Lost Child! is a New Zealand premiere, and a one-off, just like award-winning film-maker, writer and artist Miranda July - maker of hit film Me and You and Everyone We Know.
Neurosurgery “has met its Boswell”, Ian McEwan said of Henry Marsh and his bestselling memoir Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death, andBrain Surgery. Enjoy a unique glimpse into his world.
With 25 books to his name, British writer Simon Winchester is a maven of popular narrative history, renowned for titles such as The Map that Changed the World.
Join current New Zealand Poet Laureate CK Stead and his predecessors Jenny Bornholdt, Michele Leggott, Bill Manhire, Cilla McQueen, Vincent O’Sullivan, Elizabeth Smither, Brian Turner and Ian Wedde for an evening of poetry.
See a special collection of New Zealand and Australian photobooks from artists and independent publishers. Speakers include Ying Ang, Ron Brownson and leading photobook expert Harvey Benge.
One of our best loved writers of popular comedy and social satire, Roger Hall, is the focus of this year’s High Tea. Dave Armstrong hosts a group of mischievous theatre practitioners who fondly roast New Zealand’s leading playwright as he celebrates 40 years of a stellar career.
Anna Smaill, author of The Chimes, talks to fellow New Zealand writer Kate De Goldi about what it’s like to have a debut novel make the Man Booker Prize longlist, and how her musical past permeates her writing.
Hear a snippet from five of the guests who'll be appearing in sessions at the Embassy and BATS theatres.
Get up and going this Writers Week with author Christopher McDougall who’ll be leading fun runs around the city followed by a group chat.
Plays seldom get repeat showings. Some gather dust, few go on forever. Hear the experts discuss the life of a stage work.
How visible are New Zealand's women playwrights? Writer Emily Perkins discusses with four of them.
From Ladies Night to The Theory of Everything, Wellington to Hollywood – hear Anthony McCarten discuss his career to date with actor Miranda Harcourt.
Are we representing New Zealand honestly on stage? Join some of our best playwrights as they discuss.
Based on his novel of the same name, Anthony McCarten's funnygirl pleads for tolerance, the freedom of individuals and the freedom of art.
Magic? Realism? Or both? Three writers talk death, spirituality, and the impact of the past, the future and even the unseen on the present.
Join Emily Perkins and her party of writers and readers for a lively chat about literary influence.
Internet sensations Jamie Curry and Mallory Ortberg discuss feminism and life online with Lizzie Marvelly. Prepare to be #schooled.
YA writer Anna Mackenzie shares WWI letters between her grandfather and great uncle that led to her novel Evie's War.
US slam poet Anis Mojgani delights audiences with his “fiercely hopeful word arias”.
Alternative runner Christopher McDougall talks about extraordinary feats of endurance and 42-kilometre barefoot runs.
Media game-changer and co-founder of website The Toast, Californian Mallory Ortberg brings her wit and wisdom to Writers Week.
British writer Patrick Gale, author of 15 novels, talks about his work, including latest book A Place Called Winter.
Lloyd Geering and David Coventry talk about cultural memory as created through sport.
Israeli writer Etgar Keret chats with Damien Wilkins about his book The Seven Good Years – and why it won’t be published in Israel.
Is there such a thing as success in romance? These New Zealand authors prove there most definitely is.
Beloved Australian writer Robert Dessaix discusses travel, religion and the benefits of a good gossip.
American/Nigerian writer of magic futurism Nnedi Okorafor talks science fiction and folk tales.
Hear one of the UK’s most talented and daring authors discuss his novel The Illuminations, a saga that casts “a shimmering light on love and memory, life and loss”.
Four of our funniest prove that comedy is no laughing matter.
Bestselling author Jasper Fforde takes us on a journey through his fantastical career to date.
US poetry slam champ Anis Mojgani joins Marty Smith for an exploration of rhythm and sound.
What separates the ordinary from the extraordinary? Hear four endurance athletes and writers talk about the limits of human potential.
Inspired by Simon Winchester’s novel Pacific: The Ocean of the Future, two experts talk to Simon about how Aotearoa responds to climate issues in the Pacific Rim.
