Whale Watching
Tuesday 28 August 12:45 pmA once in a lifetime chance to encounter the leviathans of the deep with Philip Hoare and David Neiwert.
Programme
This year we embrace an adventurous theme, with writers who take risks in their work and in their lives, and we begin some new traditions: a featured country (Scotland), a featured classic (Moby-Dick) and a guest programmer. Tusiata Avia, one of the country’s best poets and performers, has enriched our programme with her creative curatorial choices, and we are grateful to continue our programming partnership with Ngāi Tahu. We also focus particularly on women’s lives in light of 125 years of women’s suffrage in New Zealand. Finally, we challenge you, our audience, to be adventurous in your decisions about what you see and who you listen to. Take the plunge, be brave – be adventurous. You won’t be sorry.
Download a PDF of the 2018 WORD Christchurch Festival Programme
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Read Aloud Primary Schools Day
Monday 6 August 9:45 amPrimary and intermediate school students will enjoy fun and interactive sessions with talented authors and illustrators.
Book Launch: Erik Kennedy & Kerrin P. Sharpe
Wednesday 29 August 5:30 pmVictoria University Press warmly invites you to the launch of two new collections of poetry.
Strangers Arrive
Wednesday 29 August 6:00 pmLeonard Bell gives an illustrated talk on Emigres and the Arts, based on his recent book.
Free Radicals
Wednesday 29 August 6:00 pmAn evolving song cycle that celebrates the achievements of women in science and technology.
Adventurous Keynote: Robyn Davidson
Wednesday 29 August 7:30 pmSOLD OUT Robyn Davidson tells the extraordinary story behind her memoir Tracks.
Christchurch Poetry Slam Finals
Wednesday 29 August 7:00 pmWho will win the title to represent Christchurch at the national finals?
Inspiring Writers Secondary Schools Day
Thursday 30 August 9:45 amOnce again, we’re offering the most incredible speakers to Christchurch secondary schools, absolutely free of charge.
David Bowie & the Art of Being Different
Thursday 30 August 1:00 pmDr Ian Chapman discusses David Bowie's social impact and performative innovations and, with accompanists Pania Simmonds and Liam Donnelly, performs some of Bowie's finest works.
High Tea & Tales
Thursday 30 August 2:00 pmSOLD OUT Nicky Pellegrino and Catherine Robertson talk about their latest books over delicious food, hosted by Liz Grant.
Adventurers at Heart – extra show
Thursday 30 August 5:30 pmEXTRA SESSION ADDED Extreme sports star Nathan Fa'avae and triathlete John Hellemans tell stories of adventure.
Free Radicals 2
Thursday 30 August 6:00 pmAn evolving song cycle that celebrates the achievements of women in science and technology.
New Regent Street Pop-Up Festival
Thursday 30 August 6:00 pmA fun-filled, fast-paced literary tour around the characterful spaces of New Regent Street and surrounds
David Neiwert: Alt-America
Thursday 30 August 6:00 pmInvestigative journalist David Neiwert talks with Paul Thomas about the rise of the alt-right in Trump's America.
Whisky Galore!
Thursday 30 August 7:30 pmSOLD OUT With Scotland as the featured country, we couldn’t miss the opportunity to drink a few drams of Scotland’s finest, with Robin Robertson, Michael Pedersen, Denise Mina, Shaun Bythell!
125 Years: Are We There Yet?
Thursday 30 August 7:30 pmSOLD OUT Georgina Beyer, Lizzie Marvelly, Anne Salmond, Paula Penfold and Sacha McMeeking, chaired by Kim Hill, discuss how far we have come since women were granted the vote, and how far we still have to go.
Adventurers at Heart
Thursday 30 August 7:30 pmSOLD OUT Extreme sports star Nathan Fa'avae and triathlete John Hellemans in conversation.
Michelle Elvy: Flash Fiction
Friday 31 August 9:30 amDetachment and intimacy: taking your short forms to the next level.
Catherine Chidgey: Transformations
Friday 31 August 10:00 amAward-winning novelist Catherine Chidgey in conversation with Morrin Rout.
Kā Huru Manu: My names are the treasured cloak which adorns the land
Friday 31 August 10:00 amTakerei Norton (Ngāi Tahu) and others from the Ngāi Tahu cultural mapping team talk about the Ngāi Tahu atlas.
Anne Salmond: Tears of Rangi
Friday 31 August 11:30 amHistorian Anne Salmond in conversation with Eruera Tarena.
Paul Cleave: Crimechurch
Friday 31 August 11:30 amKing of crime, writer Paul Cleave, in conversation with Vanda Symon.
For Book Collectors Old and New
Friday 31 August 11:00 amSOLD OUT A special workshop for book collectors with two experts in secondhand books, Shaun Bythell (Diary of a Bookseller), and Brian Phillips.
Documentary: The Hunt for Moby-Dick
Friday 31 August 12:30 pmAcclaimed writer Philip Hoare confronts our fascination with one of the most mysterious animals in the ocean, the whale.
Catherine Chidgey: Through The Senses
Friday 31 August 12:30 pmSOLD OUT
Join award-winning novelist Catherine Chidgey for a workshop that focuses on using the senses to evoke setting.
Fast Burning Women
Friday 31 August 1:00 pmTusiata Avia talks to Selina Tusitala Marsh about her life, her poetry and how women, under pressure, may burn bright but not out.
Lloyd Jones: In Conversation
Friday 31 August 1:00 pmLloyd Jones in conversation with John Campbell about what pushes his storytelling buttons.
Shaun Bythell: Diary of a Bookseller
Saturday 1 September 10:00 amScottish bookseller Shaun Bythell in conversation with Brian Phillips.
Black Marks on the White Page: A Roundtable
Saturday 1 September 10:30 amSOLD OUT Join contributors to last year’s superb anthology of Oceanic writing, Black Marks on the White Page, for a roundtable discussion for Māori and Pasifika writers.
Barbara Else: Go Girl
Saturday 1 September 10:00 amBarbara Else delivers this year's Margaret Mahy Memorial Lecture, introduced by Kate De Goldi.
Juno Dawson: Gender Games
Saturday 1 September 10:00 amJuno Dawson talks to Karen Healey about her activism and writing difficult subjects for a teenage audience.
Motherhood
Saturday 1 September 11:30 amSOLD OUT Emily Writes, Hollie McNish with Brannavan Gnanalingam, in conversation with Catherine Robertson.
Tom Scott: Drawn Out
Saturday 1 September 11:30 amTom Scott talks about his life with Michele A'Court.
Timey-Wimey Stuff
Saturday 1 September 11:30 amTed Chiang, Whiti Hereaka, and Michael Bennett, talk time travel with Daniel Bedggood.
Featured Classic: Moby-Dick
Saturday 1 September 11:15 amYou’ll love this 90-minute reading workshop with whale enthusiast and Moby-Dick expert Philip Hoare.
Disunited Kingdom?
Saturday 1 September 1:00 pmEd Husain and Denise Mina discuss just what the hell is going on over in the UK with David Slack.
Manly As?
Saturday 1 September 1:00 pmChris Tse, Dominic Hoey, Omar Musa discuss masculinity with Jarrod Gilbert.
Embracing Te Reo
Sunday 2 September 10:00 amHēmi Kelly, Miriama Kamo, Paulette Tamati-Elliffe
GO YA
Sunday 2 September 11:30 amYoung adult writers Juno Dawson, Whiti Hereaka, Yaba Badoe read from their work in this free event, introduced by Paula Morris.
The Stolen Stars of Matariki
Sunday 2 September 11:45 amMiriama Kamo reads from her book
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