THE 2016 AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL PROGRAMME IS LAUNCHED!

We are thrilled that some of the world’s finest novelists, historians, philosophers, children’s literary greats, playwrights, poets, thinkers and political figures will join our leading local literati including: Gloria Steinem, Bill Oddie, Marlon James, Paula Hawkins, Jeanette Winterson, Susie Orbach, David Hare, Hanya Yanagihara, Peter Garrett and Jane Smiley in six packed days of fun, thought provoking events at the Aotea Centre in Auckland Central. Tickets go on-sale at 9.00am, Friday 18 March from ticketmaster for the Festival which runs 10-15 May. Check out the full programme here now! GLORIA STEINEM Social activist, writer, editor, and lecturer Gloria Steinem has been an outspoken champion of women's rights since the late 1960s. In her first ever visit to this country, the remarkable 81-year-old public intellectual will look back on a lifetime of activism, referencing her just published memoir My Life on the Road. Don’t miss this extraordinary opportunity for an audience with one of the world’s most influential feminists.  BILL ODDIE English writer, composer, musician, comedian, artist, ornithologist, conservationist and television presenter, Bill Oddie OBE is best known as one third of the hit British Comedy trio The Goodies in the 1970s. Now a passionate conservationist, Bill is a more dignified – but still lively – presenter of BBC nature programmes. Join him to hear tales - tall, short or avian! PETINA GAPPAH Dubbed Zimbabwe’s answer to Zadie Smith by cultural magazine The Skinny, the multi-talented and energetic Petina Gappah is a prizewinning author with three law degrees, including one from Cambridge University. In her day job, she works as an international trade lawyer in Geneva. In 2009, she won the Guardian First Book prize for her short story collection An Elegy for an Easterly, and she has just published her debut novel, The Book of Memory.  PAULA HAWKINS It was the best-selling novel of 2015, optioned by Dreamworks and sold into 44 territories. Paula Hawkins’ psychological thriller The Girl on the Train has given nosy commuters pause for thought, and dramatically altered its author’s life; after 15 years as a journalist, the Zimbabwean-born Hawkins is now part of the literary landscape. Don’t miss this one-event-only opportunity with the world’s novelist du jour.   2016 HONOURED NEW ZEALAND WRITER Pre-eminent scholar and distinguished novelist, playwright, short story writer, poet, biographer and librettist, this year’s honour belongs to Vincent O’Sullivan. A graduate of the Universities of Auckland and Oxford, O’Sullivan has also made an outstanding contribution to NZ literary scholarship. We celebrate his multi-awarding winning writing life in this free session. LOTS MORE