Auckland Writers Festival

In night, suspense, lawlessness, hazard, sensuousness and awe are evoked simply by stepping outside,” says Annette Lees, author of 2022 Ockham NZ Book Awards longlisted After Dark – in which she walks readers into the nights of Aotearoa, in the company of bats, owls, moths and seabirds, on a fascinating exploration of stories beyond the dusk. Spend a magical lights-dimmed hour with Lees, storyteller Rewi Spraggon and taonga pūoro player Riki Bennett, as they lead you on an evocative journey from Hine-nui-te-pō to the dawn chorus via readings, music and a nature soundscape.

Chris Long, author of 'The Boy From Gorge River', grew up in a remote off-grid corner of the South Island, two days walk from the nearest town; writer, UNICEF goodwill ambassador and philanthropist Jo Morgan, author of 'Dancing With The Machine', lived with her husband Gareth, son Sam (founder of Trade Me) and their three other children on a Bedford house bus, travelling the country and doing everything from picking carrots to gutting fish. Both have taken long-honed resilience and a sense of adventure to the world – across continents, up mountains and through adversity. They discuss all with journalist, back-country adventurer and author of Solo, Hazel Phillips. SUNDAY 28 AUGUST 2022 – 3.30-4.30PM HEARTLAND FESTIVAL ROOM, AOTEA CENTRE

Author Tessa Duder began her adult life as a representative swimmer, winning a silver medal at the 1958 Cardiff Empire Games in the 110 yards butterfly. This incredible achievement would inspire the Alex Quartet, for which she is probably best known. Loved by generations of teenagers, and garnering Duder three New Zealand Children's Book of the Year awards and three Esther Glen medals, it was adapted in a 1993 movie and has just been re-published in one volume. The acclaimed author of more than 45 books for adults and children, Tessa Duder's non-fiction has covered such diverse subjects as James Cook's cartography, early Auckland settler Sarah Mathew and the first Olympics. Her many accolades include the 2020 Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement, the 2021-2022 NZ Society of Author's Presidency of Honour, the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship, an Artists to Antarctica Fellowship and the Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal, as well as OBE and CNZM honours and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Waikato. She has been a tireless champion of other writers through her work with Storylines Children's Literature Trust Te Whare Waituhi Tamariki o Aotearoa, The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), and the New Zealand Society of Authors. To close the Festival, Duder joins Carole Beu on stage in a free session to celebrate her writing and the immense contribution she has made to the literary landscape. Supported by The Stout Trust, proudly managed by Perpetual Guardian. SUNDAY 28 AUGUST 2022 – 5.00-6.00PM KIRI TE KANAWA THEATRE, AOTEA CENTRE

Shaped by the forces of 1970s Ireland and by a mother raging against her hemmed-in life, broadcaster, writer and podcaster Noelle McCarthy escaped Ireland for party town Auckland in the early 2000s – seeking a new world far away from the cultural fabric of her homeland. Many years later, and now a mother herself and a recovering alcoholic, she returns to bid her mother farewell and to reckon with her ghosts. The resulting memoir, 'Grand', is a moving meditation on mothers and daughters, on running away and homecoming, on the generational legacies we each carry. McCarthy speaks with Emma Espiner. SUNDAY 28 AUGUST 2022 – 12.30-1.30PM KIRI TE KANAWA THEATRE, AOTEA CENTRE

The traditions of fable and myth – Ovid's Metamorphoses, the tales of Aesop and Grimm, Homer's Iliad and the pūrākau of Polynesia, to name a few – have acted as compasses for millennia, exploring human experience and answering timeless questions. Join two contemporary writers at the height of their powers – Commonwealth Prize winner and Man Booker-shortlisted Lloyd Jones ('The Fish') and 2022 Ockham NZ Book Awards Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize Fiction winner Whiti Hereaka ('Kurangaituku') – in conversation with Claire Mabey – to interrogate the history and power of these ancient storytelling forms and why each has chosen them for their recent narratives. SATURDAY 27 AUGUST 2022 – 3.30-4.30PM WAITĀKERE ROOM, AOTEA CENTRE

Breathtaking in scope, ambition and artistry, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki's' 2020-2021 survey exhibition of Māori contemporary art from 1950s to present day, Toi Tu- Toi Ora broke all attendance records and forged new ways of presenting and understanding Māori art. It was also the touchpoint for a critical conversation about who should lead and author such projects. Curated by artist and curator Nigel Borell (Pirirākau, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui, Te Whakatōhea), the exhibition was framed by the Māori creation narrative, unfolding an artistic journey from Te Kore (The Empty Void) to Te Po (The Great Darkness) through to Te Ao Marama (The World of Light and Life). Now celebrated in the book Toi Tu- Toi Ora, it is a gateway to a Māori lens on knowledge, identity, place and cultural history – highlighting some of the best artists working today, and an essential conversation about cultural practice in this country. Borell speaks with Deidre Brown. Supported by NZ Contemporary Art Trust. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI SATURDAY 27 AUGUST 2022 – 2.00-3.00PM KIRI TE KANAWA THEATRE, AOTEA CENTRE

