John McCrystal
Maps and charts have held a lifelong fascination for John McCrystal, author of Singing the Trail, The Story of Mapping Aotearoa New Zealand. John, who lives in Wellington with his partner and two children, is a freelance author who has written, co-written or ghost-written more than 50 non-fiction titles on a diverse range of subjects.
He lives in Wellington with his partner and two children.
Festival sessions
Singing the Trail
- in conversation with Mike White
John tells the story of New Zealand through maps and the explorers who made them.
From early Māori and European voyagers, to settlers, surveyors and soldiers, John’s book, Singing the Trail, unearths little-known and fascinating histories of this country contained in beautiful and extraordinary maps.
Shipwreck Tales
- in conversation with Mike White
John gives us a sneak preview of his upcoming book, Worse Things Happen at Sea: Tales of nautical mishap, misery and mystery from New Zealand and around the world.
Covering the tragic, the heroic, and the inexplicable, John will also discuss one of our greatest maritime mysteries, the sinking of the Mikhail Lermontov in the Marlborough Sounds.