Auckland Writers' Festival

By GILBERT WONG books editor

Auckland is the place critics say has no soul and no centre. How untrue.

Massaged by two harbours, hugged by fine beaches, the city must surely be one of the most benign metropolises in the world. There is an undeniable sense of place to the city and region.

More New Zealanders live here than any other place. To steal a phrase, if the city sneezes, the country catches a cold. So the corollary is, if Aucklanders were to cease to read books, the country's publishers would be out of business.

The third Auckland Writers' Festival runs from Friday, May 25 to Sunday, May 27, a weekend when literary Auckland has the chance to show the depth of talent the city and country has alongside major international authors.

It is an opportunity for readers to hear authors voice their own works and speak about what motivates them to put words to paper. Just as important forums and panels will tackle issues that range from the essence of New Zealand blokeness to what makes any city a good place to live and the place of the sensuous and erotic in writing.

As a major sponsor from the first festival, the New Zealand Herald is proud to be associated with what has grown to become one of the country's major literary events.

Enjoy the writers and their words.

Friday, May 25


Chocolate, Chopsticks and Neck-chops


Enjoy breakfast while Joanne Harris (Chocolat), Hyatt food and beverage manager Connie Clarkson and TV personality and writer Peta Mathias talk about the power of food to change our mood. Chaired by Alexa Johnston, curator, writer and dedicated amateur cook.

Friday, 7.30 am - 9 am, Princes Ballroom, Hyatt Regency. Ticketek only, $40.

The Tender Trap: Love and Therapy


After he was sacked from the Freud Archives in 1981, Jeffrey Masson wrote Against Therapy. Self-help books are the fastest-growing market in the book trade. Rhonda Pritchard (Love in the Real World) and Juliet Batten (Growing Into Wisdom: Change and Transformation into Midlife) join Masson on the couch. Psychiatrist Jan Reeves in the chair.

Friday 9.30 am - 10.30 am, Top of the Town, Hyatt Regency. Ticketek $11.50, door $14.

Judging a Book by its Cover


Book designers Sharon Grace, Catherine Griffiths and Landfall editor Justin Paton, chaired by Random House managing director Michael Moynahan.

Friday 10.45 am - 11.45 am, Top of the Town, Hyatt Regency. Ticketek $11.50, door $14.

Words in a Bubble


Cartoonists Peter Bromhead, Malcolm Evans and Sophie McMillan talk about condensing narrative into an image. Chaired by Dylan Horrocks.

Friday, 12 noon - 1 pm, Top of the Town, Hyatt Regency. Ticketek $11.50, door $14.

The New Zealand Herald lunch: It's a wise child that knows its own father


Russell Stone has studied the business world of Victorian Auckland, Graeme Hunt has drawn up The Rich List, and Tony Williams has written The Rise, Fall and Flight of Brierley. They talk about the morality of wealth, the creation of class, and Auckland as the engine of our national economy. Chaired by Herald columnist Gordon McLauchlan.

Friday, 1 pm - 2.30 pm, Princes Ballroom, Hyatt Regency. Ticketek only, $60.

A Sense of Place


Delia Falconer, Tina Shaw and Kapka Kassabova talk about "place" as dramatis persona. Chaired by Tasmanian guest Richard Flanagan.

Friday, 2.30 pm - 3.30 pm, Top of the Town, Hyatt Regency. Ticketek $11.50, door $14.

A Droll Interlude


Shonagh Koea, Sue Reidy and Noel Virtue share the light art of dark humour. Readings chaired by Helen Woodhouse, Takapuna City Librarian.

Friday 3.45 pm - 4.45 pm, Top of the Town, Hyatt Regency. Ticketek $11.50, door $14.

Mud, Blood, Rain and Gloom


Tasmanian and New Zealand writers have a lot in common, or do they? Richard Flanagan joins Frank Moorhouse and Peter Wells to discuss what insights are afforded them by living away from the cultural imperialism of mainland Australia. Chaired by Stephanie Johnson.