In 2010, the National Government signed the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, joining more than 140 other countries; in 2019 the Labour Government set up a working group tasked with creating a plan to realise that commitment. The result is He Puapua, a discussion document whose title refers to the break between waves and evokes the concept of a disruption to political and legislative norms. Within days, it would become a political football, with some demanding a “national conversation”. So let's talk. Is this an opportunity or a threat for the country? Working group members, writers and lawyers Claire Charters (Ngāti Whakaue, Tūwharetoa, Ngāpuhi, Tainui) and Jacinta Ruru (Raukawa, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Maniapoto) discuss sovereignty, mātauranga Māori and igniting the imagination with Moana Maniapoto (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Arawa). Ara Kē, Ao Kē Series curated by Moana Maniapoto. Supported by Royal Society Te Apārangi. I te tau 2010, ka waitohu te Kāwanatanga Nāhinara i Te Whakapuakitanga a te Rūnanga Whakakotahi i ngā Iwi o te Ao mō ngā Mōtika o ngā Iwi Taketake, pēnei i ētahi whenua 140 neke atu; i te tau 2019 ka whakarite te Kāwanatanga Reipa i tētahi ohu mahi, ko tāna he waihanga i tētahi mahere e tutuki ai taua oati. Ko te hua, ko He Puapua, he tuhinga matapaki, ko tōna taitara e hāngai ana ki te whatinga o te ngaru, me te aha, nāna i pupū ai he whakaaro mō te whakarerekē i ngā āhuatanga ā-tōrangapū, ā-ture anō o te wā. Mea rawa ake, ka whakamahia hei tao tōrangapū, ko ētahi hoki e auē ana mō tētahi "whakawhitinga kōrero ā-motu." Ā kāti, kia kōrero tātou. He ara whai hua rānei, he kapatau rānei tēnei mō te motu? Ko ngā mema o te ohu mahi, ko ngā ringatuhi, ko ngā rōia anō, ko Claire Charters (Ngāti Whakaue, Tūwharetoa, Ngāpuhi, Tainui) rāua ko Jacinta Ruru (Raukawa, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Maniapoto) ka kōrero mō te tino rangatiratanga, mō te mātauranga Māori, mō te hika anō i te kāpura pohewa, me Moana Maniapoto (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Arawa). He mea tautoko nā Te Apārangi. Ara Kē, Ao Kē - Nā Moana Maniapoto tēnei kohinga i rauhī. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL, WAITUHI O TĀMAKI SATURDAY 27 AUGUST – 12.30-1.30PM WAITĀKERE ROOM, AOTEA CENTRE

Of 2021 Nobel Prize-winning writer Abdulrazak Gurnah's book 'By the Sea', The Times said, “Rarely in a lifetime can you open a book and find that reading it encapsulates the enchanting qualities of a love affair... one scarcely dares breathe while reading it for fear of breaking the enchantment.” It's a sentiment that could be applied across all his fiction and essays, including Booker-shortlisted 'Paradise' and most recent novel 'Afterlives'. Born in Zanzibar, which is now part of Tanzania, Gurnah arrived in Britain as a refugee in 1967 and has said of his home country, “In my mind, I live there.” Professor Emeritus of English and Post Colonial Literatures at the University of Kent, and the first black writer to receive the Nobel since Toni Morrison in 1993, his citation states that his win is due to “his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fates of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents.” He joins Michelle Langstone in conversation to reflect on a life's work. Supported by Platinum Bold Patrons Betsy & Michael Benjamin. Livestream in venue. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL, WAITUHI Ō TAMAKI FRIDAY 26 AUGUST 2022 – 6.30-7.30PM KIRI TE KANAWA THEATRE, AOTEA CENTRE

Russia's waging of war in Ukraine brings back to Europe scenes of aggression and devastation not seen there for decades. It's one of the many instances of warfare in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, deploying both traditional and thoroughly modern weapons. David Kilcullen is a former soldier and diplomat, a strategist, counterinsurgency expert and author whose books include The Dragons and the Snakes: How the Rest Learned to Fight the West and The Ledger: Accounting for Failure in Afghanistan (co-authored with Greg Mills). He sits down with Toby Manhire to discuss current conflicts in the complex global arena – reflecting both back and forwards on how we got to this, what's happening at the front and behind the scenes, and how tensions might play out in the coming months and years. Supported by Te Ope Kātua o Aotearoa / New Zealand Defence Force. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL, WAITUHI O TĀMAKI SATURDAY 27 AUGUST – 11.00AM-12.00PM KIRI TE KANAWA THEATRE, AOTEA CENTRE

Three generations of talented poets come together to share work from their new collections, and to talk with each other about the literary influences, inheritances and preoccupations that have informed their practice. What connects them and what separates them? Kevin Ireland brings us Just Like That: New Poems; Anne Kennedy, the 2022 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards-shortlisted The Sea Walks into a Wall; and Tayi Tibble, the Ockham Awards-shortlisted Rangikura. A triumph of collections from three astonishing poetry masters. Supported by Deadly Ponies. FRIDAY 26 AUGUST – 2.00-3.00PM LIMELIGHT ROOM, AOTEA CENTRE

