Reflecting local and global preoccupations is part of any festival's job. The worldwide economic crisis has been seized on as an opportunity by Auckland Writers & Readers Festival organisers to bring international experts on economics and politics, terrorism and security, human spirituality and science to Auckland this year, alongside top contemporary novelists and poets.

Festival Director Jill Rawnsley notes "I know there's cynicism out there about Aucklanders' lack of interest in the more serious things in life, but we're confident the Festival audience is going to prove the cynics wrong." The 2009 Auckland Writers & Readers Festival, from May 13 to 17, will feature guests from Karachi, Berlin, New York, Sydney, Edinburgh, Wellington, Baltimore, Washington, London, Levin, Melbourne, Timaru and just up the road.

2009 Commonwealth Writers' Prize Awards

This year, the Auckland festival has been selected as the launching pad for the prestigious international 23rd Commonwealth Writers' Prize Awards. "It's like opening presents on Christmas morning - we won't actually know who might be coming to New Zealand for the awards until the finalists are announced on 10 March."

The festival has partnered with the Commonwealth Foundation to keep all Commonwealth events free for the public. "We want as many people as possible to pack out the ASB Theatre on Saturday 16 May for the Awards, and there will be opportunities to see the finalists in action for free beforehand, so people can pick their winners before they're finally announced."

Free Events

The festival offers more free events this year than ever before: "it's a great year for people who've always wondered what goes on at a literary festival to come and see for themselves - I can guarantee they'll be rewarded for their curiosity," says Rawnsley. Free events include the Commonwealth Writers' Prize events, specialty sessions on New Zealand writers Katherine Mansfield, Frank Sargeson, Janet Frame and Charles Brasch, events for younger readers, as well as the perennial favourite "Open Mike", a poetry event with enthusiastic audience participation.

Ticket Prices Stay the Same

"We're well aware that people need cultural and intellectual nourishment more than ever when times are tough, so we've pulled out all the stops to keep standard festival tickets at last year's price, and introduced concession passes and half price tickets for students which makes the festival more affordable for those wanting to immerse themselves for an hour or more in this unique event", says Festival Director Jill Rawnsley. Festival Founders Peter Wells and Stephanie Johnson had faith ten years ago that Aucklanders would embrace the stimulation that an event like this provides, and their faith has been rewarded - Auckland has a literary festival to rival any other.

Special New Yorker Night

One of the most anticipated events this year will be the "New Yorker Night" on Wednesday 13 May. Anyone who wants to hear first hand what makes America tick can hear three senior staff writers from New Yorker magazine in conversation with New Yorker Festival Director Rhonda Sherman. The stellar line-up: senior political writer Hendrik Hertzberg, finance writer cum indie music aficionado James Surowiecki and Literary critic and fashion writer Judith Thurman whose collection of New Yorker essays were published recently as Cleopatra's Nose.

Terrorism, Politics, Intelligence, Science and Religion

In addition to the New Yorker journalists, Stefan Aust, ex-editor-in-chief of the influential German political magazine Der Spiegel, joins us from Berlin, courtesy of the Goethe Institute, to talk about his seminal work on terrorism, The Baader-Meinhof Complex, the film version of which has just been nominated for an Oscar. The BBC's special correspondent from Karachi and novelist Mohammed Hanif (A Case of Exploding Mangoes was longlisted for the 2008 Man Booker Prize) will be on the ground as will popular science writer and broadcaster Marcus Chown, while Richard Dawkins has agreed to beam in for a special video conference event to mark the inauguration of a Royal Society science writing prize. Founder of STRATFOR, security and intelligence expert George Friedman will be in town to talk about The Next 100 Years, and ex-Bishop of Edinburgh Christian Agnostic Richard Holloway will examine the capacity for good and evil in humans as explored in his book Between the Monster and the Saint.

Fiction and Poetry

Joining the raft of Commonwealth Writers' Prize fiction writers is the inimitable David Malouf from Australia, bestselling author of Brick Lane Monica Ali, previous Commonwealth Writers' Prize winners Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Tash Aw; Christos Tsiolkas, Debra Adelaide and Martin Edmond from Australia, Kirsty Gunn from Edinburgh, and local stars Lloyd Jones, Stephanie Johnson, Paula Morris, Owen Marshall, Bridget van der Zjipp, Greg McGee, Sam Mahon, Sarah-Kate Lynch, Joanne Drayton, Anna Taylor, Nicky Pellegrino, Eleanor Catton, Bill Manhire, Stevan Eldred-Grigg, Iain Sharp and Charlotte Grimshaw. "We're still finalising the programme, so there are more to come." Aspiring slam poets will battle it out in Poetry Idol this year in a larger venue, the Monte Christo Room at Toto's, on Friday 15 May. Champion American Slam Poet Sonya Renee will judge alongside perennial favourite Glenn Colquhoun. Auditions are in May so there's still time for prospective poets to perfect their performance.

Schools Programme

The Festival has added a Schools Programme specifically designed for intermediate and secondary school students. Young adult writers and Carnegie and National Book Award winners Mal Peet and M.T. Anderson (respectively) address students alongside Kate de Goldi, Brigid Lowry, David Geary and Glenn Colquhoun, a select group of Commonwealth Writers' Prize finalists, Elemeno P's Dave Gibson on songwriting, and James Griffin and Rachel Lang might identify future writers of "Outrageous Fortune" in their session.

"We have wanted to start a Schools Programme for some time, and have finally managed to do so with the help of a generous grant from the SkyCity Auckland Community Trust,"says Rawnsley. "Thanks to the Trust, schools can apply for assistance with transport costs to the Aotea Centre, and we hope to see as many schools and students from the Auckland and Northland area as possible. I can see all sorts of opportunities for schools at future festivals but we need to be sure they want it."

"It's going to be a bumper year. We've got more awards and free events than ever before. More fiction writers than you can shake a stick at. And as diverse a group of world class experts on politics, economics, terrorism, science and the vagaries of human nature as we could muster. I can't wait to see how it all pans out,"says Rawnsley. "One of the most rewarding aspects of working on an event like this is seeing the eureka moments, the heartwarming and moving interactions we witness every year between local readers and the writers."

In times of uncertainty and hardship, "people benefit both from escaping their everyday life and delving deeper to enrich their understanding of world events. We're expecting more people than ever this year," says Rawnsley. "It's business time.".

Auckland Writers and Readers Festival 2009 AUCKLAND WRITERS & READERS FESTIVAL 13 - 17 MAY | AOTEA CENTRE, THE EDGE®