Hear some of Writers Week’s finest novelists discuss the inspiration behind some of their writing – you may go home with some new tips to follow it through.
The ninth New Zealand Society of Authors Janet Frame Memorial Lecture presents Dr Philip Temple sharing his experience of working on a biography of Maurice Shadbolt.
What makes a good leader? Is there something different about leadership in NZ? Four diverse leaders discuss what works and what doesn’t in a lively debate.
Three of Aotearoa’s best multi-genre artists join Canadian guest Mariko Tamaki for a fun conversation on collaboration.
Do YA authors ‘get’ young adults? Sally Gardner, Cornelia Funke and Ted Dawe talk to Mandy Hager about some of the issues addressed in YA fiction.
Technophobe? Maybe you’re misreading the potential of technology to inspire social change. Hear two IT geeks discuss technology and teamwork with poet Helen Heath.
BBC Radio 4’s Inside Science broadcaster Adam Rutherford, whose career includes adviser to sci-fi films, presents science like you’ve never seen it before.
Join the Friends of the Lauris Edmond Memorial Award for readings by five New Zealand poets. Afterward, the biennial award will be presented by Fergus Barrowman of Victoria University Press.
Like Pop Idol, but better. Literary Idol gives you the chance to get the first page of your novel undressed and assessed by some of the world’s best novelists. Are you brave enough?
Four of Aotearoa’s sharpest thinkers take to the stage for a celebration of one of the biggest and best publishing projects in recent years, Tangata Whenua: An Illustrated History.
What might advances in DNA sequencing mean for the future of sex, species and human survival? Adam Rutherford joins NZ experts Peter Dearden, Susan Morton and Colin Gavaghan for this engaging conversation.
For a super fun storytelling session, bring your little monsters to hear New Zealand children’s writer Paul Beavis. Dressing up is encouraged – and there are prizes!
Deemed unteachable at school, children’s author Sally Gardner, who is a proud dyslexic, chats to Anna Mackenzie about magic, time travel and other wonders.
Is our public discourse equipped to deal with the challenges and opportunities that New Zealanders face? A new generation of social commentators give their opinions.
Co-writer of the first graphic novel to win the Caldecott Medal, This One Summer, Mariko Tamaki is cool, calm and collected about her success. She joins Kate De Goldi in conversation.
What is New Zealand fiction and why are 97% of us rejecting it? Join Witi Ihimaera, Catherine Robertson, Paula Morris and Paul Cleave as they look for answers.
Magic and fantasy are topics German children’s writer Cornelia Funke is an expert on. Cornelia is magical to listen to – hear her tell stories with Jo Randerson.
Love France? Two French writers and a Kiwi expat share their thoughts on philosophy, society and of course France.
From zombie-like humans to terrifying Cranks, discover Weta Digital’s secrets behind the making of Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, based on the popular YA novel by James Dashner.
To celebrate her 80th year, Joy Cowley returns to Writers Week to delight adults and children alike.
Rebecca Priestley, Tim Naish and Rhian Salmon from Victoria University of Wellington’s Faculty of Science talk Antarctica, polar sunrises and sexually depraved penguins.
Enid Blyton knew the secret places children like to escape to. Robert Dessaix has never quite found his way home.
With 25 narrative non-fiction books to his name, enjoy a discussion with former journalist Simon Winchester on the geopolitics of our region as explored in his latest work, Pacific: The Ocean of the Future.
A prince in the spoken word and slam poetry movement, Anis Mojgani performs with a contagious passion.
Muriel Barbery's latestnovel, The Secret Life of Elves, picksup many of the themes from her previous work: thebeauty in everyday things, the transformative influence of artand literature, and the power of love.
Voted the world’s top thinker by Prospect magazine readers, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins is never far from the headlines. Join us for this special one-off New Zealand event.
A new review website for young adults.
Damien Wilkins' new novel and poetry collections by Claire Orchard and Andrew Johnston are launched.
Attend the launch of Three Words: An Anthology of Aotearoa/NZ Women’s Comics.
A celebration of the publication of Dispatches from Continent Seven: An Anthology of Antarctic Science.
Come along to Library Bar for a slow-reading session. Switch off, bliss out and read for an hour.