There's no such thing as a new idea, but what happens when your writing draws on the people in your life – and what happens when they don't want to be written about? Taking as inspiration the ‘Bad Art Friend' tussle over telling someone else's story that dominated literary conversations in the US last October, join: Madeleine Chapman, editor of 'The Spinoff' and author of books on Jacinda Ardern and Steven Adams; Rebecca K. Reilly, winner of the 2022 Ockham NZ Book Awards Best First Book of Fiction for 'Greta and Valdin'; and Himali McInnes, author of essay collection 'The Unexpected Patient'; for an exploration of where their boundaries lie when it comes to writing their own and other people's lives into their work. Chaired by Mohamed Hassan. Constellations Series curated by Rosabel Tan. FRIDAY 26 AUGUST 2022 – 12.30-1.30PM LIMELIGHT ROOM, AOTEA CENTRE

Clementine Ford is one of Australia's most fearless feminists, and possibly one of its most provocative. The author of the best-selling 'Fight Like A Girl' and 'Boys Will Be Boys' has been an ardent champion for girls and women, a fierce critic of toxic masculinity, and the target of extraordinary vitriol – which, from time to time, has elicited incendiary responses that she has later regretted. Her new book, 'How We Love: Notes on a Life', is an exploration of how love makes its home in our heart, and the act of faith and bravery required to surrender ourselves to it. She joins us in person for this special session to reflect on her work past, present and future, in conversation with Madeleine Chapman. Supported by Platinum Bold Patron Theresa Gattung. WEDNESDAY 24 AUGUST 2022 – 8.15-9.30PM KIRI TE KANAWA THEATRE, AOTEA CENTRE

From the pen of historical fiction doyenne Jenny Pattrick, one of this country's bestselling novelists with books including 'The Denniston Rose' and 'Heart of Coal', comes this year's 'Harbouring'. The story begins in 1839 as Welsh foundry worker Huw Pengellin embarks with his family on a journey of hope, enticed by Colonel Wakefield's plans to take settlers to the distant shores of New Zealand. On the other side of the world, Hineroa yearns for escape from servitude and to be reunited with her people. Their entwined lives chart a changing landscape of colonial Wellington – political, social and geographical – in another feat of masterful storytelling. She discusses her writing and research revelations with author and journalist Nicky Pellegrino. FRIDAY 26 AUGUST 2022 – 11.00AM-12.00PM KIRI TE KANAWA THEATRE, AOTEA CENTRE

“A gripping study of the collateral damage caused by government decision making in war... an expertly researched study of government duplicity,” said The Australian of Stephen Davis' book Operation Trojan Horse. In 1990 British Airways Flight 149 departed Heathrow airport, destined for Kuala Lumpur. Instead it stopped to refuel in Kuwait as Iraqi troops amassed on the border – despite intelligence of an imminent invasion – delivering the 400 passengers and crew into the hands of Saddam Hussein to be used as ‘human shields'. How this came to pass is allegedly a tale of ‘deniable' intelligence operations, with dramatic consequences for the civilians caught up in it, and no one held accountable. Crafted with the cooperation of survivors and input from a senior intelligence source, Davis, an award-winning journalist or editor for outlets including The Independent on Sunday, The Sunday Times and The New Statesman brings the story to light. In conversation with Moana Maniapoto. FRIDAY 26 AUGUST 2022 – 11.00AM-12.00PM HEARTLAND BANK ROOM, AOTEA CENTRE

Meet the disruptors: Māori journalists helping to lead and shape more nuanced conversation on the issues of the day through a Māori lens. Exploring questions of media power and influence, our line-up includes long-time Radio Waatea host and 'E-Tangata' writer Dale Husband (Ngāti Maru) alongside three fearless wāhine broadcasters and writers: Mihingarangi Forbes (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Paoa), the award-winning host of 'The Hui' (voted Best Current Affairs at NZTV Awards); author and co-presenter for TVNZ's bilingual current affairs show Marae Miriama Kamo (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Mutunga); and Moana Maniapoto (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Arawa), musician and journalist for Te Ao with Moana. Expect lively kōrero... and perhaps a waiata! AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL, WAITUHI O TĀMAKI FRIDAY 26 AUGUST2022 – 6.30-7.30PM, WAITĀKERE ROOM, AOTEA CENTRE

In A.C. Grayling's view, three of the biggest challenges facing the world today are climate change, the rate of development in high-impact technologies and the global deficit of social and economic justice. He contends that our problems and our technologies are currently outstripping our moral and political capacity to deal with them. In this talk Grayling, whose latest book is 'For the Good of the World', asks whether it's possible for human beings to agree on a set of values that will enable us to confront the threats facing the planet, or will we simply continue with disagreements and antipathies? He argues that to survive, we must urgently find a positive answer to the question, “Is global agreement on global challenges possible?”

Mohamed Hassan's life has taken him from Cairo to New Zealand and on to Istanbul and London, covering the Middle East, Turkey and Asia Pacific as a journalist. Through it all he has developed a keen eye for questions of identity and culture, which he beautifully brings to bear in his non-fiction essay collection 'How to Be a Bad Muslim'. Ranging across surveillance, migration, language, Islamophobia and the Christchurch attacks, it is a compelling account of growing up Muslim in a post- 9/11 world, told with humour and astute observation. A former slam poetry champion and prize-winning podcaster, Hassan joins Mike McRoberts in conversation.

