Auckland Council Libraries' Ka Pānui Tātou i Tāmaki Makaurau / We Read Auckland is an annual festival celebrating the readers and writers of Tāmaki Makaurau held every August. 

Enjoy a selection of interviews with Auckland authors about their bestselling books - all available for loan from Auckland Council Libraries.

Visit aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/WeReadAKL for more details.

We Read Auckland

Spend some time in the literary lounge and listen to librarians chat about books, host guest authors, and provide hot tips on making the most out of your library.

Books & Beyond

Alison is joined in the studio by author Josie Shapiro discussing her debut novel Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts. This beautiful coming of age story of young runner Mickey Bloom and her determination to achieve her dreams is also a love letter to Auckland.

This interview was recorded for Auckland Council Libraries' We Read Auckland festival of Auckland's readers and writers, celebrated 1 - 31 August 2023. Visit aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/WeReadAKL for more details.

'Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts' can be borrowed from Bestie collection displays in all Auckland Council libraries or requested from the Auckland Libraries catalogue. Available in multiple formats: https://bit.ly/3YfvsNj

We Read Auckland 2023: Josie Shapiro - Everything Is Beautiful and Everything Hurts

Alison is joined in the studio by author Dominic Hoey discussing his action-packed and darkly funny novel, Poor People with Money. A fighter with a face covered in scars, a life full of debt and a brother who has mysteriously disappeared, Avondale local Monday Woolridge goes looking for income and answers in some dark places.

Poor People with Money can be borrowed from Bestie collection displays in all Auckland Council libraries or requested from the Auckland Libraries catalogue. Available in multiple formats: https://bit.ly/3q0XjVa

This interview was recorded for Auckland Council Libraries' We Read Auckland festival of Auckland's readers and writers, celebrated 1 - 31 August 2023. Visit aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/WeReadAKL for more details.

We Read Auckland 2023: Dominic Hoey - Poor People with Money

Alison is joined over Zoom by author Dr. Emma Espiner, discussing her poised and candid memoir, There’s a Cure for This. From quietly perceived inequities of her early life, Espiner's stories trace her hard-won revelations as a Māori medical student and junior doctor during the Covid-19 pandemic.

There’s a Cure for This can be borrowed from Bestie collection displays in all Auckland Council libraries or requested from the Auckland Libraries catalogue. Available in multiple formats: https://bit.ly/3Ybo1ab

This interview was recorded for Auckland Council Libraries' We Read Auckland festival of Auckland's readers and writers, celebrated 1 - 31 August 2023. Visit aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/WeReadAKL for more details.

We Read Auckland 2023: Dr. Emma Espiner - There's a Cure for This

Happy Pride!
Alison is joined in the studio by two special guests, Rhi and Sebastian, who talk about some of their favourite queer reads.
Celebrate Pride year-round and embrace your rainbow joy by exploring the huge and diverse range of books and resources at Auckland Libraries.

Books mentioned on the show can be requested from the Auckland Libraries catalogue using the links below. Most titles are available in multiple formats.
Dykette by Jenny Fran Davis (2023) https://discover.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/search/card?id=4c671c27-7174-5766-b987-21d5b3817d9b&entityType=FormatGroup
Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire (2016-2023) https://discover.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/search?query=%22Wayward%20children%20;%22&searchType=series&pageSize=10
Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield (2022) https://discover.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/search/card?id=26511bf4-ff7f-5440-ab2c-cf43f3d33038&entityType=FormatGroup
Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke (Eric LaRocca) (2021) https://discover.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/search/card?id=277e7b95-1d41-5da5-979a-75cf68abe6fe&entityType=FormatGroup
The Stars & the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus (2019) https://discover.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/search/card?id=8fb498da-0d18-5d27-b31b-aaf85ba77ec1&entityType=FormatGroup
The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar (2023) https://discover.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/search/card?id=f762893d-70d3-510c-9d08-a1ddf2455555&entityType=FormatGroup
The Seep by Chana Porter (2020) https://discover.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/search/card?id=49ba1a4d-779d-5f35-92f4-3cdc68bf7dad&entityType=FormatGroup
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (2019) https://discover.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/search/card?id=4c5beba2-a7b8-56af-a47a-425691d9ba30&entityType=FormatGroup
The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling (2019) https://discover.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/search/card?id=ba919808-bcd9-5dc0-83c9-fa4bba405ef5&entityType=FormatGroup
Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly (2021) https://discover.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/search/card?id=3acc0d05-1eaa-541b-9e08-c676b4e8acf8&entityType=FormatGroup

