Writers and Readers Festival returns in May 2003

Auckland Writers and Readers Festival returns in May 2003

Jonathan Franzen, Antony Beevor, Iain Banks and Linda Grant already confirmed

The Auckland Writers and Readers Festival returns to the city next May and already has an impressive line up of confirmed international writers.

The Festival will again be held at the Hyatt Regency, and opens on Thursday 15th May, running through till Sunday 18th May, culminating in the black tie Buddle Findlay Sargeson dinner.

The 2003 Festival is the fourth festival held, and it will feature 12 international and approximately 50 New Zealand authors.

“We’re delighted with the calibre of the international writers already confirmed for our 2003 Festival,” says Festival creative director Peter Wells.

He says they include three British authors and one from the US, as well as a host of New Zealand writers.

Jonathan Franzen, author of one of last year’s hit novels, The Corrections, is regarded as one of America’s most important writers today. The Corrections is Franzen’s third novel and it won The National Book Award, was a New York Times No.1 Bestseller and has been described as a worldwide literary sensation.

Antony Beevor is an award-winning historian and the author of the international bestseller, Stalingrad, which has sold over half a million copies. His new book, Berlin: The Downfall 1945, was published in April and has received worldwide critical acclaim.

Scottish author Iain Banks (also known as science fiction writer Iain M. Banks) has written 17 international bestsellers, and is a hugely entertaining and popular speaker at festivals all over the world. His latest novel, Dead Air, is published in New Zealand this month.

British journalist and novelist Linda Grant won the Orange Prize for fiction with her second novel, When I Lived in Modern Times. She has also won awards for her first novel, The Cast Iron Shore, and her account of her mother’s dementia, Remind Me Who I Am, Again.

New Zealand writers already confirmed include Michael King, Elizabeth Smither, Sue McCauley, Kevin Ireland, Glenn Colquhoun, Kate Camp, Fiona Farrell, Toa Fraser, Shonagh Koea, Lynley Hood, Greg O’Brien and David Eggleton.

The festival will continue its tradition of innovative, thought-provoking programming.

Festival creative director Stephanie Johnson says the theme for 2003 is “Worlds Within Worlds.” “We’re going to feature international and New Zealand writers who slide between cultures or who have examined cultures from an outsider’s perspective.”

She says there’ll also be a special focus on poetry, in addition to readings, workshops and literary events on a wide range of topics from politics and travel to screenwriting and science fiction.

The Auckland Writers and Readers Festival sponsors include the NZ Herald, Buddle Findlay, Creative New Zealand and the Hyatt Regency Auckland.

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Issued on behalf of the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival by Professional Public Relations

For further information please contact:

Sarah Fraser
Professional Public Relations
Email: sfraser@ppr.com.au

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