Diving into WORD Christchurch Festival 2022

WORD Christchurch Festival 2022 is just around the corner! We are lucky to have the Festival this year despite challenges caused by Covid, thanks to the efforts of the event organisers and sponsors.  

I am sure that you will be amazed by the kaleidoscope of ideas, book talks, and stories when browsing the WORD Festival 2022 brochure. I want to share with you the events on my must-go list. 

 

An evening with Liane Moriarty

7 to 8 pm, Saturday 27 August 

Are you interested in mystery fiction and psychological thrillers? Are you a fan of the TV series Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers?  If so, this event is for you. 

Liane Moriarty, a best-selling Australian novelist, meets Christchurch readers in person that evening! An in-depth conversation with Liane introduces you to her new book Apples Never Fall, which has been shortlisted for an ABIA Book of the 2022 award. During this event, you will also hear the real-life stories that inspire her work. 

Read aloud schools Day Session 1 & 2

9.45-10.45 am and 11.45-12.45 am Thursday 1 September

These sessions sound exclusively for school teachers and students. However, they are also beneficial for people whose job or interest is related to reading engagement and literacy development. 

This year six exciting children's writers join the audience on the stage. They are Simon Pollard, Maysoon Salama, Graci Kim, Lily Emo,  Georgia Latu, and Maria Gill. Simon Pollard's book entitled Why is That Spider Dancing? was a finalist for the Elsie Locke award for non-fiction in the 2022 Book Awards for Children & Young Adults. Lily Emo is an illustrator for Margaret Mahy’s The Boy Who Made Things Up.

Attending the two sessions, you will find out what the writers think about reading aloud and how they encourage reading aloud. 

Celebrating culture and sister cities

7-8.30 pm, Friday 2 September 

One of the highlights of the WORD Christchurch Festival is building connections locally, nationally, and even internationally.  This event is a collaboration between New Zealand poets and Chinese musicians from the New Zealand Hubei Economic Trade Cultural Association, in celebration of the relationship of sister cities.

During the event, the audience will be meeting Benjamin Brown, Daisy Lavea-Timo, Erik Kennedy, Annabel Wilson, and Ciaran Fox, and witness Doc Drumheller launching his haiku collection, Drinking With Li Bai.

Lloyd Jones: Modern fables

1-2 pm, Saturday 3 September

Fable lovers, this is your event! We love to read fables as they are a fantastic literature form for us to understand our lives and reflect on our actions and thoughts. 

Lloyd Jones, an accomplished New Zealand writer with an international reputation, talks about ideas for creating modern fables with his recent novels The Fish and The Cage. 

The faraway near: Heather Morris

2-3 pm, Saturday 3 September

I always read books about Auschwitz during World War II with a mixture of feelings - indignation for inhumane conduct, sorrow for lost lives, and admiration for those who were resilient and managed to survive. If you share the same feelings, you should be interested in Heather Morris' sensational work. 

Heather's talk brings the audience on the journey of writing

The better brain

11 am -12 noon, Sunday 4 September

Does what we eat affect how we feel?  This thought-provoking question immediately drew my attention when I was browsing the WORD brochure. 

Julia Rycjkudge discusses her new book The Better Brain and elaborates on the nexus between nutrition, anxiety, depression, and stress based on her decades of research. This event is definitely for people who want to be mindful of their diet. 

Happiness and other bad ideas

12.30-1.30 pm, Sunday 4 September

Do you believe that happiness is the purpose of life? What is the true meaning of our existence? Come along to meet Danyl McLauchlan to get inspired. Danyl is the author of the comic noir novels, Unspeakable Secrets of the Aro Valley and Mysterious Mysteries of the Aro Valley, and an essay collection entitled Tranquillity and Ruin. He writes both fiction and non-fiction across various topics and encourages people to think outside the box while tackling mental health issues. 

Have you made your 'must-go' list? See you at WORD Christchurch Festival events! 

WORD Christchurch information

We welcome your respectful and on-topic comments and questions in this limited public forum. To find out more, please see Appropriate Use When Posting Content. Community-contributed content represents the views of the user, not those of Christchurch City Libraries Ngā Kete Wānanga o Ōtautahi