In the gladiatorial arena of film direction, where women have often been treated as invisible, New Zealand auteur Jane Campion has blazed a pioneering trail. The first woman to win the Palme d'Or for The Piano, and the second to ever be nominated for a directing Oscar, Campion's latest triumph is The Power of the Dog, inspired by Thomas Savage's 1967 novel of the same name. Winning her a legion of awards, including a Venice Silver Lion, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, an Academy Award and a Critics Choice Award, it's a powerful exploration of toxic masculinity, and of love, grief and sexuality – all themes that she has explored in a potent body of work that also includes Sweetie, Holy Smoke, An Angel at My Table, Top of the Lake, Bright Star and In the Cut. Returning home, she joins Noelle McCarthy in conversation to discuss her artistic inheritances, guiding principles and preoccupations. Supported by Platinum Patrons Pip Muir & Kit Toogood.

Sociologist Joanna Kidman (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa) and historian Vincent O'Malley make a formidable team, as partners in life and scholarship. They both contributed to the recently published 'Fragments from a Contested Past: Remembrance, Denial and New Zealand History', and co-lead the Marsden Fund project – 'He Taonga te Wareware?: Remembering and Forgetting Difficult Histories in Aotearoa New Zealand' – a three-year study into how the 19th-century NZ Wars have shaped memory, identity and history. O'Malley is a founding partner of History Works and the author of the 2022 Ockham NZ Book Awards General Non-Fiction winner 'Voices from the New Zealand Wars | He Reo nō ngā Pakanga o Aotearoa'. Kidman is a Professor of Sociology with a particular interest in youth movements and higher education. They speak with Chris Wikaira about their writing, passions and collaborations. Supported by Heartland Bank.

Raised in the projects of Washington DC by a father born 35 years after the abolition of slavery and who was barred from school, Harold Hillman is an author and international business and leadership coach whose family legacy is just one of the experiences that have shaped his life. Attending college, where he first encountered white people, he obtained a PhD in Psychology, married, had two children and served in the military, all whilst harbouring the secret that he was gay. Eventually outing himself, he took up a position on Clinton's taskforce to undo the military's homosexual ban. Hillman is the author of five books, including 'The Impostor Syndrome',' Fitting In Standing Out' and his latest 'EM-PA-THY', in which he argues that authenticity, logic and empathy are essential for true leadership in business and in life. He speaks with Andrew Whiteside. Supported by the Embassy of the United States of America.

She's a global sensation – the bestselling Australian author of ten engaging novels including 'Big Little Lies' and 'Nine Perfect Strangers', both of which attracted Nicole Kidman's interest and have been made into smash-hit television series. Liane Moriarty has sold more than 20 million copies of her books, the latest of which is Apples Never Fall. It's a witty and substantive study of family dynamics, as well as a mystery revealed in snippets and whispers, bearing all the hallmarks of her deft skills as an observer and a storyteller. Sydneysider Moriarty, who is the eldest of six siblings, joins us in person for a lively hour canvassing her stellar career, the stories that inspire her stories, and the never ending fascinations of contemporary human behaviour. In conversation with Michèle A'Court. Supported by Platinum Patrons Susan & Gavin Walker.

Expect the unexpected from a sparkling showcase of talented writers in our much-loved Festival Gala storytelling event, now into its 12th iteration and still serving up surprise and delight. Eight writers each take to the stage to share a seven-minute true and personal tale, without prop or script, inspired by this year's evocative prompt – Across The Divide. Braving the spotlight is: ex-military leadership coach and business writer Harold Hillman, the boy from Gorge River Chris Long, GP and essayist Dr Himali McInnes, rising fiction star Rebecca Reilly, Tampa survivor and strategic studies master Abbas Nazari, the queen of historical fiction Jenny Pattrick, The Allusionist podcaster Helen Zaltzman, and Irish physicist and science communicator Laurie Winkless. Supported by Craigs Investment Partners. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI 25 AUGUST 2022 – 7.00-8.30PM KIRI TE KANAWA THEATRE, AOTEA CENTRE

Wāhine toa Lana Lopesi and Coco Solid aka Jessica Hansell (Ngāpuhi) join forces for a proudly strident hour of conversation on their latest books and preoccupations. 'How to Loiter in a Turf War' is a genre-bending work of fiction from Solid, one of Aotearoa's fiercest and most versatile artists across rap, art, film, performance and writing. The 2022 Ockham NZ Book Awards-longlisted 'Bloody Woman' is an eloquent and provocative essay collection by author, art critic and editor Lopesi, dissecting the experiences of being a Pasifika woman. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI FRIDAY 26 AUGUST 2022 – 5.00-6.00PM WAITĀKERE ROOM, AOTEA CENTRE

Abbas Nazari was just seven when his family, fearing Taliban persecution, fled Afghanistan, embarking on a desperate and dangerous journey that ultimately lead him to New Zealand. Crammed with more than 400 other asylum seekers on a sinking fishing boat in the Indian Ocean, they were saved by cargo ship Tampa in a dramatic rescue. After being rejected by Australia, some of the group including Nazari's family and were offered asylum here. He has gone on to become a Fulbright Scholar, completing a Master in Security Studies from Georgetown University in Washington DC, and authoring the moving memoir 'After the Tampa'. As the rise of the Taliban once again haunts the people of his homeland, Nazari reflects on questions of home and security, challenge and hope, opportunity and resilience. In conversation with Nikki Mandow. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI FRIDAY 26 AUGUST 2022 – 12.30-1.30PM KIRI TE KANAWA THEATRE, AOTEA CENTRE

