Christian Karlson Stead was deeply involved in the New Zealand Society of Authors for many years. So why did he stand up one day, read out a statement and leave for good?

In the final episode for 2018 of our NZSA Oral History Podcast Series, Christian Karlson (C.K.) Stead and Michael King talk, challenge each other, disagree and navigate a path through the story of C.K. Stead’s passionate involvement with, and bitter divorce from, PEN NZ. Watch the video through the link above for a preview of the episode!  C.K. Stead has been one of New Zealand’s greatest literary figures for many years as a novelist, literary critic, poet, essayist, lecturer and then emeritus professor of English at the University of Auckland. He was the New Zealand Poet Laureate from 2015–2017, has won the Prime Minister’s Award for Fiction, and is a Member of the Order of New Zealand, the highest honour possible in New Zealand.

You can listen to the NZSA Oral History Podcast Series, hosted by Karyn Hay, on our website, Soundcloud, Stitcher, iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.  We are going to take a short break over the Christmas and summer season and will be back in the new year. To make sure you don’t miss an episode remember to subscribe to the podcast on Soundcloud or wherever you listen. From all of us at the New Zealand Society of Authors have a safe and merry Christmas.