NZ Writers Week 2016 program announced

29 January 2016 Books+Publishing

The full program for the 2016 New Zealand Writers Week has been announced.

Running from 8 to 13 March in Wellington, the biennial event will feature sessions with international guests including Miranda July (US), Richard Dawkins (UK), Simon Winchester (UK), Etgar Keret (ISR), neurosurgeon Henry Marsh (UK) and feminist commentator Mallory Ortberg (US). Among the international children’s and YA authors are Cornelia Funke (GER), Sally Gardner (GBR) and graphic novel author and artist Mariko Tamaki (CAN).

Australian and New Zealand authors announced for the festival include Robert Dessaix, Booker Prize-longlisted Anna Smaill, New Zealand poet laureate C K Stead, children’s author Joy Cowley and Emily Perkins.

Special events include fun runs with US author and marathon runner Christopher McDougall; ‘Literary Idol’, where attendees can read the opening lines of their work and have it discussed by a panel of authors; a high tea roast of New Zealand playwright Roger Hall; an evening of poetry with C K Stead and his poet laureate predecessors; and the launch of Hooked on NZ Books, a review website for young adults.

The New Zealand Writers Week is part of the New Zealand Festival, with 2016 marking the 30th anniversary of the event. This theme of this year’s program is ‘rapprochement’ and the ‘idea of reconciliation in its broadest sense’. To view the full program, visit the New Zealand Writers Week website here.

Category: Local news