Kete questionnaire: Bridget van der Zijpp on curating the 2023 Auckland Writers Festival

The Auckland Writers Festival has unveiled the full programme for its 23rd festival, with 160 live events in Auckland during six days in mid-May. It is the first time in more than three years that international authors will return in an all-live programme of ticketed and free events.

Some of those authors include double-Pulitzer Prize winning author Colson Whitehead alongside three Booker Prize winners, Eleanor Catton, Bernardine Evaristo, and the latest winner, Shehan Karunatilaka. 

It was also the first-time in a decade that the redoubtable Anne O’Brien wasn’t on the podium, making the programme announcement.  She stated last June that, after 11 years, she was stepping down although Anne got the ball rolling on this year’s impressive and dynamic line-up.

The AWF’s long-time creative programmer, Bridget van der Zijpp, has curated the 2023 event. So, how hard was it to convince international authors to visit?  What decisions had to be made about which local authors to invite and leave out?  What’s she looking forward to the most?

It’s the first time since 2020 that our borders have been fully open to international guests.  How hard – or not – was it persuading these writers/thinkers to come and visit for the AWF 2023?

Obviously for some people there is still some wariness about travel, but the 25 International guests that are coming to the festival are relishing the opportunity to once again be able to cross borders.  Many have spontaneously let us know that coming to New Zealand is a dream for them, so we will do everything in our power to ensure they have a great time – aiming to extend our reputation for wonderful Kiwi hospitality out into the world. And really, it’s testament to the existing reputation and international prestige of the festival that we have been able to attract such high-calibre writers to our shores to share their stories with us.

You also stress that these guests are all LIVE on stage and that there are no digital events.  What led you to decide on ‘no digital events’?

Until the pandemic the festival was always a live-in-person event.  The way everybody communicates in the world has obviously changed a lot over the last three years, but we wanted to recapture the excitement and tangible atmosphere created when the authors are live in the room, reacting and relating to an audience.  It also provides a wonderful opportunity for fans of the writers to have a personal moment with them at the signing table.

I know it’s a bit like asking a parent if they have a favourite child, but who are you especially excited about coming to visit – and why?

I am actually excited about so many things in the festival that this is a really hard question to answer.  If I had to pick one, I think I would say I am fascinated to meet Anthony Joseph, the current TS Eliot prize-winner.  He was originally born in Trinidad and now teaches creative writing in London.  He’s been the loveliest person to communicate with, is really enthusiastic about visiting here and brings a unique view about the Caribbean diaspora into the festival.  Not only that, but he is an accomplished Jazz musician and has released eight albums.  I downloaded his prize-winning book Sonnets for Albert onto my phone and have been listening to him read his poems in a cadence that is truly beautiful to hear.

A first-ever round-table series of events with Indigenous First Nations authors and artists from Canada and Australia in Māori-led conversations.  How has this come about? 

Recognising the global emphasis on Indigenous perspectives we felt it was topical and timely to take up the opportunity to unite three nations for a truly thought-provoking and honest series.  With the help of the High Commission of Canada and the Australian Council for the Arts, we have been able to invite three writers from Canada and three from Australia for this series.  The conversations will be looking at ancient ways of approaching climate, incorporating Indigenous traditions into healthcare, considerations for sport, intergenerational trauma, and gender politics - alongside some truly inventive fiction and poetry.

It seems to be a development in festival programming in that guests are brought into curate certain strands.  This year, the AWF has Māori, Pasifika and Asian programme strands curated by: Michael & Matariki (daughter) Bennett – Māori Curator, Chris Tse – Asia Curator, Dahlia Malaeulu – Pasifika Curator.  What will they bring?

Guest curation is always an important strand to our festival as it not only provides a platform for talented curators, but they are also able to bring in fresh perspectives, highly-creative voices and authentic, relevant discussions.  This year we’ve been thrilled to work with four brilliant superstars.  Michael Bennett’s novel Better the Blood is currently shortlisted for the Ockham New Zealand Book awards, and his daughter Matariki is a founding member of the award-winning spoken word group Ngā Hinepūkōrero; Dahlia Malaeulu is an absolute powerhouse in Pasifika publishing; and Chris Tse is our current Poet Laureate and an advocate for poetry everywhere.

Aotearoa New Zealand has so many authors achieving great things, across all genre, here and internationally so how tricky is to choose who will take part?

Frankly, it’s very tricky – personally I hate leaving anybody out but we have a limited capacity and it’s not possible to include everything that we might want. Our programme this year is jam-packed with over 200 writers and thinkers and we always seek to balance out the programme with something for all kinds of readers including fiction lovers, non-fiction afficionados, poetry fans, art-lovers, music enthusiasts and children and YA readers. The Festival is always aiming to be a platform for zeitgeist discussions, as well as presenting new work from little-known writers who are doing interesting things.  Our free street festival on Friday night, STREETSIDE: Britomart provides an opportunity to include over 40 writers, including both emerging and established writers and we also have 14 pretty incredible Masterclasses for writers who are seeking to sharpen their skills.

How does it feel to have the programme out into the world and what are you most looking forward to about festival week?

Our whole team have worked really hard on this.  It gets to the stage where it’s hard to keep it secret, so it will be wonderful to see it out in the world.  We can’t wait for the great coming-together of festival week, and to have Aotea Centre and the central city abuzz with ideas and stimulating conversations.

Are there any themes that have emerged for you in programming the festival?

So many themes have emerged but here are just a few:

First, this festival is an opportunity for some horizon expanding perspectives on Vietnam, Sir Lanka, the Caribbean, Hong Kong and China, historical Baghdad, Japan and the African diaspora.

Obviously, climate is on everybody’s minds so we will be addressing this from both a contemporary and ancient perspective, through our First Nations series.

It’s the centenary year of Katherine Mansfield’s death this year, so we have developed a series honouring her life and her literary legacy.

In fiction some of the themes we’ll be exploring include female friendships, family feuds, writing about the pandemic, and living in one place and writing about another.

We’ll also be exploring contemporary perspectives on finance, gender politics, attitudes to social media, AI and whether writers can be replaced by chatbots, a whole series delving into our cuisine, our cultural taonga, and the reappraising of our history.