Formerly the Director of the Publishers Association of New Zealand Te Rau o Tākupu and Chief Executive Officer of Read NZ Te Pou Muramura, she has also worked with Creative New Zealand. Catriona is a staunch advocate for the literary community, and we are delighted to welcome her to our team.

Catriona expresses her enthusiasm, stating, “I’m absolutely thrilled to be joining the Auckland Writers Festival whānau. Waituhi o Tāmaki is a living taonga, with a rich history of celebrating fabulous writers and great books from Aotearoa and beyond, as well as shining a light on the biggest and most urgent issues of the day. 

I can’t wait to take on this newly devised co-leadership role alongside the brilliant Lyndsey Fineran, and work with the wider AWF team to bring insightful, entertaining and thought-provoking events to Tāmaki Makaurau. And although I’ll miss my friends and colleagues from the Publishers Association, happily I will continue to see plenty of them. Roll on May 2024! “

Festival Chair, Leigh Meville, shares her excitement about Catriona’s appointment; “I am delighted with the appointment of Catriona Ferguson as Managing Director of the Auckland Writers Festival.  Catriona will work alongside Artistic Director Lyndsey Fineran to deliver our annual Festival.

Catriona will be known to many of you as she has previously appeared several times on the Festival stage as a Chair, and she has been an integral part of the New Zealand book world for over 20 years. 

Until recently, Catriona was Director of the Publishers Association Te Rau o Tākupu and has previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Read New Zealand, and as Literature Officer at Creative NZ.  She is the former Chair of the Michael King Writers Centre Trust and is a current board member of the Coalition for Books.  Catriona is a passionate advocate for the way that books can change lives for the better. I am very confident that Catriona will continue to build on the strong foundations of our Festival and I welcome her warmly to the team.”