Claim OwnershipNelson Arts Festival Pukapuka Talks
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© Nelson Arts Festival Pukapuka Talks
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Pukapuka Talks is the Nelson Arts Festival's literary programme, bringing together both established and emerging writers with readers.
39 Episodes
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In 2025, Damien Wilkins won the prestigious Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards for Delirious, a captivating tale about families and ageing, which follows ex-cop Mary and her husband Pete, a retired librarian, as they navigate life’s big transitions. In this intimate story, Wilkins blends astute observations about life’s biggest challenges, endearing characters, emotional depth and rueful humour. He chats with Elizabeth Knox.
Iconic Māori activist, artist, and performer Tāme Iti shares his extraordinary life, defined by resistance, resilience, and rangatiratanga. From land marches to performance art, police raids to prison cells, his voice has challenged New Zealand to reckon with its colonial legacy. Once branded as a dangerous and extreme activist, now hailed as a national treasure, Tāme has lived the contradictions and realities of standing with mana motuhake in a modern world.Hosted by Naomi Aporo and Hamuera Manihera.
In this Pukapuka Talks, Samantha Gee from Radio New Zealand quizzes Naomi Arnold about her 2026 Ockham NZ Book Award longlisted book, Northbound, and Rebecca Hayter about High Heels & Gumboots, her hilarious and heartwarming memoir set in Golden Bay,. When award-winning journalist and author Naomi Arnold set off to walk from Bluff to Cape Reinga she soon discovered that heading north meant she would spend long periods completely on her own. Yachting enthusiast Rebecca Hayter – also an award-winning journalist – initially planned a seachange with her partner but found herself the ‘accidental’ sole owner of a 10-acre beachfront ‘lifestyle’ property in Golden Bay.While these two award-winning journalists and authors embarked on two very different journeys, they were both yearning to reconnect with the landscape of Aotearoa and themselves.
Ali Mau (author of No Words for This) and Sonia Orchard (author of Groomed) examine what happens when the people you trust most betray you and shine the light on what needs to change for justice to prevail. This kōrero was facilitated by Dr Nikki Evans, who is manager of Hikitia! RISE’s Family Violence and Sexual Violence Prevention mahi (work)
Discover how a restless working-class girl from the pā became a founding member of Ngā Tamatoa, the Women’s and Gay Liberation movements, and an essential voice in protests across Aotearoa. The kōrero with Ngāhuia te Awekōtuku is facilitated by Donna McLeod.
What is it really like to work in the news media? Join Ali Mau and Michelle Duff, two of Aotearoa’s most highly regarded journalists, as they speak candidly about the shifting landscape of journalism in an age of misinformation, outrage, and fragile business models.Led by fellow journalist Naomi Arnold, this timely conversation considers the inherent structural challenges in the media, the role of advocacy in journalism, and how we can establish which media to trust.
Dr Hinemoa Elder’s new book, Ara: A Māori Guidebook of the Mind, is a quest through the caves of Hinengaro (mental health) and a resource for anyone seeking comfort and ease amid the chaos of life. This kōrero is facilitated by Annie Fay.
Set in a sinisterly skewed version of England, Catherine Chidgey’s astonishing new novel, The Book of Guilt, is a story told through the eyes of Vincent (one of three identical triplets) and the lonely but observant single child, Nancy. Claire Mabey leads the kōrero.
Possibly the first book to emerge from ‘live, disrupted TED-style talks’, Jo Randerson’s Secret Art Powers is a guide to using creative thinking to achieve radical change. In this kōrero with World of WearableArt CEO and creativity advocate Meg Williams, the multifaceted writer, director and performer explores six creative mindsets that they believe can help us navigate through complex, changing times.
In her very first festival appearance following the publication of Kataraina, Becky Manawatu discusses the highly anticipated sequel to her bestselling debut novel, Auē, alongside friend and fellow kaituhi Māori Talia Marshall, whose essay collection, Whaea Blue, is one of this year’s most anticipated non-fiction pukapuka. Chaired by Nuki Tākao.
In this Pukapuka Talks session, we celebrate Patricia Grace’s eighth short story collection, the astonishing Bird Child and Other Stories, as well as her remarkable writing life over almost 50 years. Patricia will discuss her latest book, her approach to writing and how she has collaborated with her talented whānau, in conversation with Donna McLeod.
This podcast was produced with the support of Copyright Licensing New Zealand's 2024 Contestable Fund Grant.
Lauren Keenan and Cristina Sanders are two of Aotearoa New Zealand’s preeminent historical fiction writers. Journey back in time with them to hear about their new books, The Space Between and Ōkiwi Brown - an opportunity to experience life through the eyes of those who history books have, to date, largely neglected. Chaired by Sylvan Thomson.
This podcast was produced with the support of Copyright Licensing New Zealand's 2024 Contestable Fund Grant.
In a world first, on the day the global sales embargo ends, hear Jacqueline Bublitz talk about her new novel, Leave the Girls Behind, the dazzling follow-up to her 2022 Ngaio Marsh Award–winning debut novel, Before You Knew My Name. Chaired by Susie Ferguson.
