Writers Write : Actors Read

Two stellar actors read short stories by two of Aotearoa NZ’s most revered writers to a live audience.

Miriama Te Rangimarie Smith will read The Kiss by Patricia Grace from her short story collection Small Holes In The Silence, also recently republished and celebrated in Hiwa: Contemporary Māori Short Stories.

John Leigh will read Owen Marshall’s moving story Mr Van Gogh from the recently released collection The Authors Cut, originally published in Mr Van Gogh And Other Stories.

Patricia Grace: Over her prolific and highly influential writing career, Patricia Grace has accumulated many significant awards including Distinguished Companion of the NZ Order of Merit (DCNZM), an Arts Foundation icon award, the Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement , the Neustadt International Prize for Literature and the Exemplary/Supreme Award at the Te Waka Toi Awards.

Miriama Te Rangimarie Smith: No stranger to NZ and Australian audiences, Miriama can be seen in the Netflix mini-series The Survivors, Australia's Darby & Joan S2,The Gone for TVNZ and leads their latest comedy series Dead Ahead. She played "Keita" in the film adaptation of the beloved Patricia Grace novel Cousins, so when Patricia suggested Miriama read for THE KISS, Miriama jumped at the chance to bring Patricia's words to life.

Owen Marshall: Known as NZ’s pre-eminent short story stylist, Owen Marshall has written or edited over 35 books. His many awards include a Companion of the NZ Order of Merit (CNZM), the Prime Minister’s award for Literary Achievement, and the Katherine Mansfield Memorial Fellowship. Two other stories from The Authors Cut have recently been made into films – Coming Home In The Dark and The Rule Of Jenny Pen.

John Leigh: With numerous credits on NZ Screens, John Leigh is familiar to many for much-loved roles in Shortland Street, Outrageous Fortune, Mercy Peak, The Lord Of The Rings, Mahana, When We Go To War, 800 Words and most recently Pike River.

WRITERS WRITE : ACTORS READ is a monthly event hosted by Bridget van der Zijpp at The Nix, 6 Nixon Street, Grey Lynn. The stories are recorded in front of a live audience and will later be released as a podcast.

Thank you to Auckland Council and the Creative Communities Scheme and the Ockham Collective for helping make this event possible.