Here's the fantastic line up for the 2019 Festival.
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Friday 4 October
Grand Opening 6.00 – 7.00 pm The evening begins with drinks and nibbles as you mix and mingle with fellow booklovers and authors. The Whanganui Mayor Hamish McDouall will officially open the main weekend of the Literary Festival. Venue: Pioneer Room, War Memorial Centre, Watt St Bookings: Not required Admission: Free Jo Drayton
Joanne Drayton Friday 4 October 7.30 – 8.30 pm
The Lives of Others – Being a Biographer Joanne Drayton is an acclaimed New York Times bestselling author who has published six books and numerous chapters and articles. She has curated exhibitions and publishes in art history, theory and biography. In 2007, she was awarded a National Library Fellowship, in 2017 the prestigious Logan Fellowship at the Carey Institute in upstate New York and in 2019 the Ockham Book Award for non–fiction for her biography Hudson and Halls: The Food of Love. This is a celebratory year for Joanne. Twenty years ago, in 1999, she was living in Whanganui and working at the Whanganui Polytechnic lecturing in Art History and Theory. That year she curated her first exhibition and published her first book on the Whanganui artist, Edith Collier. Joanne will talk about that event, about what she learnt, and how those lessons helped shape her future career as a writer, bringing her to her latest publishing success. Venue: Concert Chamber, War Memorial Centre, Watt St Bookings: Royal Wanganui Opera House Admission: $15. Door sales available. Saturday 5 October
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Sunday 6 October
Corey Mosen
Corey Mosen & Ajax
Sunday 6 October 10.00–11.00 am Conserving Our Kea Together, Corey and Ajax travel through the steep high country through- out the South Island searching out kea nests. Their part in the kea conservation effort is essential and both Ajax and Corey are an inseparable duo. Their heart–warming yarns include how Ajax was trained to be one of the very few kea detection dogs in the world, and tell of his various escapades in the unpredictable wilds of the steep back–country, including flying in helicopters, working in blizzards, heavy rain and dense fog, escaping from angry wasps and sleeping out in the bitter cold. The strong connection between Ajax and Corey has proved vital to their survival and the important work that they do. Venue: Concert Chamber, War Memorial Centre, Watt Street Bookings: Royal Wanganui Opera House Admission: $15. Door sales available. Tina Makereti
Tina Makereti
Sunday 6 October 11.30 – 12.30 pm If not Now, then When? Tina Makereti writes essays, novels and short fiction. Her latest novel is The Imaginary Lives of James Pöneke, a novel that Fiona Kidman described as, "Riveting vision of the world seen from the inside out...a gutsy, searing and totally absorbing read." Tina co-edited Black Marks on the White Page (2017), an anthology that celebrates Mäori and Pasifika writing. In 2016, her story ‘Black Milk’, won the Commonwealth Writers Short Story Prize, Pacific region. Her first novel Where the Rëkohu Bone Singswon the 2014 Ngä Kupu Ora Aotearoa Mäori Book Award for Fiction, also won by her short story collection, Once Upon a Time in Aotearoa (2010). Sarah Lang talks to the author and creative writing teacher about writing books, teaching writing, and whether she feels she's an activist for Mäori and Pacific literature. Venue: Concert Chamber, War Memorial Centre, Watt Street Bookings: Royal Wanganui Opera House Admission: $15. Door sales available. Leah McFall
Sunday 6 October 1.30 – 2.30 pm Confidentially Speaking Columnist Leah McFall joined Sunday in 2016. Known for her humorous takes on lifestyle trends, middle age and the royal family, she celebrates and defends the over–looked suburban woman in her writing. Leah won a 2018 Voyager Media Award for General Opinion–Writing and released her first collection, Karori Confidential, last October. Venue: Concert Chamber, War Memorial Centre, Watt Street Bookings: Royal Wanganui Opera House Admission: $15. Door sales available. Amber Rose
Sunday 6 October 3.00 – 4.00 pm
Wild Delicious — High Tea with Amber Rose Chef to celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law, Amber Rose is a food stylist, food writer and cook with a flair for the tasty and the nutritious. Amber Rose believes a well nourished life is one filled with wholesome, delicious food that is thoughtfully prepared and eaten with delight. In her latest book Wild Delicious she returns to her roots, preparing simple, nutritious recipes with ingre- dients gathered from the gardens, orchards, farms and ocean of New Zealand. Introduced by UCOL cookery lecturer, Gina Guigou, Amber will talk about her passion for whole, fresh food and share some recipes and stories from her career to date. Venue: Pioneer Room, War Memorial Centre, Watt Street Bookings: Royal Wanganui Opera House Admission: $30, numbers limited – bookings essential |
