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Inaugural Verb Festival puts Wellington’s Literary Greatness on the Map
Between 6 - 10 November Wellington’s inaugural Verb Festival delivered over 80 events celebrating writers from Aotearoa and around the world.
“We are delighted with how the first Verb Festival went” said Director, Claire Mabey. “We’ve been growing LitCrawl since we started in 2014 so while this was our sixth annual event the 2019 Festival was the first under the new brand of Verb and our largest Festival by far”.
The Festival celebrated both established literary heroes, such as Patricia Grace, as well as very new voices. International guests included crime icons Michael Connelly and Val McDermid; acclaimed Irish essayist Sinéad Gleeson; novelists Christos Tsiolkas (Australia) and Sarah Moss (UK); poet and theatre maker Harry Giles; and poets Omar Musa, Chen Chen and Michael Pedersen.
“Most events were very full” said Mabey “we certainly saw a surge in audience attendance to fit with our much larger offering”.
Verb Founders Claire Mabey and Andrew Laking set out to make literature, writers and their ideas accessible when they started LitCrawl in 2014. The 2019 LitCrawl was ‘busier than ever’ with 27 events over three hours on the Saturday night of the festival. Now sitting within Verb Festival, LitCrawl is the energetic and democratic heart of an annual writers festival that audiences and participants alike feel is one of the most diverse and inclusive in the country.
“Nearly half our programme is free or koha entry and that is important to us. For the 2019 Festival as well as the LitCrawl itself which is koha entry, we held free events in libraries and galleries; ran the second annual micro residency programme for five writers; We ran a schools programme, and held the second annual KidsCrawl which is an adventure designed specifically for 8 - 12 year olds; we had a free science-of-parenting event with Dr Natalie Flynn; a workshop for migrant women with Renee Liang; a discussion about libraries and how central they are to any city; book launches from local children’s publishers; an interactive public art work by Sarah Laing; and our digital programme is still to be released.”
Mabey said “I truly think Wellington has one of the most vibrant literary communities in the world and when international writers who visit our festival say things like: “I think it’s the most vibrant and fun festival I’ve encountered, somehow with the energy of Edinburgh but the intensity of something more intimate. I loved the way it felt simultaneously local and global, which is often said but almost never realised, and I discovered lots of great new writers I’d never have encountered in Europe.” that makes the hard work worth it. To feel like we are shedding light on the enormous talent and potential of this place.”
Verb Festival receives funding from Creative New Zealand, Wellington Community Trust, Wellington City Council, Pub Charity, Lion Foundation, Rotary Club, Mātātuhi Foundation, Vic Books, Bowen Galleries, Victoria University Press, Otago University Press, and cultural partners Culture Ireland, Australian High Commission, Embassy of the United States of America, Scottish Books International, Creative Scotland, which enable the Verb Festival to remain accessible. Verb Festival vehicles are sponsored by Gazley Car Dealership.
IMAGE: a shot of the opening night gala at Public Trust Hall by Vanessa Rushton Photography.