What is the job of a Poet Laureate, and is it more complicated for those that “walk in and out of several worlds each day” as the United States' Laureate of Native American descent Joy Harjo so eloquently puts it? Aotearoa's first Pasifika Poet Laureate, Selina Tusitala Marsh, joins the current and second Pasifika writer to hold the tokotoko, David Eggleton, for a discussion on poetry and power, private and public writing, and his new collection 'The Wilder Years'. SAP SE ʻḀI TOK HE TA (TOKOTOKO): EGGLETON MA MARSH Ka tes ta garue ʻon famorit ne sap se fuḁg teʻis Poet Laureate ka te ka la noanoa seʻ se iris ne ʻmåürʻåk ʻe ta kḁinag måür tūtū his ʻe teʻ ne terḁniʻ - teʻis fäeag ʻon Joy Harjo, leʻet ʻe tör ʻon kakḁi mumuḁ ne Mereke ne pō tapeʻ ma ʻe fuḁg teʻis United States Laureate. Leʻ Pasefiḁk mumuet ne pō ʻe fuḁg teʻis Poet Laureate ʻe Niu Sirḁgi Selina Tusitala Marsh, la teagʻesea ma leʻet ne teʻis sap se fuḁg ta ʻe ʻon ʻi heteʻ, ka täe ʻon ruḁ ne leʻet ʻe famör Pasefika ne sap se fuḁg teʻis, David Eggleton, la hḁifäegag ʻe rēko ʻamnåk teʻis "poetry and power", fåʻ tē ne hünʻåk se ʻot mḁuri ne fåʻ ʻe rēko måür ofrḁu, ma la iofʻåk tapeʻ ma se ʻon garue foʻou teʻis The Wilder Years. Talanoa series curated by Gina Cole. Supported by Tautai Contemporary Pacific Arts Trust. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI 2021

After fleeing from Iran in 2013, Kurdish-Iranian journalist Behrouz Boochani became a political prisoner, detained indefinitely in legal limbo in the Australian-run Manus Regional Processing Centre, Papua New Guinea. On a smuggled mobile phone, he chronicled six years of survival and witness, tapped out in Farsi in a series of single messages, and subsequently translated into English by Omid Tofighian. The result, Boochani's against-all-odds 'No Friend But The Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison', has been much feted, winning Australia's richest literary prize – the Victorian Prize for Literature – as well as a host of other awards. The Age called it an “...intense, lyrical and psychologically perceptive prose-poetry masterpiece”. Now resident in New Zealand, Boochani speaks with Julie Hill. Supported by Platinum Patrons Carol & Gerard Curry. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI 2021

Every biographical portrait is a singular take on its subject, and Ockham NZ Book Award shortlisted 'Ralph Hotere: The Dark Is Light Enough' is writer Vincent O'Sullivan's unique homage to his friend and fellow cultural traveller Ralph Hotere (Te Aupouri, Te Rarawa). Written at the invitation of the artist and crafted through personal conversations, as well as access to whānau and papers, the book outlines the remarkable story of the small boy, Hone Papita Raukura Hotere – born in the Hokianga in 1931 – who becomes Rau, then Ralph and, eventually, the stand-alone signature HOTERE. It is a loving but “incomplete” portrait, as O'Sullivan describes it, ending with the artist in his 70s when personal contact ceased. He shares his experiences of the man with Hannah August. Supported by Heartland Bank. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI 2021

Oceanic women have always been creators – weaving lives into pandanus mats, printing knowledge onto masi and tapa, bearing tatau memory on skin, weaving words in boundless talanoa. A triumph of preeminent Pasifika women – Ockham NZ Book Awards winner Tusiata Avia ('The Savage Coloniser Book'), Selina Tusitala Marsh ('Mophead Tu') and Ockham longlisted Karlo Mila ('Goddess Muscle') – come together to discuss the preoccupations that infuse their incredible new books. Grace Iwashita-Taylor leads this conversation on whakapapa, culture and Te-Moana-nui-a-Kiwa as its threaded through their pages. Talu mei tuai ‘a e nima mea‘a ‘a e kakai fefine ‘o e ‘Ōseni Pasifikí – ‘I he‘enau lālanga ‘o e mo‘uí ki ha ngaahi fala lou‘akau, tā ‘a e kupesi ‘o e ‘iló ki he masí mo e ngatú, hilifaki ‘i he kilí ha ngaahi tātatau ‘o e manatú, lālanga ‘o e ngaahi leá ki ha talanoa tuputupu‘a. Ko ha ikuna ‘eni ma‘á e kakai fefine ‘iloa ‘o e Pasifikí – ‘oku fakatahataha mai ai ‘a Tusiata Avia ('The Savage Coloniser Book'), Selina Tusitala Marsh ('Mophead Tu') pea mo Karlo Mila ('Goddess Muscle') – ke talatalanoa‘i ‘a e ngaahi fakalaulaulotoa ‘oku tuifio atu ‘i he‘enau ngaahi tohi laulōtaha fo‘oú. ‘Oku tataki ‘e Grace Iwashita-Taylor ‘a e talanoá ni fekau‘aki mo e whakapapa, ngaahi ‘ulungāanga fakafonuá mo e Te-Moana-nui-a-Kiwa ‘o hangē ko ia kuo filohi atu ‘i he ngaahi peesi ‘o ‘enau fa‘u tohí. Talanoa series curated by Gina Cole. Supported by Tautai Contemporary Pacific Arts Trust. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI 2021