Friday 5 pm - 6 pm, Top of the Town, Hyatt Regency. Ticketek $11.50, Door $14.

Book Launch - Maurice Gee and Patricia Grace


Penguin Books invites you to the launching of Maurice Gee's novel Ellie and the Shadow Man and Patricia Grace's Dogside Story. Friday 5.30 pm - 6.30 pm, Princes Ballroom, Hyatt Regency. No charge.

Book Launch - Peter Wells


Join Random House in the launch of festival creative director Peter Wells' book Long Loop Home, a revealing autobiography of his early years.

Friday 6.30 pm - 7.30 pm, Top of the Town, Hyatt Regency. No charge.

Star Night: Envoys to the city of the imagination


Joanne Harris, David Malouf, Edward Rutherfurd, Jane Smiley and Amy Tan join chair Graham Beattie in an evening of readings and discussion.

Friday 8 pm - 10 pm, signings 10 pm - 10.30 pm. Auckland Town Hall, Ticketek $25, door $27.50.

Saturday, May 26


Yin Eyes: An Hour with Amy Tan


Saturday 9.30 am - 10.30 am, Princes Ballroom, Hyatt Regency. SOLD OUT.

The Bluest Eye: Auckland and the Sea


Tessa Duder chairs a panel of nautical writers talking about Aucklanders' passion for the sea: Harold Kidd, Leah Newbold and Penny Whiting.

Saturday 9.30 am - 10.30 am, Old Government House. Ticketek $11.50, door $14.

Around the world in one hour: Geneva, Lansquenet, Katoomba, Henderson


International guests Delia Falconer, Joanne Harris and Frank Moorhouse join Maurice Gee to read from their books and talk about the places that shaped them. Chair: Justin Paton.

Saturday 10.45 am - 11.45 am, Princes Ballroom, Hyatt Regency. Ticketek $11.50, door $14.

Piggy, Crumpy & A.R.D.


Muldoon, like Sinatra, did it His Way, Barry Crump walked along in A Life in Loose Strides, A.R.D Fairburn was a polemicist and a poet who designed curtains. Barry Gustafson and Colin Hogg join Denys Trussell to talk about different styles of being a New Zealand male. Chaired by historian Jamie Belich.

Saturday 10.45 am - 11.45 am, Old Government House. Ticketek $11.50, door $14.

In five minutes you can say a lot: poets' open mike


BYO genius. Hosted by Virginia Were. Poets take the stand, including Murray Edmond, Riemke Ensing, Paula Green, Kapka Kassabova and Phil Kawana. In between, it's your turn.

Saturday 11 am - 3 pm, Old Government House. No charge.

The Songmaker's Chair: A Rehearsed Reading


A reading, in his presence, of Albert Wendt's first full-length play - an impassioned look at the last days of a Samoan patriarch in Auckland. Introduced by Simon Prast and read by Robbie Magasiva, David Fane, Kirk Torrance and Etuati Ete. In association with the Auckland Theatre Company.

Saturday 12 noon - 1.30 pm, Top of the Town, Hyatt Regency. Ticketek $11.50, door $14.

Lets Talk City: A Forum


Wallpaper*, the world's most fashionable magazine, defined Auckland as a trying-hard-but-not-quite-there-yet city. Mike Davis joins design historian and Herald Viva writer Douglas lloyd Jenkins, Herald columnist Brian Rudman and architect Pip Cheshire to talk about how to make our city work. Chaired by Herald columnist Gordon McLauchlan.

Saturday 12 noon - 1.30 pm, Princes Ballroom, Hyatt Regency. Ticketek $11.50, door $14.

Book Launch - Shonagh Koea


Join Random House to launch Shonagh Koea's new novel Time for a Killing. nte

Saturday 1.30 pm - 2.30 pm, Old Government House. No charge.

Love and Horses: An Hour with Jane Smiley Pulitzer


Prize winner Jane Smiley's most recent work is Horse Heaven and she is now completing a novel about real estate and the Reagan years. Chaired by Carole Beu.

