Volume Mapua Literary Festival: Annette Lees

The 2019 Volume Mapua Literary Festival is a boutique literary festival featuring some of New Zealand’s best and most interesting writers. Organised by Volume, the 2018 New Zealand Bookshop of the Year, the festival continues the series of literary events held in Mapua to benefit the Mapua Community Library. All ticket sales benefit the library.

Annette Lees swam every day for a year in natural outdoor water. The book she wrote about doing so also introduces us to other ‘wild swimmers’ and provides a fascinating history of New Zealanders’ immersive relationship with water. As well as this, it is a plea to preserve our natural waterscapes.

Annette Lees is a passionate wild swimmer and ecologist, working on water-quality issues with communities, iwi, farmers, conservationists and government.

Annette will discuss her book—and wild swimming—with social historian Jessie Bray Sharpin.