Literary superstar Eleanor Catton will be in Nelson to speak at the Page & Blackmore Readers and Writers Festival in October.
The 28-year-old writer has charmed
audiences around the world since she won the Man Booker prize with The
Luminaries last year.
Her Nelson date sees her in conversation
with publisher, broadcaster and journalist Finlay Macdonald in the 350-seat
festival mainstage at Founders Heritage Park on October 18. Organisers are
expecting it to sell out quickly.
Catton's most recent events were the
Dunedin, Auckland, and Sydney Writers and Readers festivals; she sold out each.
Snaring Catton was a coup for organiser
Jacquetta Bell, who starts preparing for the October festival the summer
before.
"When I started to think who would I
like to have here she just had to be first on the list," Bell said.
"I can't remember when I have had that
feeling of sadness that a book was over. I got so involved with that whole
world she created around the goldmining era."
She said she put together "a tantalising
package" to entice Catton to the region, including putting her and
partner, American poet Steven Toussaint, up at Te Puna Wai Lodge and promising
a bottle of Neudorf wine would be on the bedside table.
"Our writers have a really nice time
in Nelson. They rave about Nelson and the time they have here. We put quite a
lot of effort into the whole hospitality side of the festival. We're just
really lucky that Nelson's a fantastic place and that the timing must have
worked out for her.
"I don't know if Nelson people realise
how lucky we are to have a council that backs our arts festival and allows us
to put treats like this in front of readers - along of course with our fabulous
sponsors Page & Blackmore," she said.
Bell said Readers and Writers Festival
audiences could also look forward to two "dynamic" Thinking Brunches,
one looking at the future of broadcasting and the other focused on exploring
notions of New Zealand identity.
An international crime writer would be
visiting - the first time the festival had hosted an author of that genre.
She said another treat would be lunch with
Woman's Day columnist Sarah-Kate Lynch, whose forthcoming novel is Heavenly Hirani's School of Laughing Yoga.
Via Nelson Mail
The full Nelson Arts Festival programme
launches on August 8 and the festival runs from October 16 to 27.
See nelsonartsfestival.co.nz for more
information.
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