THE UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND FREE LECTURE Twenty-two years ago the Auckland Writers Festival burst into literary life, propelled by the ambitious advocacy of writers Stephanie Johnson and the late Peter Wells who wanted to showcase our talent to our people. Johnson takes stock of how the New Zealand literary landscape has changed across the era. Have we grown up, grown out, grown at all? Or are we still trying to find our place? Expect a spirited assessment of the state of play and some provocative suggestions for the future. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI 2021

A triumphant return to the Aotea stage for this most loved Festival event, which signifies the start of three full days of public programming. Surprise and delight will ensue as eight terrific writers take the stage to tell a true, no script- no- prop, personal story using ‘stranger than fiction' as a prompt. This year's champions include: poet and comms queen Kate Camp, French style photographer and influencer Garance Doré, current Poet Laureate David Eggleton, Iranian-NZ filmmaker and essayist Ghazaleh Golbakhsh, literary legend Witi Ihimaera, Australian prize-winner Laura Jean McKay, comedian and author Tom Sainsbury and poet Aigagalefili Fepulea'i Tapua'i. Supported by Craigs Investment Partners. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI 2021

A heartfelt artistic collaboration, The 33, brings together award-winning poet Anne Kennedy and leading New Zealand pianist and Juilliard graduate Sarah Watkins in a tribute to life, grief, writing and music. In 1973, after the death of her brother Philip, the then 14-year-old Kennedy consoled herself lying on a red rug in the family living room listening to Beethoven's Thirty-three Variations on a Theme of Diabelli Opus 120. Now, almost 50 years later, comes the stunning 2020 Ockham NZ Book Award shortlisted collection 'Moth Hour', 33 variations on a poem by Philip. Kennedy reads, interspersed with 16 of the musical variations, in an exquisite hour of words and performance. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI 2021

Writer and filmmaker Barbara Sumner, author of 'Tree of Strangers', argues that adoption laws, which continue to deny adopted people access to their own information, treat mothers as dispensable and children as interchangeable. Introduced by Christine O'Brien. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI 2021

Ordinary men living through extraordinary times, New Zealand soldiers Harold Robinson, Ralph Dyer and Douglas Morison shared a queer identity and a love of performance, living as gay men within the military forces during World War II, and boosting troop morale as female impersonators in wartime concert parties. In the Ockham NZ Book Awards longlisted 'Crossing the Lines', Brent Coutts brings to light their previously untold story, unfolding a tale of strong friendships, the search for love and belonging as homosexuals within the military and civilian worlds, and the impact on the queer community today. In conversation with Chris Szekely. Supported by the Friends of the Turnbull Library. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI 2021

Many ancestral currents, past and present, carried Pasifika peoples from Te-Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa to Aotearoa. Whilst each Pacific identity is unique, experiences of migration, colonialism, and courage are shared, and vividly expressed in a thriving performance scene. Pasifika playwrights Oscar Kightley and Victor Rodger are just two of the many whose work reflect the Pasifika migrant spirit and the relationships with Māori as tangata whenua. How are the multiple waka of Pasifika theatre navigating current global storms, and what does the future hold? They share their thoughts with Lana Lopesi. O le tele o folauga i vaitaimi ua tuanai e oo mai i le asō, na folau mai ai tagata Pasifika mai le Te-Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa seia taunuu mai i Aotearoa. E tofu lava atumotu o le Pasifika ma lona faasinomaga, ma e ui i le eseese o nei faasinomaga, o talaaga i femalagaiga, faiga faakolone, ma le loto toa o tagata Pasifika, ua mafai ona faasoa ma faamatala manino i se faaaliga maoa‘e ma matagofie. O tusitala i faaaliga faa- Pasifika, le susuga Oscar Kightley ma Victor Rodger o nisi o tomai mai le toatele o tusitala, ma o loo atagia i a la galuega le agaga o tagata folau mai le Pasifika ma le sootaga ma Māori o tagata o le laueleele. O faapefea i le tele o sā o le Pasifika ona faatautaia folauga i matagi malolosi i le taimi nei, ma o le ā se taunuuga o loo agai atu i ai i le lumanai? Na faasoa o la manatu ma Lana Lopesi. Talanoa series curated by Gina Cole. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI 2021

Lawyer and writer Brannavan Gnanalingam is the author of the Ockham NZ Book Awards shortlisted 'Sprigs', a searing interrogation of sexual assault and masculinity. He argues that current cultural norms about being male come at others' expense, and men must urgently find a new approach. Introduced by Christine O'Brien. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI 2021

