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Are you a fan of great storytelling? The Ngaio Marsh Awards, in association with Wellington City Libraries, invites booklovers to a fun evening of criminally good conversation featuring five award-winning Kiwi writers.
Brannavan Gnanalingam chairs fellow Ngaio Marsh Awards winners Claire Baylis and Dame Fiona Kidman, short story writer and novelist Tina Makereti, and filmmaker and true crime writer David White in a thrilling conversation about how they craft memorable characters and page-turning storylines, and infuse their tales with deep insights into people and society.
WHEN: Thursday, 1 May 2025
WHERE: Karori Library, 247 Karori Road, Wellington
WHEN: 6pm
This is a free event. There will be time to meet and mingle with the authors before or after the hour-long panel discussion.
Brannavan is a Wellington novelist, freelance writer, and property lawyer who was born in Sri Lanka and grew up in Lower Hutt. He's written eight novels, been listed for the Ockham NZ Book Awards three times, and won the 2021 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Novel for SPRIGS. His latest novel is political satire THE LIFE AND OPINIONS OF KARTIK POPAT, published in late 2024.
Claire is an author and legal researcher who won 2024 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best First Novel for DICE, a courtroom drama written as part of her PhD in creative writing from the Institute of Modern Letters. Claire studied then lectured in law for 12 years before moving to Rotorua, where she's been a researcher for the Trans-Tasman Jury Study and set up a water safety programme focused on low-decile schools.
Dame Fiona is one of Aotearoa's most treasured writers. She has published over 30 books, including novels, poetry, non-fiction and a play. She has worked as a librarian, radio producer and critic, and as a scriptwriter for radio, TV and film. Her novel, THIS MORTAL BOY, inspired by one of New Zealand's last executions, won both the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Novel and the Acorn Prize for Fiction. Her latest book is memoir SO FAR, FOR NOW.
Tina is a New Zealander of Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Rangatahi-Matakore and Pākehā descent. She writes novels, short fiction, and creative non-fiction. Her debut was longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award, her first two novels each won the Ngā Kupu Ora Māori Book Award for Fiction, and her story "Black Milk" won the 2016 Commonwealth Writers Short Story Prize for the Pacific Region. Tina's latest novel is THE MIRES.
David is a New Zealand filmmaker who created, directed, and wrote the 2023 TV drama Far North, starring Robyn Malcolm and Temuera Morrison and based on the true story of a major drug bust in New Zealand. He also co-wrote a book of the same name about the real-life case. David's other film projects have included a 2012 documentary on legendary Wellington rock band Shihad.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Karori Library, 247 Karori Road, Wellington, New Zealand