Saturday 2.30 pm - 3.30 pm, Princes Ballroom, Hyatt Regency. Ticketek $11.50, door $14.

Spiels and Reels


Australian author Richard Flanagan wrote and directed the movie of his own novel The Sound of One Hand Clapping; Joanne Harris' Chocolat has been made into a major motion picture.Flanagan and Harris join Ladies' Night playwright and novelist Stephen Sinclair, one of the writers on Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings, to talk about writing novels and novels being made into films. Chaired by writer, actor and film lecturer Hester Joyce.

Saturday 2.30 pm - 3.30 pm, Old Government House. Ticketek $11.50, door $14.

Sky People: An Hour with Patricia Grace


From the publication of her first collection of short stories Waiariki in 1975 to Baby No-eyes in 1998, and now her most recent novel Dogside Story, Patricia Grace's work has won accolades and awards. She talks with Helen Woodhouse.

Saturday 3.45 pm - 4.45 pm, Old Government House. Ticketek $11.50, door $14.

My Home Town


Amelia Batistich, Mike Davis, Maurice Gee and Peter Wells talk about looking homeward. Chaired by Mayor Christine Fletcher.

Saturday 3.45 pm - 4.45 pm, Princes Ballroom, Hyatt Regency. Ticketek $11.50, door $14

Dream Stuff: An Hour with David Malouf


Australian David Malouf writes not only novels and short stories, but poetry and opera libretti. He joins Sunday Star-Times critic Iain Sharp for an hour of readings and conversation.

Saturday 5 pm - 6 pm, Princes Ballroom, Hyatt Regency. Ticketek $11.50, door $14.

Book Launch - Jan Kemp


Puriri Press invites you to the launch of The Sky's Enormous Jug - Love Poems Old & New by Jan Kemp, to be launched by Roger Horrocks together with an edition of signed, numbered copies of a poem hand-set and printed on papyrus by John Denny.

Saturday 6 pm - 7 pm, Old Government House. No charge.

Girls' Night Out on the Town


Illustrious guests Jane Smiley, Naomi Wolf and Sarah Waters join locals Patricia Grace and Stephanie Johnson to talk about writing, politics and history, and to read from recent work. Introduced by Prime Minister Helen Clark, chaired by Women's Bookshop proprietor Carole Beu.

Saturday 8 pm - 10.30 pm, Princes Ballroom, Hyatt Regency. Ticketek $20, door $21.50.

Sunday, May 27


Lone Kauri: An Hour with Allen Curnow


Readings and conversation with poet, essayist and novelist C.K. Stead.

Sunday 10 am - 11 am, Old Government House. Ticketek $11.50, door $14.

Elephants Weep, Sea Lions Mourn and Dogs Never Lie About Love


Bestselling American author Jeffrey Masson joins New Zealander Neville Peat (The Falcon and the Lark, Coasting) to discuss what we can learn from animals. Chair: Christine Tintinger, senior primate keeper, Auckland Zoo.

Sunday 10 am - 11 am, Princes Ballroom, Hyatt Regency. Ticketek $11.50, door $14.

High Above the City: Poets' Brunch


Enjoy a delicious brunch as you listen to Murray Edmond, Riemke Ensing, Paula Green, Anna Jackson, Phil Kawana, Denys Trussell, Virginia Were. Chaired by Auckland City Councillor Victoria Carter.

Sunday 10.30 am - 12.30 pm, Top of the Town, Hyatt Regency. Ticketek only, $45.

Incarceration and Madness: The Dark Side of Illumination


Several novels by women have been set in lunatic asylums and prisons. Londoner Sarah Waters' novel Affinity, New Zealander Charlotte Randall's The Curative and Stephanie Johnson's Belief illuminate the literary potency of "losing it." Chaired by Geoff Walker, Penguin Books.

Sunday 11.15 am - 12.15 pm, Princes Ballroom, Hyatt Regency. Ticketek $11.50, door $14.