In the Ockham NZ Book Awards shortlisted 'This Pākehā Life: An Unsettled Memoir', Alison Jones contests that being Pākehā requires us to live in a state of “permanently lively discomfort with no single resolution...”, a challenge both difficult and wonderful. She puts her case. Introduced by Christine O'Brien. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI 2021

An exceptional evening performance brings together celebrated writers and taonga pūoro practitioners in a lyrical weaving of language and song. Arihia Latham, Anahera Gildea, Becky Manawatu, essa may ranapiri and Tusiata Avia take you on a journey of sound and words, from the distant past to the distant future. Featuring live taonga pūoro from composer, musician and poet Ruby Solly and Arts Laureate Ariana Tikao, as well as pre-recorded compositions from artists Rob Thorne, Horomona Horo, Richard Nunns and Al Fraser. He whakaaturanga pō, he inati hoki, e whakatōpū ana i ētahi ringatuhi me ētahi kaiwhakatangi taonga pūoro rangatira ki tētahi kaupapa whatu ā-kupu i te reo me te waiata. Mā Arihia Latham rātou ko Anahera Gildea, ko Becky Manawatu, ko essa may ranapiri, ko Tusiata Avia koe e ārahi ki tētahi haerenga ā-oro, ā-kupu anō, i inamata noa atu, ki anamata noa atu. He taonga pūoro ka whakatangi mataoratia e te ringatito, e te ringa pūoru, e te ringa toikupu hoki, e Ruby Solly rāua ko te rau kahurangi toi, ko Ariana Tikao. Ka rangona hoki he titonga nā ngā ringatoi, nā Rob Thorne rātou ko Horomona Horo, ko Richard Nunns, ko Al Fraser kua oti kē te rekoatahia. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI 2021

Writing an honest and deeply personal memoir takes a certain degree of courage, and the journey can be fraught. In Lil O'Brien's 'Not That I'd Kiss a Girl', she movingly recounts the fallout from her parents' accidental discovery of her sexual orientation; literary star Charlotte Grimshaw embarks on a search for familial truth and a parental accounting in 'The Mirror Book'; and prizewinning children's author Kyle Mewburn charts her lifelong feeling of being somehow wrong – like “strawberry jam in a spinach can” – and her remarkable transformation from husband to woman in 'Faking It'. Join these three brave writers for a discussion of stories told, lives exposed, and the dynamics of revealing the personal, in these remarkable works. Chaired by Claire Mabey. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI 2021

“A lyrical love letter to the land” is how reviewer Linda Burgess describes Manawatu farmer, poet and performer Tim Saunders' debut memoir 'This Farming Life'. Further south in Central Otago, novelist, memoirist, poet and essayist Jillian Sullivan walks the hills and mountains of the Ida Valley that surround her home, conjuring her perceptive essay collection 'Map for the Heart'. Both books provide beautifully rendered portraits of lives lived close to the land and exposed to the seasons and shine a light on the ways in which geography shapes connection. Saunders and Sullivan share stories in conversation with Mary de Ruyter. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI 2021

Walking can be both a physical and a mental undertaking – a time for gathering thoughts and centering ourselves. For Catharina van Bohemen, her 1998 Camino de Santiago journey, so beautifully depicted in the Ockham NZ Book Awards longlisted 'Towards Compostela: Walking the Camino de Santiago', is a pilgrimage away from a crisis in her marriage towards a greater understanding of self and family; for actor and writer Michelle Langstone, in her moving essay collection 'Times Like These', walking the slopes of Maungawhau is a salve as she bids her father goodbye and strives to conceive. They speak with Carole Beu about journeys taken and wisdom gained. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI 2021

MICHAEL KING MEMORIAL LECTURE AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI 2021 Can we blame Cook for everything that followed? Is it the fault of the Englishman who met his early end in 1779 that Māori are statistically likely to meet an early end in 21st century New Zealand? This is not a biographical or historical lecture about Captain James Cook; nor is it a morbid tale of indigenous destruction. Instead, Indigenous Studies scholar and author of 'Once Were Pacific: Māori Connections to Oceania and Two Hundred and Fifty Ways to Start an Essay About Captain Cook', Alice Te Punga Somerville (Te Ātiawa, Taranaki), leads an examination of past, present and future, reflecting on the many stories we tell about Cook and his legacy and what they suggest about the different futures imagined for Aotearoa.

Helen Kelly lived and died a fighter. The daughter of prominent unionist Pat Kelly and Vietnam activist Catherine Eichelbaum, Kelly was destined for a life of political engagement. She held senior positions in a labour movement that was dominated by men, including serving as the president of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions for many years. Diagnosed with lung cancer, she campaigned for both the right to use medicinal cannabis and the right to die with dignity, before her untimely death at the age of 52. Award-winning journalist Rebecca Macfie, whose previous work includes 'Tragedy at Pike River Mine: How and Why 29 Men Died' now delivers 'Helen Kelly: Her Life', a biography of one of New Zealand's political legends, whom she describes as “a fireball of charm, grit, humour and piercing analysis”. Macfie speaks with Toby Manhire. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI 2021

