2020 WINTER SERIES Ep 9: Selina Tusitala Marsh, Cass Sunstein, Samantha Power

2020 WINTER SERIES Ep 9: Selina Tusitala Marsh, Cass Sunstein, Samantha Power

Author: Auckland Writers Festival June 28, 2020 Duration: 1:08:19
The Auckland Writers Festival 13-week WINTER SERIES streamed live and free every Sunday morning from 3 May - 26 July 2020. Episode 9 features: SELINA TUSITALA MARSH (Aotearoa New Zealand) Former Poet Laureate, performer and teacher Selina Tusitala Marsh has published three collections of poetry, including the 2010 Best First Book Award winner 'Fast Talking PI', and the 2018 Ockham NZ Book Awards longlisted 'Tightrope'. Her latest book is the inspirational graphic memoir 'Mophead' which she also illustrated. It tells the true story of a New Zealand woman realising how her difference can make a difference. CASS SUNSTEIN (United States) Cass Sunstein is a Harvard Law School professor and served in the Obama administration. His latest book 'How Change Happens', looks at how, when and why, social movements such as #metoo and nationalism suddenly take off. He co-wrote the influential 'Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness', a revelatory examination of how people make decisions and how governments might persuade their citizens to act in socially beneficial ways while curbing government over-reaching, and the very timely 'Impeachment: A Citizen’s Guide'. SAMANTHA POWER (Ireland / United States) Pulitzer Prize-winning author, diplomat and war correspondent Samantha Power served in the Obama administration and as US ambassador to the UN. Twice named as one of Time’s ‘100 Most Influential People’, her best-selling memoir 'The Education of an Idealist', is a unique blend of expert storytelling and shrewd political insight, tracing her distinctly American journey from immigrant to war correspondent to presidential cabinet official. At a time of upheaval and division, Power’s memoir – named one of the best books of 2019 by The New York Times and The Economist – offers an urgent response to the question “What can one person do?” HOST: PAULA MORRIS (Aotearoa New Zealand) Paula Morris (Ngāti Wai, Ngāti Whātua) is an award-winning fiction writer and essayist. The 2019 Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellow, she teaches creative writing at The University of Auckland, sits on the Māori Literature Trust and is the founder of the Academy of NZ Literature. This series provides an opportunity to champion New Zealand and international books that were to feature at our cancelled May Festival, we encourage you to support writers and NZ publishers and booksellers by purchasing featured books. Order via our Festival bookseller. #awfwinterseries

The Auckland Writers Festival podcast is a direct line to the stages and conversations of one of the Southern Hemisphere's most vibrant literary events. This audio archive captures the live, unscripted energy of festival sessions, bringing the voices of the world's most compelling authors, thinkers, and poets directly to you. Each episode is a deep dive into the ideas shaping our world, from intimate interviews on the craft of writing to expansive panel discussions on history, politics, science, and culture. You'll hear novelists dissect their characters, historians trace forgotten narratives, and poets articulate the ineffable, all within the unique atmosphere of a live audience. This isn't a produced studio show; it's the sound of intellectual discovery and passionate debate happening in real time. The collection serves as a lasting resource, preserving the festival's dynamic spirit long after the final applause. For anyone who believes in the power of stories to challenge and connect us, this podcast offers a front-row seat to a celebration of words and the people who wield them with extraordinary skill. Tune in to be reminded of why literature matters.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Auckland Writers Festival
Podcast Episodes
LIVE LIFE: DAVE LETELE, WILLY DE WIT (2023) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:45
In his book No Excuses Dave ‘the Brown Buttabean’ Letele shares how he overcame poverty, depression and crime to become an award-winning community leader inspiring people to turn their lives around. Willy De Wit was a re…
SONNETS FOR ALBERT: ANTHONY JOSEPH (2023) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:26
When I hear my father dead I flew 10 hours into the sun next morning I put black on The 2023 TS Eliot Prize award-winning Sonnets for Albert by Anthony Joseph was cited by the judges as ‘a luminous collection which celeb…
EVENT 09 TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW: GABRIELLE ZEVIN (2023) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:54
‘Whatever its subject, when a novel is powerful enough, it transports us readers deep into worlds not our own. That’s true of Moby Dick, and it’s certainly true of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, which renders the…
DOUBLE PULITZER PRIZE WINNER: COLSON WHITEHEAD (2023) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:29
Two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Colson Whitehead is the only writer to win for consecutive books. His best-selling novels 'The Underground Railroad' and 'The Nickel Boys' addressed racial injustice wit…
WHEN A POWWOW IS NOT A POWWOW [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:01
The word ‘Powwow’ is often used to refer to a quick impromptu meeting, but in Northern Plains Indigenous cultures, there is nothing quick or casual about their traditional gathering and ceremony. Rejecting misappropriati…
BUT WHAT CAN WE DO? (2023) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:52
The impacts of climate change are upon us, we know that, and the recent brutal weather events have shown we can’t sit idly by. It’s time for fresh thinking and radical action. Veteran journalist Simon Wilson, the author…
TUATAHI (2023) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:31
Three young fluent te reo speakers producing inspirational work across a variety of genres, talk about the bravery and passion it took to take the unmapped uncharted leap into a creative life. Founding member of award-wi…
BIRNAM WOOD: ELEANOR CATTON (2023) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:49
Aotearoa’s most anticipated book release of 2023 has been Eleanor Catton’s Birnam Wood, coming ten years after she won the Booker Prize for The Luminaries. A psychological thriller set in the South Island, Shakespearean…
WHAT THE MAGPIE SAYS: CATHERINE CHIDGEY (2023) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:19
Is The Axeman’s Carnival the great Kiwi Gothic classic? Plenty of reviewers think so. Catherine Chidgey surprised everybody when she revealed her next book was going to be narrated by a mimicking magpie. Would it work? I…