Concrete Playground’s Picks for the Auckland Writers Festival

You love to read but the books by your bed are building a dusty tower of guilt. You need an intellectual culture injection to get you back on track and the Auckland Writers Festival can be just that.

There’s over 100 public events featuring over 150 of the world’s brightest writers and thinkers to feast on, with everything from talks, conversations, debate and theatre to indulgent lunches and workshops for budding writers (without a mothball in sight). Here’s a few of our picks, but make sure you check out the festival website for the full hoorah and booking links as there is so much more to do, see and read.

Midnight Run - Inua Ellams

Friday, May 16 2014

Inua Ellams is at one with his words; with a soul-soothing rhythm that will leave you wanting more. The modernist Nigerian poet and adventurer fuses classic literature with hip hop influences, the product a fresh and uber-cool salute to the stoicism of traditional poetry. He’s the creator of the Midnight Run, a creative rove in the dark that’s made its way through Barcelona, Milan, Florence and London and has now come to Auckland. For a bit of a leftfield Friday evening join Ellams and his gang as they walk, eat, play, and of course write against our city backdrop.

Austen’s Women - Rebecca Vaughan

Friday, May 16 2014

Admit it, back in 6th form English you secretly daydreamed about seducing Mr Darcy, or passing your days as the mischievous matchmaker Emma Woodhouse. Indulge once more with Vaughan’s much-loved spin on 13 of Austen’s prim and proper heroines, practically bursting out of their corsets as she brings each of the characters back to life on stage at the Aotea.

A Taste of Italy - Nicky Pellegrino

Friday, May 16 2014

Nicky Pellegrino’s new novel will have you frolicking through Sicilian olive groves and salivating over antipasti and arancini in your sleep. Can’t afford to live the dream in Italy? No need! We have plenty of fine Italian restaurants right here in Auckland. Pellegrino is hosting a three-course Italian lunch fresh off the pages of her book at revered Italian institution Toto. Book a table of 8, grab a few bottles of Pinot Grigio and you’ll be back in Sicily in no time. TGIF material for sure (and the book is good too).

From Earth’s End – Adrian Kinnaird

Saturday, May 17 2014

In the 1950s the apparently ‘seductive medium’ of comic books suffered an unfortunate fate when moral debate saw them disappear off the newsstands in New Zealand. But one man has kept the geeky-cool world of comics and cartoons alive and kicking. Kinnaird is the man behind popular blog From Earth's End, and is this country’s authority on comics and popular culture. His new book is a fascinating exploration of this marginalised art form’s journey into the sleek and modern world of graphic art as we know it today.

The Luminaries - Eleanor Catton

Saturday, May 17 2014

Yip, everyone’s been talking about and almost everyone has read it (or tried – it’s not for the feeble reader). Our shining literary star Eleanor Catton has been catapulted to stardom by The Luminaries, a mystery set in the goldfields of the wild west coast in 1866 where a bunch of moody characters try to strike their fortune. This is the book that has put Hokitika back on the map and New Zealand into international literary prestige.  Spend an hour with our very own Man Booker winner as she chats with John Campbell about the book, her life and success.

The Color Purple - Alice Walker

Sunday, May 18 2014

This year’s festival legend is American author, poet and activist Alice Walker, whose novel The Colour Purple won a Pulitzer Prize in 1983 and was later adapted by Spielberg. Since then Walker has not only continued to be a prolific novelist tackling the difficult and squeamish issues but a staunch warrior against human rights atrocities. This is one tough woman definitely worth a listen to if you care about what’s going on in our world. Buy tickets here to hear her in conversation with Samoan poet and scholar Dr. Selina Tusitala Marsh.

Work it at a Workshop

Fancy yourself as a bit of a scribe, or love to write but need a pat on the back to fill your sails? The festival features a great line-up of workshops to hone your skills at the guidance of the best in the business. Kathryn Burnett (pictured) will get your juices flowing with her one-hour creative ideas work-out, while the kiwi king of short stories Owen Marshall is spilling his secrets to success in the world of mini-fiction.