The Going West Books & Writers Festival is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

literary festival which began in 1996 in West

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. It was Auckland's first literary festival, and is one of the longest-running literary festivals in

. Going West predominantly features New Zealand writers, poets, and orators, often with a West Auckland connection.

Origin

Going West was founded by Naomi McCleary, arts manager for Waitākere City, and Murray Gray, owner of Parnell bookshop Under Silkwood, with the assistance of Bob Harvey, Mayor of Waitakere. Gray stepped down as programme director in 2015 after 20 years and was succeeded by Robyn Mason, now the archivist and curator; as of 2021 the director is James Littlewood. The festival's name was inspired by a passage in

Maurice Gee Maurice Gough Gee (born 22 August 1931) is a New Zealand novelist. He is one of New Zealand's most distinguished and prolific authors, having written over thirty novels for adults and children, and has won numerous awards both in New Zealand an ...

's 1992 novel ''Going West'' which describes a train journey from the western suburb of Henderson to central

. In 1996 the organisers assembled friends to reenact the trip with a hired steam train, running poetry readings and events at train stations along the way. There were even readings on the train itself. The programme was put together by Murray Gray and

Peter Simpson Peter Simpson may refer to: * Peter Simpson (film producer) (1943–2007), often credited as Peter R. Simpson, a British-Canadian film producer and advertiser *Peter Simpson (Scottish footballer) (1904/05–1974), Scottish football striker who play ...

, and

Gil Hanly Gillian Mary Hanly ( Taverner; born 1934) is a New Zealand artist. She is best known for documenting protests and social movements in New Zealand's recent history. Early life Hanly was born in 1934 in Levin, New Zealand. She has two younge ...

and

Marti Friedlander Martha Friedlander (; 19 February 1928 – 14 November 2016) was a British-New Zealand photographer. She emigrated to New Zealand in 1958, where she was known for photographing and documenting New Zealand's people, places and events, and was c ...

acted as photographers. The inaugural Going West festival was held in a "freezing Corban Estate concrete warehouse" on 13–14 July 1996. The first words spoken were in Māori, by

Ngahuia Te Awekotuku Ngahuia Te Awekotuku (born 1949) is a New Zealand academic specialising in Māori cultural issues and a lesbian activist. In 1972, she was famously denied a visa to visit the United States on the basis of her sexuality. Biography Te Awekotuk ...

as part of the session "Breathing Words" with Robert Sullivan and Bernard Makoare, a recitation of Māori oral and written literature. It followed a performance on traditional Māori instruments (

taonga pūoro Taonga pūoro are the traditional musical instruments of the Māori people of New Zealand. The instruments previously fulfilled many functions within Māori society including a call to arms, dawning of the new day, communications with the gods a ...

) by Makoare. One panel featured

Maurice Shadbolt Maurice Francis Richard Shadbolt (4 June 1932 – 10 October 2004) was a New Zealand writerRobinson and Wattie 1998 and occasional playwright. Biography Shadbolt was born in Auckland, and was the eldest of three children. He had a younger bro ...

, Dick Scott and

Kevin Ireland Kevin Mark Ireland (né Jowsey; 18 July 1933 – 19 May 2023) was a New Zealand poet, short story writer, novelist and librettist.

; another comprised

Debra Daley Debra Daley is a New Zealand author. Daley was born in New Zealand and is of Irish heritage. She grew up in the west of Auckland and graduated from the University of Auckland with an MA in English Literature. She currently lives in the Bay of P ...

Emily Perkins Emily Jean Perkins (born May 4, 1977) is a Canadian former actress, best known for her roles as Crystal Braywood in the TV series ''Hiccups'', young Beverly Marsh in '' Stephen King's It'', and Brigitte Fitzgerald in ''Ginger Snaps''. Since the l ...

, and Stephanie Johnson. In 1997 Maurice Gee attended, and read from his book ''Going West'' at the Henderson Railway Station. By its tenth year, the festival consisted of a three-day literary weekend at a single venue,

Titirangi Titirangi is a suburb of West Auckland in the Waitākere Ranges local board area of the city of Auckland in northern New Zealand. It is an affluent, residential suburb located 13 kilometres (8 miles) to the southwest of the Auckland city centre ...

Memorial Hall, followed by an all-day trip on a steam train, hired for $15,500, to Helensville and back, stopping at five stations. The cost of the train was offset by sponsorship. Eventually the Sunday train schedule changed and it became too difficult to book a private train. The festival is now held annually in a variety of Waitakere locations, including West Auckland's Civic Building'',''

Lopdell House Lopdell House is situated next to Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery as part of the Lopdell Precinct arts centre in Titirangi, Auckland. It was first opened as Hotel Titirangi in 1930. In 1942 it was bought by the Ministry of Education and be ...

