GREG FLEMING
Crime and Thriller books reviewer
Ian Wedde: His talents are many - novelist, art critic, curator, editor - but first and foremost he's a poet; one of our best. The release of his Selected Poems is a significant event in NZ poetry, updating and expanding the earlier Driving
Into the Storm and includes the out-of-print The Commonplace Odes from 2001. A Wedde poem has a way of making even the most familiar streets new again and now at 70, he remains at the top of his game. In the last poem of this new Selected, Shadow Stands Up, he describes a trip on Auckland's Link bus and turns in a stunning poem on place, memory, art, family and perception. And - unlike the Link Bus - this event is free. AUP showcase and Ian Wedde launches his Selected Poems; Air NZ Foyer, Aotea Centre; Friday, May 19 3.30pm-5pm - free event.
Ian Rankin: I had the pleasure of interviewing Ian Rankin recently and despite the late hour in Edinburgh, found him fascinating company - funny, humble and disarmingly honest. Mark Sainsbury hosts the Scottish crime writer for this event and odds on it'll be a lively discussion. This year Rebus, Rankin's Edinburgh detective, celebrates 30 years on the page and if there's anything you wanted to know about Rebus, Rankin or crime fiction here's your chance. An Evening with Ian Rankin; ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre; Friday, May 19, 7pm-8.15pm.
CATHERINE SMITH
Food books reviewer
Lawrence Krauss: My typical writers' festival agenda tends to the gloomy and obscure. Scientists talking in plain English are my favourites, as I just can't read that stuff on my own. This year my "gloomy scientist" is Lawrence Krauss, the theoretical physicist and cosmologist who chairs the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. His cheery gang has just moved the Doomsday Clock 30 seconds closer to midnight and the professor has 50 minutes to tell us about climate change, the threat of nuclear weapons and how to avoid an apocalypse. Tick tock: Lawrence Krauss, ASB Theatre; Thursday, May 18, 5pm-6pm.
Jay Rayner: Sadly, I was not fast enough to eat lunch at Masu with Guardian food critic Jay Rayner, so I'll be lining up to watch him help Chris [Parker] and Tom [Sainsbury] write a book on Wednesday and sprinting back on Friday night to hear The Ten (Food) Commandments. I have been told he will not be repeating the late AA Gill's excruciating dinner out in Auckland, but I'd love to share icecream after the show. Chris and Tom Write a Book; Heartland Festival Room, Aotea Square; Wednesday, May 17 and Thursday, May 18 9pm-10pm (different guests each night). Jay Rayner, The Ten (Food) Commandments, ASB Theatre; May 19, 8.45pm-10pm.
