Eleanor Catton to headline the WORD Festival

Eleanor Catton to headline the WORD Christchurch Writers & Readers Festival in August.

Man Booker winner Eleanor Catton is heading south this spring for the WORD Christchurch Writers & Readers Festival 2014.

Following her record-breaking 2100-seat sell-out session at the Auckland Writers Festival, the author of The Luminaries will appear before Christchurch audiences in the suitably luminous Transitional Cathedral, which will be the setting for other special events during the five-day festival, 27–31 August, together with Rydges Hotel Latimer Square.

The biennial festival, last held in the Hagley Park Dome in 2012, was formerly known as the Christchurch Writers’ Festival. It has a new name, a new look and new creative leadership.

“We are thrilled to have Eleanor Catton join us for what we promise will be an exciting festival in the heart of Christchurch, with top writers and thinkers from all around New Zealand and the world,” says Literary Director Rachael King, who was appointed to the role in September last year.

The name change, to WORD Christchurch, reflects the organisation’s new approach in presenting quality standalone literary events throughout the year, such as Jung Chang in March and Alexander McCall Smith in May. In the future, one-off literary events will be branded as WORD Christchurch Writers and Readers Events with only the biennial festival in August bearing the title ‘festival’.

“The name change will avoid confusion that has arisen in the past when we have presented events that tie in with authors travelling to other festivals, such as Auckland in May and Wellington in March,” explains Rachael. “This way, there will be no question about when the main festival is on: August.”

More line-up announcements will be made in June, with the full programme released in early July when bookings open.

WORD Christchurch Writers & Readers Festival, 27-31 August 2014, in association with The Press.

ENDS

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