From an author who “pushes the boundaries of crime fiction in all the right ways” (Alex Finlay, author of The Night Shift), Leave the Girls Behind is another spine-chilling thriller that will linger long after you finish the last page.
This podcast was produced with the support of Copyright Licensing New Zealand's 2024 Contestable Fund Grant.
Dave Hansford and Debs Martin discuss the role storytelling must play in triumphing over commercial and political agendas. In his latest book Kahurangi, Hansford documents one of the most significant natural regions in Aotearoa: Kahurangi National Park, along with the adjoining areas of Whanganui Inlet, Wharariki and Onetahua/Farewell Spit. Together, they are home to the greatest variety of plants and animals in the country, with many not found elsewhere on the planet. Hansford, one of our country’s foremost science and natural history writers, is eloquent and uncompromising in his arguments for why and how we must urgently rescue these precious wild lands. Kahurangi is nature writing at its absolute finest.
This podcast was produced with the support of Copyright Licensing New Zealand's 2024 Contestable Fund Grant.
RNZ presenter Susie Ferguson recounts her years as a war correspondent while battling endometriosis and discusses her breathtaking memoir on tenacity and self-belief, which shines a light on a health system that isn’t made for us and proves the importance of being loud with our truths. Chaired by Naomi Arnold.
This podcast was produced with the support of Copyright Licensing New Zealand's 2024 Contestable Fund Grant.
Rachael King and Lee Murray both evoke ancient mythological creatures from distant shores in their latest novels: The Grimmelings and Fox Spirit on a Distant Shore. Scottish folklore inspired Scottish folklore inspired King to write about a vengeful black horse-like creature called a kelpie, while Murray has made the ancient Chinese fox spirit húli jīng her narrator. Chaired by Claire Mabey, who is The Spinoff Books editor and author of The Raven's Eye Runaways.
This podcast was produced with the support of Copyright Licensing New Zealand's 2024 Contestable Fund Grant.
Multi-generational migrant stories are finding compelling new ways of being told in the capable, creative hands of Jade Kake, author of Checkerboard Hill, and Saraid de Silva, author of Amma. Both explore belonging and the legacy of intergenerational trauma while mastering a unique way of sharing the diasporic experience. Chaired by Elizabeth Heritage.
This podcast was produced with the support of Copyright Licensing New Zealand's 2024 Contestable Fund Grant.
In Aotearoa the number of people who will never have children is growing. In Otherhood: Childless, Childfree and Child Adjacent, co-editors Alie Benge, Kathryn van Beek and Lil O’Brien have assembled the perspectives of 36 writers for whom having children isn’t part of their life-path: from those who’ve chosen to remain child free, those who didn’t get to choose, and those whose version of family life looks a whole lot different to what they first envisioned. In this Pukapuka Talks session, Kathryn van Beek is joined by contributors Iona Winter, Henrietta Bollinger and Lily Duval for a more inclusive conversation about what makes a fulfilling life.
This podcast was produced with the support of Copyright Licensing New Zealand's Contestable Fund Grant 2024.
From accessible housing design to the tiny house movement, and everything in between, what happens when people step outside the box in housing design and development? Join architect and housing advocate Jade Kake, disability rights advocate, essayist and poet Henrietta Bollinger and local visionary Miriana Stephens, who is leading Te Āwhina Marae’s redevelopment project, in conversation with architect Min Hall.
This podcast was produced with the support of Copyright Licensing New Zealand's Contestable Fund Grant 2024.
Join singer, taonga pūoro musician and writer Ariana Tikao, photographer Matt Calman and local writer Nuki Takao for a kōrero about the stunning illustrated nonfiction book, Mokorua: Ngā kōrero mō tōku moko kauae – My story of moko kauae, which is a revealing and emotional account of how Ariana received her moko kauae. Held in conjunction with Kanohi Kitea, an exhibition that presents tā moko amongst tangata whenua.
Ariana Tikao grew up in suburban Christchurch in the 1970s and ’80s surrounded by te ao Pākehā. This book tells the story of Ariana exploring her whakapapa, her whānau history and her language. This is one woman’s story, but it is interwoven with the revival of language, tikanga and identity among Kāi Tahu whānau over the past 30 years.
Ariana’s journey culminates in her decision to take on Mokorua – her moko kauae – from tā moko artist Christine Harvey. After an emotionally charged ceremony that brought together whānau, young and old, for songs and tautoko, hugs and tears, Ariana writes: ‘Our whānau had reached another milestone in the decolonisation process – or, rather, in our journey of reindigenising ourselves, becoming who we always were.’
Through Ariana’s words, te reo Māori text by her hoa tāne Ross Calman, and an intimate, moving photo essay by Matt Calman, Mokorua reveals the journey of one woman reclaiming her Māori identity. Ariana will be joined by Matt and local writer Nuki Takao to kōrero about her experiences and the creation of the pukapuka.
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