WORD Christchurch’s spring season of events, Shifting Points of View, aims to bring some important conversations to our city.

Fifteen events over four weeks (18 August – 14 September) cover topics as diverse as the Trojan War, racism and activism, the New Zealand Wars, politics, engineering, crime fiction and the history of New Zealand comedy.

Headlining speakers include Simon Winchester, author of such books as Pacific, The Surgeon of Crowthorne and The Map That Changed the World, and his latest book Exactly: How precision engineers created the modern world; Natalie Haynes, host of the BBC radio show Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics, with a feminist retelling of the Troy story; DeRay Mckesson, American activist and a founder of the Black Lives Matter movement; Val McDermid, Scottish crime writer; New Zealand historian Vincent O’Malley and scholar Marilyn Waring.

Some of comedy’s movers and shakers, including Madeleine Sami, will be on stage to discuss the history of New Zealand comedy as portrayed in the television documentary series Funny As, and the new book of the same name.

The season closes on September 14 with a special celebration of the 2019 Ngaio Marsh Awards for crime writing. Finalists Liam McIlvanney, JP Pomare and Fiona Kidman will appear alongside fellow crime writers Val McDermid, Paul Cleave and Vanda Symon in The Great Ngaio Marsh Game Show, where two teams will compete for the title of Sharpest Knives. The show will be followed by the presentation of the awards in the categories of Best Novel, Best First Novel and best Non-Fiction.

“Shifting Points of View is about challenging audiences to look at things a little differently,” says WORD Christchurch Programme Director Rachael King. “While there is plenty of entertainment in this season, there is also the opportunity to feed your brain, and maybe even change your mind about the world around you. We have a fantastic array of internationally acclaimed speakers to engage you on a number of issues.”

wordchristchurch.co.nz