This event has been cancelled.

In a recent article on Newsroom, writer Kirsty Gunn argued for “the need to write about white racists” after a story of hers – that deals with a white racist character – was criticised for being offensive. In the article she raises questions of difficulty, censorship and revolt, suggesting that “books, lovely or awful, whether we agree with them or like them or not, help us live larger, more interesting lives.”

University of Otago English and Linguistics Programme and Friends of the Library are proud to bring you a public conversation with acclaimed New Zealand writer, Kirsty Gunn. Kirsty is the author of more than ten books, including novels, short stories and essays, and is Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Dundee in Scotland. Kirsty will be in conversation with writer and Landfall editor, Lynley Edmeades, about ideas of censorship and ethics; about how, as readers and writers, we navigate the discomfort of uncomfortable subjects and irredeemable characters. Please join us for a lively and elucidating conversation with one of New Zealand's sharpest writers.