Auckland Writers Festival 2014

When I was asked if I would like to be a social media reporter at the 2014 Auckland Writers Festival on behalf of booksellers.co.nz I jumped at the chance. I write reviews for their blog, but this was new uncharted territory - tweeting, facebooking and blogging from the venue. I had a blast. My appointed day was Sunday and I got to listen to both Keri Hulme and Patricia Grace (both legends of NZ literature)  and you can read about both events here.

I also particularly enjoyed the first session of the day with John Marsden whose books I admire very much. He was certainly on form and it was great to hear about his early writing career in particular. Next I went to listen to Dr Reza Aslan, an Iranian-born American-trained professor of religion. I have always been interested in the similarities between Christianity and Islam - 4 years living in the Middle East does that to you. I'm itching to read his books now. In a slightly more flippant mood was Sarah-Kate Lynch talking about her latest book - a non-fiction recipe for happiness called Screw You Dolores. You can read a bit more about these sessions and my thoughts here.