From Writers and Readers festivals
Collection items
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Colson Whitehead’s novel about slavery “had to be really brutal just to be realistic.”
13 Aug 2023Two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Colson Whitehead has written The Underground Railroad, The Nickel Boys, and Harlem Shuffle. He talks to Kim Hill at the 2023 Auckland Writers Festival. Audio
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Charlotte Yates on her decades of turning iconic NZ poetry into songs
21 Aug 2022Charlotte Yates explores the history of her series of musical collaborations between contemporary composers and the work of New Zealand's finest writers at the 2021 Going West Festival. Audio
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In a series of remarkable poems, two writers – Karlo Mila and Daren Kamali – explore Pacific identity in Aotearoa
14 Aug 2022Tongan, Samoan and Palagi poet Karlo Mila reads from her book The Goddess Muscle and Fijian poet Daren Kamali performs his poetry and accompanies himself on traditional Fijian musical instruments. Audio
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Three writers on stereotypes, identity and the Asian-Kiwi experience
24 Jul 2022A Clear Dawn: New Asian Voices from Aotearoa New Zealand introduces three new literary voices exploring Asian experiences and identities in Aotearoa. A highlight of Verb Wellington 2021. Audio
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In her deeply personal memoir Faking It, Kyle Mewburn recounts a life in transition
3 Jul 2022Well-known children's author Kyle Mewburn talks with Jane Arthur about her life, which has recently changed radically. (A highlight from the 2021 Verb Readers and Writers Festival in Wellington) Audio
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Wellington writer Clare Moleta explores the dark side of motherhood in her debut novel
26 Jun 2022Unsheltered is the riveting story of one mother’s search for her child across a climate-ravaged continent in a dystopian future. Clare Moleta talks with Pip Adam about her inspirations. Audio
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Being pākehā means being in a state of permanent lively discomfort, says Alison Jones
1 May 2022What does it mean to be Pākehā today? Prof. Alison Jones from the University of Auckland talks to the University of Canterbury's Jeanette King in this highlight of WORD Christchurch 2021. Audio
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Leadership means learning when to take your coat off, even though it’s freezing – Mark Solomon
12 Apr 2022Mark Solomon, the former kaiwhakahaere (Chair) of Ngāi Tahu's governing council, speaks with Nic Lowe about leadership in this highlight of WORD Christchurch 2021. Audio
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How to write a killer plot - two crime writers tell all
5 Apr 2022Two crime writers - Jacqueline Bublitz and Paul Cleave - discuss how they create memorable stories in this highlight of 2021's Word Christchurch festival. Audio
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Optimism? Pessimism? What should we feel about the climate crisis?
3 Apr 2022At the time of the COP26 summit held in Glasgow, Kim Hill speaks with journalist Tom Doig and veteran scientist Dave Lowe about the climate crisis. A highlight of 2021 Word Christchurch. Audio
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An adventurous life can mean different things for women, from running in the New York marathon to soothing a wakeful child at night
27 Mar 2022Dr Hinemoa Elder, Kyle Mewburn, Anjum Rahman, Julie Zarifeh and Emily Writes explore very different aspects of courage and adventure in their lives. They talk with Jo Malcolm. Audio
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'Caught between the endless ocean and an unseeing earth, we chose life' – Tampa refugee Abbas Nazari
6 Mar 2022In 2001, the Norwegian freighter Tampa - crammed with more than 400 asylum-seekers rescued from a sinking fishing boat - was turned away from Australia. Abbas Nazari, aged seven, was onboard. Audio
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Ian Rankin’s latest work of tartan noir completes the unfinished novel of another Scottish crime writer
27 Feb 2022Ian Rankin, the creator of Inspector Rebus, talks live from Edinburgh with New Zealand crime writer Vanda Symon at Word Christchurch 2021. Audio
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“Society would label him a gangster, but I was honoured to see the little boy” – Matt Brown
20 Feb 2022Christchurch barber Mataio (Matt) Brown wrote She is Not Your Rehab with his wife Sarah. They discuss the book and the global anti-violence movement it has spawned at 2021 WORD Christchurch. Audio
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1984 Trades Hall bombing a defining moment in the life of unionist Helen Kelly
13 Feb 2022Unionist Helen Kelly left a huge impact on New Zealand's political and industrial landscapes. Helen's biographer Rebecca Macfie speaks with Jo Malcolm about her life, times and legacy. Audio
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The whakapapa of a story from imagination to understanding, laid out by Lyttelton poet Ben Brown
6 Feb 2022Ben Brown (Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Koroki, Ngāti Paoa) speaks about the power of imagination and its deep roots in te ao Māori at the 2021 WORD Christchurch Festival. Audio
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“I led a happy life, but I wrote sad poems” – Bill Manhire on his time as a Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellow
9 May 2021Celebrating 50 years of the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship, five writer read their letters to New Zealand's most famous author. A highlight of Word Christchurch 2020. Audio
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How Pip Adam's first job as a hairdresser helps her structure a novel
2 May 2021Pip Adam discusses her novel Nothing to See - one of the most talked-about books of 2020 - with Carl Shuker in this highlight of the 2020 Word Christchurch Spring Festival. Audio
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Hands of Death and Destruction or The Raptor – which surgeon would you choose?
18 Apr 2021Eileen Merriman and Carl Shuker discuss their novels A Mistake and The Silence of Snow, which take medical mishaps as a starting point. A highlight of the 2020 Word Christchurch Spring Festival. Audio
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“Great poetry gives us back the Wow!” – Bill Manhire on the power of the art form he has mastered
11 Apr 2021New Zealand's leading poet of this generation, Bill Manhire, talks to John Campbell in this highlight of the 2020 Word Christchurch Writers Spring Festival. Audio
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A dingo called Sue speaks, but what she has to say is not pretty
4 Apr 2021Philip Armstrong's poetry and Laura Jean McKay's award-winning novel The Animals in That Country feature animals as significant characters. The authors talk at 2020 Word Christchurch. Audio
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A remarkable life shaped by food: Annabel Langbein on her memoir Bella
21 Mar 2021From a childhood fascination with cooking, to possum trapping and living off the land as a hunter and forager, Annabel Langbein has always been obsessed with food. A 2020 Word Christchurch highlight.
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“She gave her life for saving others, and most particularly for saving me” – Farid Ahmed on his wife Husna, murdered in the Christchurch terror attacks
14 Mar 2021Farid Ahmed talks about his wife Husna, who died in the terror attacks in Christchurch on 15 March 2019. A moving highlight of the 2020 Word Christchurch Spring Festival. Audio
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“She does break all the locks on the door to her soul” – author Elizabeth Knox on The Absolute Book
7 Mar 2021Elizabeth Knox talks to Noelle McCarthy about her most recent novel The Absolute Book. A highlight of the 2020 Word Christchurch Spring Festival. Audio
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"Courage is very related to hopelessness" - author Behrouz Boochani
28 Feb 2021Hosted by John Campbell, some of Word Christchurch's most distinguished writers respond to the theme of courage: Behrouz Boochani, Laura Jean McKay, and Witi Ihimaera. The second of two hours. Audio
