Winning writers confirmed for book festival

It’s the Oscars of the book world and now two of the winners are confirmed for Marlborough’s Book Festival.

Two of the winners of the prestigious 2023 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards will headline this year’s Marlborough Book Festival.

Catherine Chidgey and Nick Bollinger are among 16 authors who will speak at the festival to be held from Thursday 20 July to Sunday 23 July in Blenheim.

Catherine won the prestigious Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction for her book, The Axeman’s Carnival, at the award ceremony in Auckland on Wednesday.

It’s the second time Catherine has won this award –winning in 2017 for her book The Wish Child.

Catherine says she is thrilled to be awarded the Acorn for the second time.

“Winning the first Acorn was the highlight of my career, so it’s re- ally lovely now to have the other bookend, a pair of Acorns, on the mantlepiece.”

Well known music broadcaster and writer Nick Bollinger won the Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction for his book, Jumping Sundays: The Rise and Fall of the Counterculture in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Festival chair Sonia O’Regan says the festival wanted to congrat- ulate the winners and all the finalists were excited to be able to host several of them in Blenheim in July.

The ninth annual festival will be held at the ASB Theatre Marlborough and in the new Marlborough Library and Art Gallery. Visit www.marlboroughbookfest. co.nz for more information and to sign up for our newsletter and receive regular updates.

Tickets go on sale June 6