The American activist author of The Color Purple has been added to the line-up confirmed for this year’s Auckland Writers’ Festival.
Alice Walker will appear in one event only, The Color Purple, named after her Pulitzer-prize winning 1982 novel.
More than 120 events based around Auckland’s Aotea Centre will feature 150 writers including Irvine Welsh, Eleanor Catton, Alexander McCall Smith, Lloyd Jones, Camilla Lackberg and Michael Leunig.
Festival director Anne O’Brien said this was the “festival of plenty”.
“We’ve introduced a family day this year as well as events that broaden our reach into books, art, music and theatre,” she said
There would be a host of free events, a wide variety of issues up for discussion and a long list of high-profile international and local writers.
The Bone People would be featured as part of an initiative called the “Great Kiwi Classic” which author Keri Hulme would be attending.
A gala night with the theme True Stories Told Live: Truth and Lies will showcase eight writers each delivering a seven-minute story.
The festival’s honoured writer is New Zealand novelist Patricia Grace, and an event in her honour will be held in the ASB Theatre which under-18s can attend at no charge.
The festival takes place May 14-18 and the full programme is available online at writersfestival.co.nz
Last year more than 34,000 tickets to the events were sold. Tickets go for sale on March 20 from 9am and are available at ticketmaster.co.nz.
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