Books and Beyond: Pride 2024

Alison is joined over Zoom by author Dr Bex Bell, discussing her groundbreaking book about healing Imposter Syndrome and ending self-sabotage. Dr Bex has worked with people from all walks of life and her book is full of effective strategies that will help erase the anxiety about never feeling good enough. We had some technical issues when recording the interview - keep listening, because it was a great conversation! Inner Critic to Inner Coach can be borrowed and requested from the Auckland Libraries' catalogue https://bit.ly/3vVV4VW

Books and Beyond: Dr. Bex Bell - Inner critic to inner coach

Alison is joined over Zoom by author Dr. Ineke Meredith, to discuss her extraordinary memoir, On Call: Stories from my life as a surgeon, a daughter and a mother, published by Harper Collins New Zealand. 
The world of surgery is strange, messy, intense and lonely. Life, death, chaos and limited family life: is life in scrubs worth the sacrifice?
On Call can be borrowed from Bestie collection displays in all Auckland Council libraries or requested from the Auckland Libraries catalogue. Available in multiple formats: https://bit.ly/46pPqcn
This interview was recorded for Auckland Council Libraries' We Read Auckland festival of Auckland's readers and writers, celebrated 1 - 31 August 2024. Visit aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/WeReadAKL for more details.
Author photo credit: Rachel Calvo Photos

We Read Auckland 2024: Dr Ineke Meredith - On call

Alison is joined over Zoom by author Freddie Gillies, to discuss his novel Because all fades, published by Bateman Books. The novel is about four young Kiwis on their OE, having the time of their lives - until a serious incident changes everything. Freddie is an exciting new voice in New Zealand fiction. Because all fades can be borrowed from Bestie collection displays in all Auckland Council libraries or requested from the Auckland Libraries catalogue. Available in multiple formats: https://bit.ly/3WnDt2a

This interview was recorded for Auckland Council Libraries' We Read Auckland festival of Auckland's readers and writers, celebrated 1 - 31 August 2024. Visit aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/WeReadAKL for more details.

Author photo credit Sean Wakely.

We Read Auckland 2024: Freddie Gillies - Because all fades

Alison is joined in the studio by author Diana Wichtel, to discuss her memoir Unreel: A life in review, published by Penguin. Diana is an award-winning reviewer and bestselling author of Driving to Treblinka. Unreel is a brilliantly funny, achingly nostalgic memoir of a life spent watching and writing. Unreel can be borrowed from Bestie collection displays in all Auckland Council libraries or requested from the Auckland Libraries catalogue https://bit.ly/4m4TsOg

This interview was recorded for Auckland Council Libraries' We Read Auckland festival of Auckland's readers and writers, celebrated 1 - 31 August 2025. Visit aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/WeReadAKL for more details. 

We Read Auckland 2025: Diana Wichtel: Unreel

Alison is joined in the studio by author Michael Bennett, to discuss his novel Carved in Blood, the third instalment in the gripping Hana Westerman series. Carved in Blood is published by Simon & Schuster and can be borrowed from Bestie collection displays in all Auckland Council libraries or requested from the Auckland Libraries catalogue https://bit.ly/3H48jtm

This interview was recorded for Auckland Council Libraries' We Read Auckland festival of Auckland's readers and writers, celebrated 1 - 31 August 2025. Visit aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/WeReadAKL for more details.

We Read Auckland 2025: Michael Bennett - Carved in Blood

Welcome to Ngā Pātaka Kōrero Auckland Libraries podcast page! Catch up on author talks, events and concerts, and hear more in-depth commentary from the curatorial team behind our taonga treasured collections and exhibitions.

We Read Auckland 2023: Dominic Hoey - Poor People with Money

Ngā Pātaka Kōrero - Auckland Libraries