was not about reaching conclusions but an attempt to make sense of apparent
contradictions and puzzles surrounding the Ellis case.
Peter Ellis was convicted in 1993 of abusing children in his care at
Christchurch's Civic Childcare Centre.
He was released in February after serving two-thirds of a 10-year sentence
and has always maintained his innocence.
His trial divided Christchurch people into those who believed the abuse had
happened and those who believed the allegations were a result of parental
hysteria and flawed police investigation.
Retired Chief Justice Sir Thomas Eichelbaum is conducting an inquiry into the
best practice for investigating mass allegation sexual abuse cases and to
determine whether these practices were followed in Mr Ellis' case.
His report is due in August.
Ms Hood's previous books include Minnie Dean , about the Winton
"baby-farmer" who was the only woman hanged in New Zealand for
murder.
The book was short-listed for the New Zealand Book Awards in 1994.
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