WORDChristchurch Excitement Builds: I Welcome Fellow Hachette Authors!
Only two sleeps now until the WORDChristchurch Writers and Readers Festival kicks off on Wednesday—and I for one am starting to feel the excitement! If you haven’t already checked out the programme then you definitely should, right here:
WORD Christchurch Programme: 27-31 August
Besides chairing the Supernaturally event on Sunday 31 withElizabeth Knox and Laini Taylor, I am also delighted to welcome three fellow Hachette authors to NZ and the festival.
One of these authors is, of course, Laini Taylor herself—the other two are UK author, Diane Setterfield, and Yrsa Sigurðardóttir from Iceland. By way of a warm blog welcome to them all, I will feature each Hachette author, her books, and also WORD events this week—starting today with Diane Setterfield.
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Welcoming Diane Setterfield to WORDChristchurch
Diane Setterfield’s bestselling novel, The Thirteenth Tale (2006) was published in 38 countries worldwide and has sold more than three million copies. It was number one in the New York Times hardback fiction list for three weeks and is enjoyed as much for being ‘a love letter to reading’ as for its mystery and style.
The Thirteenth Tale was adapted for television by the award-winning playwright and scriptwriter, Christopher Hampton. Starring Vanessa Redgrave and Olivia Colman, it was filmed in 2013 in North Yorkshire for BBC2.
To give you a “feel” for The Thirteenth Tale, here’s what Booklist had to say:
“Readers will be mesmerized by this story-within-a-story tinged with the eeriness of Rebecca and the willfulness of Jane Eyre. The author skillfully keeps the plot moving by unfurling a new twist in each chapter and leaves no strand untucked at the surprising and satisfying conclusion. A wholly original work told in the vein of all the best gothic classics. Lovers of books about book lovers will be enthralled.”
Diane’s second novel Bellman & Black (2013) has been described as layering “themes of time, memory and loss. ” Other adjectives I’ve seen include “eerie”, “seductive” and “unusual”; this extract from the backcover expands:
“Desperate to save the one precious thing he has left, [William Bellman] enters into a bargain. A rather strange bargain, with an even stranger partner, to found a decidedly macabre business. And Bellman & Black is born.”
All very intriguing—and a thrill, too, to have an author of Diane Setterfield’s calibre joining us for the festival!
Here are the three events where you can hear from her in person:
The Stars Are Out Tonight Friday 29 August, 7.30pm — the festival’s grand opening event compered by TV3’s John Campbell. (The other ‘luminaries’ appearing include Eleanor Catton, Damon Young, Noviolet Bulawayo, Anis Mojgani, Meg Wolitzer, and Kristin Hersh.)
The Storyteller Saturday 30 August, 3.30pm — Diane discusses The Thirteenth Tale, and her new ghostly and gothic novel, Bellman & Black, with Nicky Pellegrino.
A fabulous opportunity to catch a major international author in person.
Beyond the Veil: Historical Ghost Stories Sunday 31 August, 4pm — Diane Setterfield, Rosetta Allan, and Coral Atkinson discuss what makes the combination of the historical and the spooky so deliciously thrilling.
The Stars Are Out Tonight will obviously be a gala event—but both The Storyteller and Beyond The Veil sound like “the go” for anyone who loves historical writing, or gothic and ghostly storytelling.
I’ve got my ticket for “Beyond the Veil”. Can’t wait!
It sounds like a great session.