The first essay of filmmaker Ghazaleh Golbakhsh's collection, 'The Girl From Revolution Road', transports readers to her childhood in Iran and an illicit party where family and friends are drinking and dancing to the Bee Gees before being swooped upon by armed police, detained and, for her father, sentenced to 60 lashes. It's a collection juxtaposing the riches and challenges of Iranian life alongside poignant observations of resettlement in New Zealand. Infused with a gentle humour Golbakhsh provides a fresh perspective on being torn between her immigrant roots and her desire to be like everybody else, and dispels the simplistic notion of “Iran bad, New Zealand good”. In a timely celebration and examination of the overlapping of two cultures, she speaks with Dan Salmon. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI 2021

A highlight of 2020 was the publication of 'How to Be Happy Though Human', a collection of new and previous work by virtuoso poet Kate Camp, which was published in New Zealand, the United States and Canada. Admired by Poet Laureate Dave Eggleton for its “smouldering slow burn, curdled idealism, the salvation army assembly of humorous perceptions” it ranges across eclectic subject matter “like a bumper ride in a fairground, crashing into obstacles, at once jarring and exhilarating”. Wry and deadpan, Camp's collected works exhibit all of the technical control, musicality and close observational skills for which she has become internationally renowned. In conversation with poet Bill Manhire, she shares the influences and preoccupations that charge her creativity, reads from her work, and leads some inter-poem banter with Manhire's Ockham NZ Book Awards longlisted collection 'Wow'. ​Supported by Platinum Patrons Mary & Peter Biggs. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI 2021

Kaituhi Michelle Rahurahu (Ngāti Rahurahu, Ngāti Tahu-Ngāti Whaoa) argues that story sovereignty, especially for Māori, cannot be maintained by outsider perspectives which use historical rhetoric to solidify harmful stereotypes about Māori lives in the minds of everyday readers. Introduced by Christine O'Brien. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI 2021

Three exceptional writers join chair Paula Morris on screen, for a live-in venue audience, to talk about and read from their latest work and answer your questions. Today's line-up includes Irish actor and memoirist Gabriel Byrne with 'Walking With Ghosts'; Melbourne-based Māori crime writer JP Pomare with latest thriller 'Tell Me Lies'; and the London-based Caribbean Costa Book of the Year author Monique Roffey with 'The Mermaid of Black Conch'. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI 2021

Three exceptional writers join consummate chair Paula Morris on screen, for a live-in-venue audience, to talk about and read from their latest work and answer your questions. Today's line-up includes expat Miro Bilbrough with her memoir of a 1970s childhood in a Marlborough Sounds commune 'In The Time of the Manaroans'; US fiction doyenne Marilynne Robinson with latest novel 'Jack'; and Booker-prize-winning Glaswegian novelist Douglas Stuart with 'Shuggie Bain'. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI 2021

Three exceptional writers join consummate chair Paula Morris on screen, for a live-in-venue audience, to talk about and read from their latest work and answer your questions. Today's line-up includes Chilean literary legend Isabel Allende with 'The Soul of a Woman', a meditation on power and feminism; UK-based Ockham NZ Book Awards shortlisted poet Mohamed Hassan with his debut collection 'National Anthem'; and Chinese-American writer and teacher Yiyun Li with her brilliant new novel 'Must I Go'. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI 2021

From Pop-art influences to landscape, through advertising and the contested area of Appropriation, much-loved and truly versatile artist Dick Frizzell has always immersed himself in the art around him. In 'Me, According To The History of Art, a journey from cave art through Rubens and Tintoretto to Cezanne and Lichtenstein', Frizzell sets out to track the historical threads that sit within his DNA as a 21st- century artist. It's a fun romp, sitting on a bedrock of serious scholarship and reverence for the painters of the past, with masterful re-imaginings of key work. ​​​In conversation with Finlay Macdonald, the art history lesson you've been waiting for unfolds in all its colourful glory. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI 2021

In 2019, Time magazine named Monique Fiso's (Ngā Rauru, Ngāti Ruanui) Wellington restaurant Hiakai as one of the ‘100 Greatest Places' in the world – a long way from an after-school job in Porirua as a sandwich hand. Fiso's incomparable talent has led to work in Michelin-star restaurants, featuring on Netflix's The Final Table, and receiving praise from publications including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, National Geographic and Forbes. A visionary modern-day food warrior, taking Māori cuisine to the world, Fiso has now produced the stunning Ockham NZ Book Awards winning book 'Hiakai'. This story of kai Māori charts her personal journey, ranging across history, tradition and tikanga, and serves up foraging and usage notes, an illustrated ingredient directory, and over 30 recipes. In a session to savour she speaks with Kim Knight. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI 2021

Writer, singer, musician and lyricist Amanda Palmer has garnered a vibrant cult following for her creative outputs which include New York Times best-selling memoir and manifesto 'The Art of Asking'. She is supported by a circle of almost 15,000 patrons across the globe who micro-fund her writing and work through the Patreon platform. ​​​Slated to finish up an 80-date international tour of her third solo studio album, the searingly stark There Will Be No Intermission, in Wellington in 2020 as Covid struck, she is currently working from the Antipodes ​In a conversation with writer and friend Catherine Robertson she canvasses widely around the importance of telling our stories and speaking our truths, writing through grief and discomfort, and the juggle of whānau, community and expression, and offers up some ukulele interludes. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI 2021