Embargoed 30 January 2014
2014 New Zealand Festival Writers Week Asks the Big Questions
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Man Booker Prize-winner Eleanor Catton featured at Writers Week in 2012 and returns to the NZ Festival in 2014 to
deliver the NZ Book Council Lecture on 10 March.
From New Zealand’s own Man Booker Prize-winnerEleanor Catton to a cast of international authors, 130 of the world’s finest writers and thinkers will converge on Wellington to take
part in the biennial New Zealand Festival Writers Week from 7-12 March 2014.
The full Writers Week line-up was announced today and is the first curated by Writers Week Programme Manager Kathryn
Carmody. Featuringnovelists, poets, journalists, children’s book authors, academics, scientists, economists and
theologians, 2014 Writers Week explores key issues that shape our world today.
“Just two words embody the vision for this year’s programme: identity and community,” says Writers Week Programme
Manager Kathryn Carmody. “Writers Week is a great opportunity to get together, stimulate our minds and let our
imaginations run free, as some of the world’s greatest thinkers and communicators discuss the preoccupations of our
time.”
“Given the varied line-up it is hard to know where to start with recommendations, but you can expect a thought-provoking
hour fromSchindler’s List writerTom Keneally, critic and hilarious witTerry Castle, “reformed atheist”Francis Spufford,Two Little Boys writerDuncan Sarkies and top economistLoretta Napoleoni,” says Carmody.
Along with the more than 50 daytime sessions at the Embassy Theatre and Hannah Playhouse, theNew Zealand Listener Late Sessions are new early evening events at the Embassy that will bring high profile authorsJung Chang (Wild Swans), astrophysicistMarcus Chownand authorTom Keneally to large audiences outside the working day. Other new initiatives includes workshops for developing writers,
illustrators and readers, book launches open to the public, and even a sleepover at Te Papa for young booklovers.
Released early, High Teas with best-sellingEat, Pray, Love authorElizabeth Gilbert and Stanford University academicTerry Castle have already sold out, but they now also have Embassy sessions available.
Touted as one of the most vibrant new voices in American literature,Flamethrowers writerRachel Kushner comes highly recommended, as does the writer/illustrator ofAre You My Mother?Alison Bechdel, especially for those interested in feminism, identity and empowerment. There is also a wealth of Kiwi talent to
enjoy, includingJill Trevelyan (who has just published a biography of iconic Wellington art dealer Peter McCleavey),Te Radar andTheLuminaries authorEleanor Catton, who will deliver the 2014 New Zealand Book Council Lecture.
Bookmark, Take Five Pass Holders and Friends of the Festival can purchase tickets to Writers Week fromThursday 31 January. Bookings are open to the general public from 9am Friday 7 February. Tickets available from Ticketek, and more details
on the Festival websitefestival.co.nz.
The programme booklet is available at Unity Books, libraries, bookshops and other outlets nationwide.
ENDS