WONDERLAND OF WRITERS AT HGAF 2015

A provocative series of panel sessions, interviews and events involving top New Zealand authors and writers will set the scene for the Writers and Ideas programme at the Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival.

Saturday 14 sees the first writers panel with ‘Madmen: Steve Braunias and Aimie Cronin with Toby Manhire’, a session of some of the country’s top non-fiction writers discussing ‘truthiness’ in journalism with Braunias’ best-selling book on the 2014 election as the catalyst. On Sunday, Toby Manhire returns to talk about writing for laughs with uber talented Hamilton local, Joshua Drummond and Jesse Mulligan.

‘We’re delighted to have such a strong line-up of non-fiction writers who represent the best of New Zealand’s political commentators, satirists and cultural observers,’ says Festival Director, Becks Chambers.

The Down the Rabbit Hole series is a new aspect of the Ideas programme. The series of four free sessions are half-hour interviews with artists from the wider HGAF programme, including Karen Barbour (Whenua-Land), Regan Taylor (SolOthello) and Roesy (Irish singer-songwriter) and held in the newly opened Tudor Garden. ‘These sessions are an opportunity to learn a little more about the artistry behind the entertainment – we’ll learn how things were made and the inspirations behind them, as well as a more about the artists. Everyone will be asked what essential item they’d take with them down Alice’s rabbit hole…’ says programmer, Claire Mabey.

University of Waikato Writer in Residence Mandy Hager (Tom’s Story, Singing Home the Whale) will be joining Catherine Chidgey (In a Fishbone Church) and Stephen Stratford in a discussion about their latest fictional endeavours in a session on Sunday 15 February (tickets, $15).

Of the ideas programme, The Great Debate is a hotly anticipated event (Friday 20 Feb, free admission) involving: Professor Iain White (Professor of Environmental Planning, University of Waikato), Dr Mike Scarsbrook (Project Leader, Upper Waikato Sustainable Milk Project, DairyNZ), Wiremu Puke (Ngāti Wairere, independent environmental services professional) and Don Coles (North Waikato Federated Farmers Chairman, Federated Farmers). They will be arguing the moot, ‘New Zealand’s expectations of water quality are too high’. Waikato Regional Council chair Paula Southgate will introduce the debate.

The full programme is at hgaf.co.nz and available in hard copy from Browsers Quality Secondhand Bookshop (sponsors of the 2015 Writers programme), Hamilton Gardens and Hamilton iSites.

Get tickets at iticket.co.nz, Hamilton iSites and iTicket outlets nationwide.