Youth activism has been a defining feature of Aotearoa’s recent political landscape. In these unsettling times, the political actions of young New Zealanders are a source of inspiration, challenge and renewal. In this session, presented by the University of Otago, Ihumātao activist Qiane Matata-Sipu is joined by author Karen Nairn and chair Mania Tuwhare-Hoani, to share stories and insights from the frontline.

This Dunedin Writers and Readers Festival podcast was brought to you with support from Otago Access Radio, Copyright Licensing New Zealand and Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature.

You’ll find further podcasts from the 2023 festival at http://dunedinwritersfestival.co.nz and from Otago Access Radio’s website http://oar.org.nz

We all know people captivated by conspiracy stories - but are we talking enough about the darker origins of these stories? How much do we really know?

In Narrative Warfare: What Happens When Great Stories Go to Work for Nefarious Purposes, Matthew Cunningham and Sanjana Hattotuwa, with chair Ian Telfer, unpack how stories aid the social and cultural intolerances that have shaped and continue to shape Aotearoa society.

This session was presented by the Otago Daily Times. It includes strong language.

This Dunedin Writers and Readers Festival podcast was brought to you with support from Otago Access Radio, Copyright Licensing New Zealand and Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature.

You’ll find further podcasts from the 2023 festival at http://dunedinwritersfestival.co.nz and from Otago Access Radio’s website http://oar.org.nz

In Te Pūao: The Place Where the River Meets the Sea, we explore the realms of traditional Mātauraka Māori and Pūrakau. Join Witi Ihimaera, Linda Tuhiwai Smith and Monty Soutar in conversation with mana whenua narrative expert and Ahi Kā storykeeper Megan Pōtiki.

This Dunedin Writers and Readers Festival podcast was brought to you with support from Otago Access Radio, Copyright Licensing New Zealand and Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature.

You’ll find further podcasts from the 2023 festival at http://dunedinwritersfestival.co.nz and from Otago Access Radio’s website http://oar.org.nz

On her birthday, and to commemorate the centenary year of her death, over 100 fans gathered to celebrate the life and work of Katherine Mansfield, New Zealand’s iconic, boundary-pushing literary giant. Presented by the Otago University Press, join chair Michelle Elvy and Katherine Mansfield biographer Redmer Yska – author of Katherine Mansfield’s Europe: Station to Station as they delve into the lasting legacy her work.

This Dunedin Writers and Readers Festival podcast was brought to you with support from Otago Access Radio, Copyright Licensing New Zealand and Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature.

You’ll find further podcasts from the 2023 festival at http://dunedinwritersfestival.co.nz and from Otago Access Radio’s website http://oar.org.nz

In Te Pūao: The Place Where the River Meets the Sea, we explore the realms of traditional Mātauraka Māori and Pūrakau. Join Witi Ihimaera, Linda Tuhiwai Smith and Monty Soutar in conversation with mana whenua narrative expert and Ahi Kā storykeeper Megan Pōtiki.

This Dunedin Writers and Readers Festival podcast was brought to you with support from Otago Access Radio, Copyright Licensing New Zealand and Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature.

You’ll find further podcasts from the 2023 festival at http://dunedinwritersfestival.co.nz and from Otago Access Radio’s website http://oar.org.nz

A discussion about Tāngata Ngāi Tahu: People of Ngāi Tahu, Volume 2 tracing the history of the Otago region through the Ngāi Tahu people of Āraiteuru. The korero was facilitated by Waiariki Parata-Taiapa who lead co-editors Helen Brown and Dr Michael J. Stevens and contributing author and chair of Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou Edward Ellison as they talked about the process of working with Ngāi Tahu communities to produce a resource that is a taonga for future generations.

Cityscapes and their surroundings have an intimate connection to the literary imagination, inscribing a sense of place and identity that persists through time.

Frank Gordon, Roger Hickin, David Ciccoricco, and Nicola Cummins will discuss the varied ways they have mapped our city’s stories.

HG Parry is an emerging author who writes complex and engaging fantasy novels.

​She will explain to Lynn Freeman the imaginative thought processes that led her, in her most recent series, to reinvent the French Revolution.

Elizabeth Knox, acclaimed author of many novels, including The Vintner’s Luck and, most recently, The Absolute Book, will unpick the meanings and implications, the whys and wherefores, of placing a ‘fantasy’ world inside the ‘real’ world, with HG Parry. ​

Rose Carlyle, who shot to literary fame with her debut novel, The Girl in the Mirror, will talk to Phillippa Duffy about what happens to a story when a book is snapped up by Hollywood. ​