Can't decide what WORD sessions to go to? We give you 5 hot tips on a topic.
If you are interested in the writing life and the love of books - here are some WORD sessions for you:
How to write a killer plot
We bring together two masters of the art of the killer plot to help you write your own. Newcomer Jacqueline Bublitz’s debut Before You Knew My Name has been praised by Marian Keyes and Clementine Ford as a new take on the ‘woman in peril’ trope that forms the backbone of the genre. Veteran Paul Cleave’s latest, A Quiet People, is a clever, dark and entertaining journey through the minds of those who write the killer plots. Both writers talk about their books, and share tips for creating memorable stories and keeping readers turning the pages, with Jo Malcolm.
Thursday 11 November 2pm to 3pm
Charlotte Grimshaw: The Mirror Book
Few recent books have caused a stir as great as Charlotte Grimshaw’s incendiary memoir The Mirror Book, which tore the lid off one of New Zealand’s most well-known literary families: that of poet, novelist and memoirist C. K. Stead. ‘It’s material. Go and make a story out of it,’ was a mantra in the Stead house, and finally Grimshaw came out from behind the fictional veil to tell the truth as she saw it. The book has been praised by reviewers and readers, even as they squirm in discomfort at the inevitable fallout the book has caused. Grimshaw appears in conversation with WORD’s Rachael King.
Thursday 11 November 6pm to 7pm
Patricia Grace: From the Centre
Patricia Grace (Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa, Te Atiawa) has published seven novels and seven short story collections, raised seven children, won landmark literary prizes and land rights cases, and been invited to share her work worldwide. Finally, she has written a memoir covering all of this and more. Patricia joins Nic Low (Ngāi Tahu) for a candid conversation about her extraordinary life, the people and places that have shaped her, and the ways that stories, lives and land intersect.
Friday 12 November 2pm to 3pm
Rick Gekoski: Rare books and rare people
Rick Gekoski has been hunting for rare books for over fifty years, and writing about the experience in several volumes of engaging, witty memoir. In his new book Guarded by Dragons: Encounters with rare books and rare people, he likens the hunt to a mythical quest. In conversation with the University of Canterbury’s Paul Millar, Gekoski, a stellar storyteller and raconteur, discusses a life shaped by books: bought, sold and written. Along the way he has met, traded with, lunched with, annoyed and played ping-pong with such legendary figures as William Golding, Salman Rushdie, Graham Greene and Ted Hughes.
Friday 12 November 4pm to 5pm
Margaret Mahy Memorial Lecture: Ben Brown
Local Lyttelton hero Ben Brown (Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Koroki, Ngāti Paoa) is the inaugural Te Awhi Rito Reading Ambassador, travelling the nation to nurture young readers. In this Margaret Mahy Memorial Lecture, Ben draws on the metaphor of kā awhi rito, the mature leaves around the young shoot of a harakeke plant, and his life as a poet and educator, to talk about building children’s imagination and confidence through storytelling in all its forms. If you caught Ben’s widely-acclaimed 2020 Read NZ lecture, on youth justice and the power of words, you know to expect an address that is direct, funny and devastating by turns.
Saturday 13 November 12pm to 1pm
Plus workshops - Anna Rogers on editing your own work, and Tania Roxborogh on how to write for younger readers, Nicky Hager's investigative journalism masterclass
Recommended reading
- Before you knew my name Jacqueline Bublitz
- A Quiet People Paul Cleave
- The Mirror book Charlotte Grimshaw
- Guarded with dragons: Encounters with rare books and rare people Rick Gekoski
- Ben Brown
More about WORD Christchurch
- WORD Christchurch website (for the full programme and info about authors)
- Our pages about WORD Christchurch and WORD Christchurch Festival 2021
- Follow WORD Christchurch on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram
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