Storytellers invoke Christmas spirit for fundraiser

28 November 2011

Storytellers invoke Christmas spirit for fundraiser

A stellar line-up including a dame, a leading actor and an award-winning writer will tell their Christmas tales at the Book Council’s True Stories Told Live fundraiser event in Wellington.

The Book Council’s True Stories Told Live events have been exhilarating and entertaining sell-out audiences for the past two years. Now, Christmas and book lovers can rejoice as the first-ever Christmas True Stories event kicks off the literary festive season on December 8.

Dame Fiona Kidman, Miranda Harcourt, Fleur Beale, Catherine Robertson, Fifi Colston and two other special guests will have ten minutes each to speak on the theme ‘Twas the Night before Christmas. No notes. No readings. No questions. Just true stories that promise to inspire, entrance and entertain.

The event (at Meow Café on Edward St) will raise funds for the Book Council’s Writers in Schools programme, which has been bringing books, authors and children together since 1973.

'At True Stories Told Live, the story must have a beginning, middle and an end, and it must be true, but that’s all’, says the Book Council’s Susanna Andrew.

Andrew says that past True Stories events prove that something happens in the exchange of a story. ‘What makes these events so special is not just the confessional quality of the performance. It's also the suspension of judgement that's required, a critical faculty we would normally employ, consciously or not, when we embark on a novel, start a film, or sit down in the theatre.’

Book Council CEO Noel Murphy says he is excited to have some of the biggest names in New Zealand come out to raise money for Writers in Schools. ‘From the Nativity Story to A Christmas Carol, Christmas is a time that brings out the best in storytellers. We are looking forward to hearing the Christmas tales of our varied storytellers.’

Internationally, live storytelling events are the hot new literary ticket, especially in the US and UK. Trademarked storytelling organizations such as The Moth or The Stoop have been selling out within 48 hours and creating the sort of buzz that rock concerts are usually famous for.

True Stories Told Live – ‘Twas the Night before Christmas
Where: Meow Café, 9 Edward St, Wellington
When: Thursday 8 December - Starts 6.15pm
Tickets: $20.00 or $15.00 for NZBC members, on the door or online at www.bookcouncil.org.nz

ENDS

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