Bohemia in Fifties Auckland


Kevin Ireland, Vanya Lowry and Mary Paul talk about the shenanigans and heightened creativity during a decade other people found conformist and suffocating. Chaired by painter and novelist Jacqueline Fahey.

Sunday 11.15 am - 12.15 pm, Old Government House. Ticketek $11.50, door $14.

Making the Past Breathe


How do writers create fiction out of history? David Malouf, Charlotte Randall and Edward Rutherfurd, chaired by historian Jamie Belich.

Sunday 12.30 pm - 1.30 pm, Princes Ballroom, Hyatt Regency. Ticketek $11.50, door $14.

Make Love in All the Rooms: Auckland in the Seventies


Murray Edmond, Russell Haley and Jan Kemp talk about the decade of change, mess, potency and visions. Performance, readings and talk. Chaired by author Michael Morrissey.

Sunday 12.30 pm - 1.30 pm, Old Government House. Ticketek $11.50, door $14.

Reclaiming the serious novel for children


The rise of J.K. Rowling and Philip Pullman to classic status has helped redefine the children's novel. Tessa Duder chairs a panel with David Hill, Vince Ford and Sarah Ell to discuss the renewed enthusiasm for long and complex children's stories.

Sunday 1.30 pm - 2.30 pm, Top of the Town, Hyatt Regency. Ticketek $11.50, door $14.

Secret Museums and Curiosity Shops


Roger Blackley explores the secret museums and curiosity shops of 19th-century Auckland. A splendidly illustrated talk. Introduced by curator Mary Kisler.

Sunday 1.45 pm - 2.45 pm, Auckland Art Gallery. Ticketek $11.50, door $14.

What's Politics Got to Do with it? An Hour With Mike Davis


Mike Davis is a passionate writer about urban environments. Gaining a new citizen every 27 minutes, Auckland is increasingly organised into racial and economic ghettoes. Its transport system is in chaos. Buildings go up in key positions without public consent. What's politics got to do with it? Davis, "an arsonist igniting combustible ideas" (The Nation) talks with Auckland architect Graeme Burgess.

Sunday 2.30 pm - 3.30 pm, Princes Ballroom, Hyatt Regency Ticketek $11.50, door $14.

Taranaki, or is that Egmont?


When a landscape is colonised often old names and allusions are lost. Leading Maori writers and thinkers talk about the charisma and lustre of names and words. Patricia Grace and Linda Tuhiwai Smith share their knowledge. Chaired by Wasi Shortland.

Sunday 2.30 pm - 3.30 pm, Old Government House. Ticketek $11.50, door $14

Affinity : An Hour with Sarah Waters


Sarah Waters is the recipient of the prestigious London Arts Award and the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year. Acclaimed by the literary mainstream for her brilliant prose, Sarah's work happens also to be blatantly lesbian. Chaired by Carole Beu.

Sunday 3.45 pm - 4.45 pm, Top of the Town, Hyatt Regency. Ticketek $11.50, door $14.

"Joyous Impalement on Man's Sensual Mast" (Anais Nin)


Writing about sex and intimacy is famously difficult. Kapka Kassabova, Frank Moorhouse, Sue Reidy and Chad Taylor, current Buddle Findlay Sargeson Fellow, talk about the art of eroticism. Chaired by Graham Beattie.

Sunday 3.45 pm - 4.45 pm, Old Government House. Ticketek $11.50, door $14.

Buddle Findlay Sargeson Fellowship Dinner


Naomi Wolf replaces Glenda Jackson as keynote speaker. Sunday 6:30 pm - 10.30 pm, Princes Ballroom, Hyatt Regency. SOLD OUT.

How to book


Ticketek: phone 307 5000, fax 307 5048, internet Ticketek

In person: The Edge, Aotea Centre, Queen St, Auckland and other Ticketek booking agencies.

Post: Ticketek, PO Box 5440, Wellesley St, Auckland.

Auckland Writers' Festival

Door sales: subject to availability.