Bateman Books at the Auckland Writers Festival 2023
The Auckland Writers Festival is back this May and better than ever! This is an incredible line-up featuring so many Bateman authors!
Wednesday 17 May
10.00–12.00: Christall Lowe (Kai) and Ashia Ismail-Singer (Saffron Swirls & Cardamom Dust) will be hosting a ‘Sumptuous Morning Tea’ alongside Naomi Toilalo (WhānauKai) at Cornwall Park Bistro.
7.00–9.00: The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards winners announcement will happen live on stage! Fingers crossed for Monty Soutar’s Kāwai: For Such a Time as This.
Friday 19 May
9.15–9.45: Monty Soutar is hosting a free Te Reo Māori event in the Waitākere Room so you can kickstart your day with some te reo learning!
11.30–12.30: Catherine Chidgey (Jiffy’s Greatest Hits) will be speaking with Rachel King on ‘What the Magpie Says’ in the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre. Her newest novel, The Axeman’s Carnival (THWUP) is on of the shortlisted titles for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.
11.30–12.30: Christall Lowe will be joining David Cohen (The RNZ Cookbook) and Al Brown in a conversation about the ‘Evolution of NZ Cuisine’ in the Hunua Room.
1.00–2.00: Monty’s back with Stacey Morrison (Te Arawa, Ngāi Tahu) in the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre to talk about his Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction shortlisted title Kāwai: For Such a Time as This.
1.00–2.00: Caroline Barron (Ripiro Beach) will be joining Megan Nicol Reed (One of Those Mothers) and Josie Shapiro (Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts) on the panel called ‘On Female Friendships’ for her debut novel, Golden Days (Exisle Press).
4.00–5.00: ‘Can AI Write a Book? Catherine Chidgey, Toby Walsh (Machines Behaving Badly, 2062: The World that AI Made) and Te Taka Keegan) discuss the usefulness of AI and what the future may look like.
5.30–6.30: Scott Bainbridge (The Fix) will be chatting with Adam Dudding about his latest true crime story.
5.30–6.30: ‘The Original Influencers’ Sue McCauley (Landed) and Barbara Else (Warrior Queen) join Elisabeth Easther to reveal how much of their work is drawn from their own lives.
Saturday 20 May
9.15–9.45: Monty Soutar is back for another session of ‘Te Reo Māori.
10.00–11.00: pukapuka adventures: ‘Fall in Love with Books Crazy Cats, Bouncy Rabbits & Cute Friendships’ Catherine Chidgey, Dylan Coburn (Boingo and the Goldon Balloon) and Minky Stapleton (Roo and Vladimir) come together to treat the tamariki in our lives to this pawsome session.
2.30–3.15: Nici Wickes (A Quiet Kitchen) will be chatting to Elisabeth Easther on the panel ‘Training Days’.
Sunday 21 May
9.15–9.45: The final session of ‘Te Reo Māori’ hosted by Monty Soutar.
10.00–11.00: pukapuka adventures: Join Amy Harrop (Goat on a Trampoline) and Juliette MacIver (The Grizzled Grist Does Not Exist) for some ‘Fantastic Fun: Grizzled Grists, Spooked Cats, Desirable Dogs and Jumping Goats’
11.30–12.30: pukapuka adventures: There are so many ‘Amazing Wordly Things’ to be seen. Ant Sang (4 Yaks and a Yeti), Maria Gill (Ernest Rutherford: Just an Ordinary Boy) and Kirli Saunders (The Incredible Freedom Machines) will be hosting incredibly fun activities focused on our wonderful world.
1.00–2.00: Sue McCauley, Fiona Sussman (The Doctor’s Wife) and Murdoch Stephens (Down from Upland) to talk about their new novels, all featuring characters experiencing uneasiness between friends and family, in a session called ‘With Friends and Family Like These . . .’
If you’re interested in attending any of the Auckland Writers Festival 2023 events or want to check out the rest of the incredible line-up (hint: there are three Booker Prize winners featured this year) click here.