How Not to Start a Cult

Anke Richter
8 May

Kia ora friends & folks,

hard to believe that it’s already been six months since CULT TRIP came out with HarperCollins in Australia and New Zealand. It has now been released as as a paperback in the UK where they weren’t too shy to print “International Bestseller” on the cover (Aotearoa must be “international” from everywhere outside it…uhm, of course!). I’m cringing about the audacious marketing while I’m also stoked – because competing globally as a virtual nobody from lil’ old New Zealand is tough.

Spot the difference – and Cult Trip: at Waterstones (Trafalgar Square) and Hatchards (Soho)

I’ve jumped on a few more media opportunities to get the word out – from OnlySky (US) to Der Standard (Austria) to, shock horror, even the mighty Sun (UK).

You can get my key message here: “People in cults are not weird or weak. They either need help, because the damage is real, or they should be held accountable, because the abuse is horrific. Everyone’s susceptible. I’ve been there…”

In other good news, I’ll be speaking at the Byron Writers Festival in Australia and at WORD Christchurch later this year. In the meantime, if you’re in Wellington and not at the Auckland Writers Festival this month: Please come meet me at Book Haven, a wonderful bookstore in Newton, in two weeks. It’s a free event and will be great.

If you’re in Ōtautahi (Christchurch) the week after, I’d love to see you on 24 May at my workshop “How Not to Start A Cult” at the Exchange. Not as facetious as the title suggests, but important input for any kind of community: We’ll unpack the red flags around coercive dynamics in groups, based on the work of Wilrieke Sophia and Rupert Alison, and my own experiences in the new-age world as a self-confessed workshop junkie. In case you missed my talk at Kiwiburn, Convergence, Relish or Earth Beat earlier this year: This will be a more interactive format including group exercises, for facilitators as well as anyone interested in festivals, personal growth trainings, consent or spirituality. That might be you!

Tickets are koha but limited, please book them here:

https://events.humanitix.com/how-not-to-start-a-cult

Books I enjoyed:

For some pacy and clever reading, check out these two cult fiction titles: “Femlandia” and “Fierce Little Thing”. Both main characters end up in a radical utopian commune with a charismatic leader.

What could possibly go wrong…

And last but not least, join our new FB group, Culty Conversations – it’s growing every week and becoming the to-go-to place for more cult awareness in Aotearoa and beyond. If you missed my previous newsletter from the cultiverse, you can find it here on my website.

Enjoy the spring in the Northern hemisphere or keep warm if you’re down under!

Anke