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Word on the street
AUCKLAND CITY COUNCIL
MEDIA RELEASE
15 May 2007
Word on the street
Auckland City Council and Auckland City Libraries are supporting the upcoming Auckland Writers and Readers Festival with a collection of complementary events.
The council, which sponsors the annual festival, is celebrating the beauty of the written word with JAFAA, Just Another Fiction About Auckland, which has kicked off this week.
Every lunchtime until Friday, 25 May, Auckland authors will treat urban lunchers with excerpts from their novels, short stories and poetry in various locations around the CBD.
Organised in conjunction with the NZ Society of Authors, those taking part include authors Dee Pignéguy, Graham Reid, John Reynolds and Sandra Gorter, and poets Miriam Barr, Rachael Heimann and Renee Liang.
To coincide with the festival, the Central City Library is launching its new book club on Friday, 18 May, where Auckland Writers and Readers Festival books and tickets will be given away to lucky participants.
The library will also hold the popular Glengarry Desert Island Reads on Wednesday, 23 May, with celebrity guests performing readings from the book they would take with them to a desert island.
The evening features author Emily Perkins, graphic novelist Johnny Angel, poet and novelist Kapka Kassabova, Shortland Street actor and playwright Michael Galvin and writer and journalist Steve Braunias. This event is sponsored by Glengarry in association with Whitcoulls.
The Auckland Writers and Readers Festival is now in its seventh year and brings together acclaimed writers and thousands of readers.
Chairperson of the Arts, Culture and Recreation Committee, Councillor Penny Sefuiva, says the event is a great way to celebrate the wonderful creative talent that is on our doorstep every day while also hearing from fabulous visiting writers.
“The Auckland Writers and Readers Festival is a fantastic opportunity to profile New Zealand authors. Auckland City Council has seized the chance to highlight the depth of writing talent and love for books in our city through events at the Central City Library and daily readings. And it’s a bit of a treat to have a local story read to you over lunch," she says.
The festival kicks off next Thursday, 24 May at the Aotea Centre, with visiting authors including 2005 Orange Prize for fiction winner, Lionel Shriver, and Joanne Harris, author of the Whitbread shortlisted Chocolat, which was the basis for the film starring Juliette Binoche. It runs until Sunday, 27 May.
For details on the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival, visit www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/whatson/events/writers
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