Books and writers
Anne Chamberlain, intrepid manager of Writers and Readers Week.
ANNE Chamberlain has her head in books.
Organiser of Writers and Readers Week, Chamberlain has been trying to read her way through the works of the nearly 60 authors featured in this year’s programme.
“It’s been hard to find the time,” Chamberlain says. “Fortunately we have an advisory group, so if I haven’t read a book one of us will have.”
Chamberlain began the job a year ago with a wish list of authors for the festival. She says while the Wellington festival has a good international reputation it’s still a long way for European and American writers to come.
“We work closely with the Adelaide festival to secure international authors, but a bit of persuasion is normally required.”
Chamberlain has always loved books, but her background has been in theatre and film. She’s worked both in New Zealand and the United Kingdom, both on and off stage, before and behind the camera, moving backwards and forwards between both countries.
In New Zealand she’s been a publicist for feature films and for the New Zealand Film Commission, and on-screen she was once the body double for Liza Minnelli. For a time Chamberlain was part of a successful comedy cabaret group with her two sisters Susan and Kirsty who as The Flannelettes appeared in the 1992 New Zealand International Arts Festival, a show so successful it went on to the Barcelona Olympics Arts Festival.
Chamberlain first went to the UK after completing her BA in drama and economics at Otago University.
“I was desperate to go to London. I love theatre and wanted to check out the theatre scene there.”
In London she completed a post-graduate course in drama and began acted in fringe plays, as well as working part-time in a bank. Her landlady was a model maker who had worked on the Monty Python movie, The Holy Grail. She introduced Chamberlain to Michael Palin who was looking for somebody to answer his fan mail.
“At the time he was getting rubbish sacks full of fan mail. So I started with Michael replying to his fans, and that later led me to becoming his personal assistant. Michael is a very nice man, great company and very funny.”
Chamberlain says while compiling the programme for Writers and Readers she’s tried to cater for as wide an audience as possible and she believes some sessions will appeal to people not normally attracted to Writers and Readers.
“We’ve brought over British screenwriter Robert Shearman who famously returned the Dalek to Doctor Who in an episode initially viewed by 8.6 million people. This session includes a screening of his Dalek episode.”
Chamberlain says she’s especially excited by the town hall talks featuring science and environmental writer Tim Flannery, Australian academic and journalist Germaine Greer and Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Thomas Friedman.
“Non-fiction always attracts the big crowds at the festival and more men come to see non-fiction than fiction.”
For fiction lovers there are talks and readings by Booker Prize winner Adam Hollinghurst, Spanish novelist Javier Cercas and Australian writers Kate Grenville and Kim Scott.
New Zealand writers will be represented by Patrick Evans, Fiona Farrell, Paula Morris, Eleanor Catton, Hamish Clayton, Craig Cliff, Bill Manhire and Harry Ricketts, and Kiwi childrens’ writers by Lynley Dodd, Gavin Bishop and Margaret Mahy.
The programme also includes sessions focusing on the business of writing, sessions for secondary school students, a discussion on Ebooks and the future of books, and sessions with New Zealand emerging artists in Masterton and Paekakariki.
“The whole week should be incredibly stimulating,” Chamberlain says. “The concentration of creative people is sure to create its own energy to inspire all who take part.”
Writers and Readers Week, March 9-14.
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