Perched on the hillside overlooking the Manukau Harbour and bathed in golden sunlight, Shadbolt House was the perfect setting for the first event in our Within These Walls conversation series.

Speaking to a full house, novelist Catherine Chidgey joined writer and poet Rosetta Allan to talk about her latest novel, The Book of Guilt, the strange paths stories can take as they develop, and the pleasures and challenges of the writing life. Guests were also treated to a special reading from Catherine’s as-yet unpublished novel.