Concrete Playground's Picks for the Auckland Writers Festival 2016

One for the wordsmiths, the readers, the thinkers and the jokers, the Auckland Writers Festival is just around the corner and promising a week of truly inspirational events. Get out of those track pants and put down the pen - this will be the best cure for writer's block.

The Auckland Writers Festival brings together national and international writers and intellectuals for five days of conversation, storytelling and sharing of ideas. With over one hundred events on offer, we did the hard yards for you and compiled a list of our top picks from this year's festival so if you're new to the game you'll know exactly which events to throw a coin in the hat for.

The Diversity Debate

Sunday 15 May, 4.30 - 5.30pm

We here in New Zealand like to think of ourselves as a culturally diverse nation, with a vibrant mix of cultures sprinkling our arts scene, but just how diverse are we and who has the right to tell people's stories?

When tackling such important topics like diversity and representation, it makes sense that you would bring in the big guns. It's fair to say this is a powerhouse panel. Sitting in the hot seat will be Marlon James, who isn't interested in pandering to white women to sell books (something he thinks writers of colour spend too much time doing); Victor Rodger who wrote the award-winning play Black Faggot and who you might recognise from Shorty Street, and Stephanie Johnson known for a writing style 'marked by a dry irony, a sharp-edged humour. This is bound to be a hard-hitting conversation that you won't want to miss.

An evening with Gloria Steinem

Saturday 14 May, 7.30 - 8.45pm

Gloria Steinem - one of the twentieth century's most influential feminists and Once a Playboy bunny who exposed the exploitative conditions the bunnies endured. She also protested the Vietnam War, the apartheid system in South Africa, the Gulf War and recently campaigned for disarmament in Korea. The American journalist and activist is clearly a big deal, her event has already sold out and she is one of the most talked about speakers at the festival. If you've managed to secure tickets, you are one of the lucky ones and bragging rights are well and truly yours. Enjoy.

A Cappella 

Friday 13 May, 7 - 8pm

Omar Musa is an Australian slam poet and hip hop artist whose debut novel is a mash-up of poetry and prose and tackles the issues of race and class in his homeland. King Kapisi needs no introduction.

With 25 minutes each, the pair will battle it out on stage using only their rhymes and beats as weapons (of course). This is the kind of trans-Tasman dual worthy of an audience so grab some mates and get your tickets, it'll no doubt leave you doubting the state of the life as we know it - in the most eye-opening of ways.

The Emergency Poet

You can call an ambulance when you've got a medical emergency, so why not a poet when you've got an emotional or intellectual one. Perhaps you need a bit of TLC following a recent heartbreak, or a cheeky few lines to pass on to that annoying flatmate of yours; Deborah Alma is ready and prepped for all of your poetry emergencies.

The Emergency Poet will be parked up over the week at locations all across the city with a huge array of poetry - from Wordsworth to C.K. Stead -  ready to save you from your poem-less days. Get out and about and check her out when she's in your hood.

Ika 4 Launch

Saturday 14 May, 12 -1pm

The Manukau Institute of Technology is the stomping ground of some of the most talented emerging writers in Auckland and the Launch of IKA 4, its literary and arts journal is probably your best chance of rubbing shoulders with future greats. Publishing poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, visual art and photography, from here at home, the wider Pacific and beyond, Ika presents emerging writers alongside those who are more established. Edited and produced by staff and students at MIT, this is a journal with a lot of heart. Pick up a copy on the night and delve into the next big thing.

New Zealand Listener Gala Night: Altered States

Thursday 12 May, 7 - 8.30pm

When an event is an annual sellout, there is very little doubt that it will be nothing short of inspirational. The New Zealand Listener presents this year's gala night; True Stories Told Live: Altered States.

A mixed bag of writers, including Tusiata Avi, Joe Bennett and Vivian Gornick, will take to the stage and present seven minutes of gold inspired by the theme Altered States. There'll be no scripts and no props, just the writer on stage and only their words to save them. When you get together a trade lawyer, politician, former revolutionary and raconteur, who knows where the night will take you. Tickets are still available, but get in quick to avoid disappointment.

Marlon James: A History in Seven Killings

Saturday 14 May, 10.30am - 11.30am

The 2015 Man Booker Prize winner Marlon James will be speaking a number of times throughout the festival, including this highly anticipated talk on his award-winning novel A Brief History of Seven Killings. Exploring the fictional attempted assassination of Bob Marley in Jamaica in 1976, this is James' third novel to date. Certainly not one for the faint of heart or someone looking for a light read, it is teaming with graphic sex, drugs and gang violence and is said to be an "extraordinary book". In fact, the Man Booker Prize judges made a unanimous decision as to its merit. A novel of epic proportions, but don't take my word for it, get the low-down from the man himself.

The 2016 Auckland Writers Festival takes place from May 10 - 15 at several locations across Auckland. For more information visit the festival's website.