Saturday Day Pass

The Mirror Book

Charlotte Grimshaw

10.00 – 11.00am

Charlotte Grimshaw’s explosive and thought-provoking memoir The Mirror Book - nominated for a 2022 Ockham Book Award - is a vivid account of growing up in one of New Zealand’s most well-known literary families: that of poet, novelist and memoirist C. K. Stead.

In one of the most discussed books of 2021, Grimshaw wrestles with the contradictions of memories and questions the stories passed down.

“It’s material, make a story out of it,” was the mantra Grimshaw grew up with. But when her life suddenly turned upside-down, she found herself re-examining the reality of that material. The more she delved into her memories, the more the real characters in her life seemed to object. So, what was the truth of “a whole life lived in fiction”?

In conversation with Michelle Langstone, Charlotte Grimshaw deep-dives into the truth as she saw it, the fallout, and the messy reality of family life.

Too Much Money

Max Rashbrooke

11.30am – 12.30pm

Today, someone in the wealthiest one percent of adults in Aotearoa – a club of 40,000 people – has a net worth 68 times that of the average New Zealander.

Max Rashbrooke’s Too Much Money is the story of how wealth inequality is changing Aotearoa. Possessing wealth creates opportunities but when access to these opportunities becomes alarmingly uneven, the implications are profound.

This talk addresses a conversation most New Zealanders prefer to avoid: class. Chief Philanthropic Officer at the Michael and Suzanne Borrin Foundation, Tupe Solomon-Tanoa’i speaks with Rashbrooke and final Chair of Auckland District Health Board and company director, Pat Snedden about the evidence of - and the possible solutions to - our inequality issues, and asks us to consider whether we really can reduce wealth disparities to a point where most people are doing well.

Wawata: Moon Dreaming

Dr Hinemoa Elder

1.30 to 2.30pm

Dr Hinemoa Elder (Ngāti Kuri, Te Aupōuri, Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi), author of Aroha, Aotearoa’s top-selling non-fiction book in 2021, speaks on her new book Wawata - 30 days and nights guided by the moon and how to reclaim intimacy with others, with ourselves and with our planet using the energies of Hina, the Māori moon.

Both Wawata and Aroha provide comfort, guidance and deep affectionate connection for everyone through fundamental Māori values. Dr Elder speaks with Ria Hall (Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui) about reconnecting with ancient wisdom, her whakapapa and how her mahi as a psychiatrist, experiences as a mum, wāhine, and student of te reo inspired her to write these powerful and illuminating books.

One in Four

3.00 – 4.00pm

With 450 IVF babies born in New Zealand every year and one in four couples in Aotearoa struggling with fertility, why do we find this kōrero so hard?

In this panel discussion, we explore the multitude of ways one can conceive a baby in the 21st century, new models of family-making, and the taboos around IVF, surrogacy and other assisted fertility options.

Fertility issues are more common than we realise and our panellists - recently retired fertility counsellor Sue Saunders (Maybe Baby), and actor and author, Michelle Langstone, who writes about her IVF journey in her outstanding novel Times Like These – bravely talk with Elisabeth Easther about their experiences, and about the grief, hope, science and the magic of making babies.