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WELCOME TO THE 2018
AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL
A WORD FROM THE FESTIVAL DIRECTOR
This year a glorious array of award- winning writers open their books, traversing the deeply personal and the avowedly political, ranging across genre, geography, gender and more.
Closely mining their own lives for their ctions are Norwegian literary star Karl Ove Knausgård, Australian legend Alex Miller, and acclaimed locals Catherine Chidgey, Fiona Farrell, and CK Stead.
Memoirist Peter Wells examines his Pa- keha- heritage and his immediate future; Sue Bradford and Joan Withers share stories; Robert Webb examines what it is to be male; Hope Jahren recounts a life in science, and Tom Scott in cartooning.
Beneath the non- ction covers Amy Goldstein examines the toll wrought by the closing of a motor plant in heartland USA; journalist Jeff Goodell visits 12 nations to contemplate rising waters; Kapka Kassabova meditates on Europe’s borders, and A. C. Grayling on its current challenges.
Neuroscientist David Eagleman peers
inside the human mind and imagines the afterlife, as do the futuristic novels of Neal Stephenson and Karen Joy Fowler, and the thrillers of Jane Harper.
A wave of fresh female voices grapple with questions of identity and culture including Durga Chew-Bose, Megan Dunn, Gigi Fenster , Lang Leav, Sharlene Teo, and Jenny Zhang.
Through the lens of history and geography we hear from Kenyan Nobel contender Ngu~g~ı wa Thiong’o, former UN Under Secretary General Shashi Tharoor, Kurdistani poet Choman Hardi, Myanmar specialist Francis Wade, art journalist Madeleine O’Dea, Scotswoman Rosemary Goring, and novelists Yiwei Xue and Carlos Franz, whilst the Big History movement, led by David Christian, takes a broader view.
New work from Lloyd Jones, Paula Morris, Damon Salesa, Selina Tusitala Marsh and Anne Salmond is celebrated, as is the lifelong contribution of Witi Ihimaera.
Art, music, poetry and performance are on the menu with New Yorker music critic Alex Ross, poets Eileen Myles and Terese Svoboda, Venice Biennale artist Lisa Reihana, Beckett actor Lisa Dwan, chanteuse Linn Lorkin, Nancy Brunning-Ha- pai Productions’s theatre work on Ma- ori poet Rowley Habib, and Australian Emma Mary Hall in a solo show about the information age.
Songwriters Lawrence Arabia, Moana Maniapoto and Nadia Reid join Tama Waipara to chat; and comedy extends its reach as Jeff Kinney’s Wimpy Kid and Peter Helliar’s Frankie Fish entertain the younger set, whilst James Russell gives them Dragon Brothers augmented reality in the Square.
There’ll be writers on screen, te reo lessons to start your day, tributes to John Clarke, Judy Garland and Muriel Spark (from Susie Boyt and Alan Taylor respectively), Ursula Le Guin, and adventures in O’Connell Street.
And books, lots of them, open ...
Anne O’Brien
CONTENTS
6 Booking Information 8 What’s On
9 Tuesday May 1
10 Tuesday May 15
10 Wednesday May 16 11 Thursday May 17 13 Friday May 18
22 Saturday May 19 32 Sunday May 20
41 Family Day
43 Workshops
57 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 66 Biographies
102 Timetable
106 Booking Form
108 Festival Information
109 Index
FESTIVAL TEAM
Anne O’Brien
Festival Director
Tessa Yeoman
Marketing & Development Manager
Roger Christensen
Programme Manager
Claire Mabey
Programme Manager
Susanna Andrew
Programme Co-ordinator
Christina Chan
Festival Administrator
Andrew Laking
Production Manager
Olivia Boyle
Marketing Assistant
Penny Hartill
Publicity Manager
CONTACT DETAILS
Suite 9A, Wellesley Centre, 44-52 Wellesley Street West, Auckland 1010
PO Box 6038, Wellesley Street, Auckland 1141
Phone (09) 376 8074
info@writersfestival.co.nz writersfestival.co.nz @AklWritersFest
#awf18
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