Looking Back on Some Festival Highlights

Hawke’s Bay Readers and Writers Festival 2023

This was my fourth Readers and Writers Festival and the best one yet. In the past I have carefully poured over the programme dithering over which sessions I will attend. This time because the session prices were so reasonable ($5.00 each for the earlybird) I booked them all. Am so glad I did as the sessions I enjoyed the most were the ones I would never have picked.

Friday evening started with Dr Monty Soutar and Michael Bennett. Last year I attended the session Monty was in and purchased his historical novel Kawai which to date I have not read. However after listening to Monty talk about the novel and read an excerpt I am determined to read what sounds like a very accessible read. Michael Bennett was for me a new author and I was so impressed the next morning I popped into Havelock North Library and borrowed his detective novel Better the Blood. Halfway through and really enjoying this gritty read. In preparation of the festival I had already read Dr Emma Espiner’s biography and in this session as in her book she challenged my thinking on our health system. Inspiring.

Saturday morning started with a session I would not have picked. Writer and publisher Deborah Coddington joined forces with the renown photographer Jane Ussher to share their experiences of producing beautiful coffee table books. They challenged me to think of books as beautiful art works and for less than $100 a much more accessible to buy than a piece of art hanging on the wall. Delightful.

I was really looking forward to Jessie Mulligan and Forest and Bird CEO Nicola Toki’s session and they did not disappoint. It felt like we were in the RNZ studios listening to Critter of the Week. Very funny.

As a historical fiction reader, I am always on the lookout for good reads in this genre. Both Monty Soutar and Cristina Sanders shared how they research their novels as well as reading excerpts from their latest books. More books added to my 'to be read' list.

After watching the Rugby World Cup final, Sunday morning got so much better with three booksellers, Deborah Coddington, Olivia Spooner and Ruth Shaw sharing why they believe bookshops are magic. With poignant and funny anecdotes from their bookselling days I can’t wait to visit these bookshops. And yes Ruth Shaw is as funny in person as she is in her memoir Bookseller at the End of the World. Magical.

Another session I would never have picked was Peck-cha-kucha with Catherine Chidgey and Marty Smith mostly because I hadn’t read their books or have any interest in magpies. Or so I thought. Magpie Tama is the chief protagonist in Catherine’s The Axeman’s Carnival. I’ll be honest if I hadn’t heard Catherine and Marty talk about the book and read excerpts it is unlikely I would have ever read this book but now it is on the top of my to be read list. Tama is so famous he has his own X (formally known as Twitter) handle which I am now following.

The last session of the festival was booked out with columnist Joe Bennett and playwright Sir Roger Hall taking top billing. They both shared their experiences of going from teachers to writers with their own brand of humour. Catherine Robertson did a wonderful job of directing the session to showcase the strengths of both men. Entertaining.

Lessons learnt from the festival: read as many of the books before hand and attend every session. If you haven’t been to a Readers and Writers Festival than look out for next year’s programme; if it is anything like this year’s I can guarantee you will be thoroughly entertained.

Posted by Miss Moneypenny

29 November 2023

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