A festival of books, storytelling and ideas

A cultural smorgasbord at the eighth Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival

We have a cultural smorgasbord on o er at this year’s Festival. Our audience will de nitely be spoilt for choice,” says Peter Biggs , Chair of the Featherston Booktown Trust. “I can’t wait to see the streets of Featherston alive and humming with book lovers from all walks of life.” e popular Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival returns for anothaer year of fantastic and diverse literary events over the weekend of 12 –14 May in the beautiful Wairarapa. e annual Festival celebrates all things bookish, with dozens of presentations and workshops about writing, reading, selling, illustrating, printing, making, and publishing. e creative festival – which sets the South Wairarapa and the wider region buzzing – attracted over 8,000 people in 2022 and is set to top that this year. e Festival kicks o on Friday 12 May with the sold-out Fish’n’Chip supper featuring guest speaker, broadcaster, and author Guyon Espiner who will join us for two other events over the weekend. Late Night Lit sees nimble writers entertain the audience with ash ction inspired by the words of one of our great story writers: Katherine Mans eld, who died 100 years ago this year. For those looking for some late-night thrills, Camp re Tales returns to chill your bones with four original horror stories written by Aotearoa New Zealand authors. e rest of the weekend is a stacked bookshelf of events featuring two events in te reo Māori with simultaneous interpretations in English; activism with Māori artist Tāme Iti ; examining the evolution of the book in the digital world; much loved Hairy Maclary creator Lynley Dodd ; a look at Sci- and fantasy novels in Aotearoa New Zealand and a sensitive conversation on the impact of Parihaka on both Māori and Pākehā.

With a line-up of more than 104 presenters and 51 events, the Festival has something for everyone including tributes to Katherine Mans eld, Te Ao Māori, shipwrecks, poetry, activism, Queer art, cra beer, spooky late-night stories and Pasi ka tales. ere are also 13 events devoted to the cra of the book and 10 free events for tamariki, which follows on from the Young Readers Programme in Schools from 10 - 12 May. Booksellers remain at the heart of the Festival with 30 attending.

Major Sponsors

12 – 14 May booktown.nz

Saturday night presents a provocative and entertaining lineup with Pasi ka Power featuring some of the most powerful Pasi ka voices in our literary scene followed up with lmmaker Gaylene Preston in conversation with Featherston writer Noelle McCarthy

Saturday’s Late Night Lit highlights the unique poetry of Sam Duckor-Jones (who also has a popup version of his colourful Gloria installation in the Anzac Hall), Poet Laureate Chris Tse and Rebecca Hawkes, who is back by popular demand, and two Te Aro Pā poets, Rachel Buchanan, and Debbie Broughton

Sunday hums along to a vibrant beat when Nick Bollinger talks about the art of writing music with Shayne P Carter (Straitjacket Fits / Dimmer) and Warren Maxwell (Trinity Roots). Politics gets a look in with former minister Chris Finlayson . en, quench your thirst with Emerson Breweries Richard Emerson and his biographer Michael Donaldson .

Celebrating Queer Stories examines the creativity and contribution of our LGBTQIA+ writers and artists. e sold-out Mrs Blackwell’s Mother’s Day A ernoon Tea brings broadcaster and author, Stacey Morrison, Hinemoa Elder and Emma Espiner together for an un ltered and open conversation about health and wellness, whānau, relationships and the guiding force of ancestral knowledge.

“Diversity and inclusivity is the standout theme to this year’s festival and the lineup of writing talent really re ects that,” says Peter Biggs.

“ ere truly is something for everyone. As the world changes and evolves, so does the role of writing in our lives and the programme shines a light on those who seek to make a di erence with the written word. Once again, our tamariki are well catered for with a host of participatory events, for they are the future of the Festival and Aotearoa New Zealand. And, thanks to the generous funding from the South Wairarapa District Council, REAP Wairarapa, South Wairarapa Rotary and Read NZ Te Pou Muramura, all events for tamariki are free.” e Young Readers Programme in schools starts on 10-12 May and involves 30 events and 26 presenters inspiring 1,500 students at 20 di erent venues including schools, maraes, and halls across the Wairarapa. e extremely popular Book Voucher scheme is back, in which 1,500 $15 book vouchers will be given to local South Wairarapa primary school-aged tamariki thanks to donations made by the Friends and Business Friends of Featherston Booktown

Liz Mellish (Te Ātiawa, Taranaki, Ngāti Ruanui), the Deputy Chair of Featherston Booktown Trust says, “I am particularly excited to see so many Māori writers in the programme this year, which was developed through consultation with our mana whenua. From welcoming Tāme Iti to Featherston for his rst Featherston Booktown appearance; the fully te reo events and the three fabulous wāhine at Mrs Blackwell’s Mother’s Day A ernoon Tea event, our rich culture is celebrated and deeply embedded in this programme.” e Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival is made possible thanks to the continued support of our funders and supporters including Creative New Zealand , e Lion Foundation , Trust House Foundation , Trust House Limited and the South Wairarapa District Council e Featherston Booktown Karukatea 2023 Festival runs from 12 - 14 May.

2023 also sees the debut of the Featherston Booktown Podcast that was developed and made by Shane Te Pou and Phil Quin in conjunction with Featherston Booktown. e Podcast features some of the guests appearing at the Festival such as Shayne P. Carter, fantasy author Ryan Cahill and artist and poet Sam Duckor-Jones. e theme music for the podcast was composed by Kolya Marks , a Year 13 student from Kuranui College who has a keen interest in composition and has been an attendee of the Festival in previous years.

Tickets from eventfinda.co.nz

Full programme: booktown.nz

Featherston Community Centre. FREE Join Heather Haylock , author Granny McFlitter picture book and the Featherston Knitters Group for some wild, woolly, fantastically funny and u y fun. You will be wowed by Granny and her quick-as-awink knitting needles as they save show just in the knit of time!

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