Alice Walker will headline this year's Auckland Writers Festival, joining a stellar line-up including Irvine Welsh, Eleanor Catton, Alexander McCall Smith, Lloyd Jones, Camilla Lackberg and Michael Leunig in the multi-day event running 14-18 May.
The programme offers 150 writers and more than 120 events over five days in and around Auckland's Aotea Centre.
Alice Walker will appear in one event only - The Color Purple on Sunday 18 May, 10-11am in the ASB Theatre - named after her globally best-selling, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name.
Festival director, Anne O'Brien says the mix of interviews, debates, conversations, poetry, readings, children's events, workshops, concerts, lunches and soap box stir-ups provides something for everyone.
"This is a festival of plenty. We've introduced a Family Day this year as well as events that broaden our reach into books, art, music and theatre. There's a host of free events, a wide variety of issues up for discussion and a long list of high-profile international and local writer guests making up the programme.