, Glen Eden Playhouse and Te Uru. Going West 2020 was cancelled due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and took place as a series of podcasts, but returned in 2021 in a new format with multimedia events and monthly live performances. Poets and filmmakers collaborated to make short films as part of a series called Different Out Loud. Going West is one of the longest-running literary festivals in New Zealand. From the inaugural 1996 festival every session was recorded onto broadcast-quality tape by sound technician Dave Hodge, who worked with the festival for 24 years. In 2003

Auckland Libraries Auckland Libraries is the public library system for the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It was created when the seven separate councils in the Auckland region merged in 2010. It is currently the largest public-library network in the Southern He ...

partnered with the Going West Festival Trust to support Dave Hodge in recording every session and preserve the Going West audio archive.

Notable participants

Sam Hunt Sam Lowry Hunt (born December 8, 1984) is an American singer and songwriter. Born in Cedartown, Georgia, Hunt played football in his high school and college years and once attempted to pursue a professional sports career before signing with MCA ...

(1996) *

(1997, 2000) *

(1997) *

Hone Tuwhare Honing (metalworking), Honing is a kind of metalworking. Hone may also refer to: * Hone (name) (incl. Hōne), a list of people with the surname, given name or nickname * Hõne language, spoken in Gombe State and Taraba State, Nigeria * Hône, Ital ...

(1999) * Michael King (2001, 2003) *

Max Cryer John Maxwell Cryer (10 December 1935 – 25 August 2021), generally known as Max Cryer, was a New Zealand television producer and presenter, radio broadcaster, entertainment producer, singer, cabaret performer and writer. Early life and educ ...

(2002) *

C. K. Stead Christian Karlson "Karl" Stead (born 17 October 1932) is a New Zealand writer whose works include novels, poetry, short stories, and literary criticism. He is one of New Zealand's most well-known and internationally celebrated writers. Early l ...

Fiona Kidman Dame Fiona Judith Kidman ( Eakin, born 26 March 1940) is a New Zealand novelist, poet, scriptwriter and short story writer. She grew up in Northland, and worked as a librarian and a freelance journalist early in her career. She began writing ...

* Sir Bob Harvey (2013) *

Rod Oram Rod Oram is a New Zealand journalist writing on corporate, economic and political issues. He is a columnist for ''The Sunday Star-Times'', a regular broadcaster on radio and television and a frequent public speaker. He is an adjunct professor in ...

(2017) *

Paula Morris Paula Jane Kiri Morris (born 18 August 1965) is a New Zealand novelist, short-story writer editor and literary academic. She is an associate professor at the University of Auckland and founder of the Academy of New Zealand Literature. Life Mor ...

(2018) *

Bill Manhire William Manhire (born 27 December 1946) is a New Zealand poet, short story writer, emeritus professor, and New Zealand's inaugural New Zealand Poet Laureate, Poet Laureate (1997–1998). He founded New Zealand's first creative writing course at ...

Allen Curnow Thomas Allen Monro Curnow (17 June 1911 – 23 September 2001) was a New Zealand poet and journalist. Life Curnow was born in Timaru, New Zealand, the son of a fourth generation New Zealander, an Anglican clergyman, and he grew up in a relig ...

Selina Tusitala Marsh Selina Tusitala Marsh (born 21 April 1971) is a New Zealand poet and academic, and was the New Zealand Poet Laureate for 2017–2019. Early life Marsh was born in 1971 in Auckland, New Zealand. Through her mother, Sailigi Tusitala, Marsh is o ...

New Zealand Poet Laureate The New Zealand Poet Laureate is a poet appointed by the National Library of New Zealand to represent New Zealand's community of poets, to promote and advocate for poetry, and to produce a number of published works during their two-year tenure as ...

(2017) *

Charlotte Grimshaw Charlotte Grimshaw (born December 1966) is a New Zealand novelist, short-story writer, columnist and former lawyer. Since the publication of her debut novel ''Provocation'' (1999), she has received a number of significant literary awards incl ...

(2018) *

Elizabeth Knox Elizabeth Fiona Knox (born 15 February 1959) is a New Zealand writer. She has authored several novels for both adults and teenagers, autobiographical novellas, and a collection of essays. One of her best-known works is ''The Vintner's Luck'' ( ...

(2019) *

Karlo Mila Karlo Estelle Mila (born 1974) is a New Zealand writer and poet of Tongan, Pālagi and Samoan descent. Her first collection, ''Dream Fish Floating'', received the NZSA Jessie Mackay Award for Best First Book of Poetry in 2006 at the Montana Ne ...

(2021) *

Daren Kamali Daren (DK) Kamali (born 1975) is a Fijian-born New Zealand poet, writer, musician, and teacher and museum curator. Education Kamali completed his Bachelor's degree in Creative Writing at Manukau Institute of Technology in New Zealand in 2014 Kam ...

(2021)

External links

Official websiteGoing West Youtube channel

Going West material in Auckland Library collection

References

{{Reflist Literary festivals in New Zealand Festivals in Auckland Festivals established in 1996 1996 establishments in New Zealand Annual events in New Zealand West Auckland, New Zealand

Origin

Notable participants

External links

Further reading

References