Monday, October 15, 2012

Auckland Writers & Readers Festival News



LUNCH WITH MICHAEL PALIN – last chance!

We have just a few remaining tickets for our Lunch with Michael Palin, on Wednesday 31 October 2012 from noon – 2 PM at Hammerheads Restaurant, 19 Tamaki Drive, Okahu Bay, Auckland, presented in association with Hachette New Zealand and Cable Bay Vineyards.
Michael will be discussing his new book, Brazil, which accompanies an upcoming BBC television series.
Tickets are $95 per person from here and include a three course lunch and two glasses of Cable Bay wines.  Menu available on www.writersfestival.co.nz
Seating for the event will be allocated by the event organisers. Groups booking tickets together will be seated together. If you are purchasing an individual ticket but wish to be seated with other attendees, please email scott@writersfestival.co.nz clearly stating your name and the attendees you wish to be seated with before Friday 26 October.

 
LADIES' LITERA-TEA – Food for the Body & the Mind
Sunday 4 November 1pm – 5.30pm
at the Raye Freedman Arts Centre, Epsom Girls' Grammar
Featuring authors: Stephanie Johnson, Fiona Farrell, Maxine Alterio & Kate De Goldi. Gardeners: Xanthe White & Lynda Hallinan.

Poets: Paula Green & Janet Charman.
Elizabeth Lind from La Cigale French Market, Robyn Jones from Mudbrick Café on Waiheke, artist Jacqueline Fahey & designer Doris de Pont.
Tickets $55 (includes a divinely indulgent afternoon tea) on sale now. Phone 376 4399, email books@womensbookshop.co.nz  or buy online

 
THE MUSEUM CIRCLE FOUNDATION PRESENTS DAVA SOBEL
On Friday 23 November from 7 – 9 PM, the Museum Circle presents Longitude author Dava Sobel who will talk about her latest book A More Perfect Heaven – How Copernicus Revolutionised the Cosmos.  The lecture is followed by a cocktail function with the author.  Book tickets here
Auckland Museum; Non-members:  $45; Museum Circle members:  $40
To win two complimentary tickets: e-mail info@writersfestival.co.nz with the words “Dava Sobel” in the subject line, by 9 November 2012.






MEET OUR SPONSORS:  CABLE BAY Q & A
In our Meet our Sponsors Q & A this month, AWRF speaks with Nathalie Hinds from Cable Bay, who generously support the Festival by supplying their wonderful Waiheke wines for Festival events throughout the year.

AWRF:  We understand Cable Bay has recently had some exciting news Nathalie.  Can you elaborate for us please?
NH: Indeed, Cable Bay is delighted to have new owners: Loukas Petrou, Managing Director of Canam Construction and Neill Culley, Winemaker at Cable Bay, both with a passion for exceptional food and wines and genuine premium hospitality. Loukas and Neill have been friends for many years and were both involved with the creation, design and building of the Cable Bay facility so it is wonderful that the business is now in their ownership.

AWRF: And we are going to be enjoying some of your wines at our Lunch with Michael Palin on October 31st at Hammerheads?
NH:  Yes, Neill selected our:
CABLE BAY WAIHEKE ISLAND PINOT GRIS 2011
This is an off-dry wine style which displays classic pear and spice aromas, synonymous with New Zealand Pinot Gris. On the palate, there are traces of quince and almond which add complexity. A touch of residual sweetness is balanced by crisp acidity, creating a lifted, lingering finish. 
and our
 CABLE BAY WAIHEKE ISLAND CHARDONNAY 2009 
A wine displaying layers of flavour and interest - the result of a range of vineyard sites combined with traditional winemaking techniques. Upfront tropical and stonefruit characters are complemented by a creamy, biscuity mid-palate. The lingering finish has a nutty complexity and traces of minerality. Restrained use of oak has maintained the elegance of this wine.
as suitable matches for the dishes served.

AWRF:  Why does Cable Bay support the Festival?
NH: We have many reasons. Cable Bay customers are avid readers and part of the Festival audience so we want to be supporting local activities our customers enjoy. We are very well linked in the Art world and literacy is part of it - we believe that writing is a craft just like making wine. Also, the Festival and Cable Bay share a reputation for impeccable planning and meticulous care of guests. We are like- minded people: you match writers to readers, we match wine to food and wine to readers.

AWRF:  What do you enjoy about the Festival?
NH: The incredible talent which the Festival brings to Auckland is just amazing.

AWRF:  What can visitors to Cable Bay expect over the summer?
NH: A fantastic place to escape. They can read on the ferry on their way to Cable Bay and then take in the beautiful view. We will have vineyard tours which include wine tasting; traditional platters will be added to the Wine Bar menu and our new owners are just about to extend the seating area outside, for the comfort of our guests. The restaurant has delectable, fresh ingredients, prepared with our Head Chef, Sam Clark’s, twist on TLC (Technique, Love and Care). 

AWRF:  And finally, what are you reading at the moment?
NH: I am just a few pages away from finishing reading one of Dame Stella Rimington’s books which I actually purchased at the Festival in May. I also love to read in my own language (French) so after “Rip Tide”, I will start the 7 volumes of “Tant que la Terre Durer” by Henri Troyat which was just sent to me by       my grandmother – very special!
To contact Nathalie and the team at Cable Bay Vineyards:




Physical Address:
12 Nick Johnstone Drive, Oneroa, Waiheke Island, New Zealand
Phone:
+64 9 372 5889
Email:                                     




RANDOM HOUSE BOOK OF THE MONTH

Following on the heels of the critically acclaimed The Night Book, Charlotte Grimshaw’s new novel continues the intertwined stories of the Lampton and Hallwright families. During the long summer holiday, they’re gathered in a large beach house belonging to Prime Minister David Hallwright and his wife Roza. The weather is perfect and outwardly all is well, but the harmony is disturbed when Simon Lampton’s brother Ford arrives for a visit, and a young man called Arthur Weeks starts asking questions about a secret past affair. And throughout the novel, Roza tells her small son Johnnie a continuous story about a group of fantasy creatures — a story that contains uncomfortable parallels with their current lives.  Charlotte Grimshaw’s exhilaratingly gripping and clever narrative traces the lives of its beautiful people — ‘moral imbeciles’ in Ford’s words — as they jostle for position in their leader’s court. This humane and capacious novel articulates the ancient idea that to be moral is an act of consciousness, an effort of will. 
Click here to read an extract from Soon. And, if you’re feeling lucky, email communications@randomhouse.co.nz with ‘AWRF giveaway’ in the subject line to be in to win a copy!

No comments: