Auckland Writers Festival Waituhi o Tāmaki 2026 (AWF26) has broken all ticket records, making it the biggest event ever in the Festival’s 27 year history. Booklovers streamed through the Aotea Centre and surrounding venues between 12 – 17 May.

Ticket sales were over 15% up on 2025 with two more events still to come next week.

A record-breaking 13,000 books were sold at the Festival bookstalls run by The Woman’s Bookshop, with the top selling title the newly released London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe, while up and coming UK writer Josh Silver was the Festival’s highest selling author overall. All Her Lives, by Ingrid Horrocks, freshly crowned winner of the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction, was the biggest-selling New Zealand title, closely followed by Jacinda Ardern and Witi Ihimaera Smiler.

Tāmaki Makaurau turned on the weather with blue skies and late autumn air perfectly showcasing the city’s beauty, enchanting the more than 40 international authors who travelled from all corners of the globe to join a rollcall of Aotearoa’s brightest.

“This one is special,” said Canadian writer David Moscrop, summing up the sentiment of the international contingent. “The crowds have been extraordinary. I’ve never seen such crowds. I’ve never seen such energy. I’ve never heard such fantastic questions. Everything has been packed… It’s been one of the best travel and festival experiences I’ve ever had.”

His words were echoed by the BBC’s Chief International Correspondent, Lyse Doucet, who declared the AWF26 as “a great boost to New Zealand’s image in the world”.

Festival Directors Lyndsey Fineran and Catriona Ferguson said; “What a Festival! We’re incredibly proud of AWF26 – packed venues, phenomenal book sales and seeing the festival atmosphere ripple through the streets, was genuinely special. We’ve heard that our loyal and core audience were delighted, but we were also thrilled to see the Festival’s doors cracked wider and see new audiences flow through.”

Attendees formed a bookish bubble and feedback overwhelmingly pointed to the manaakitanga of the event, with guests describing it as warm, welcoming and inclusive. But the Festival didn’t shy away from the big topics, with popular events covering everything from AI to climate change. Audiences responded to sessions that addressed the world’s problems and were given reasons for optimism from the best minds in the world, including Karen Hao, Patrick Radden Keefe, Jacinda Ardern, Tareq Baconi, Lyse Doucet, Witi Ihimaera Smiler and Lucy Hone.

New audiences discovered the magic of a writers festival. A fresh programming arm, Plot Twist at Q Theatre, drew in a youth audience who were entertained by DJs, crafting and meet-ups while connecting over much-loved authors and discovering new ones. Author RF Kuang generated record signing queues made up of young readers after her Aotea Centre sessions.

The smallest bookworms were enthralled by megastar creator Dav Pilkey, who patiently posed for photos with the queue of hundreds of young fans that snaked out of the Aotea Centre’s doors. While over 6,000 school children were enthused and inspired to read through the Schools Programme Hōtaka Kura, with attendees buying a staggering 40% more books than the previous year.

Fiction’s biggest names attracted long signing lines too. The jampacked sessions for literary superstars such as Roddy Doyle, Witi Ihimaera Smiler, David Szalay, Catherine Chidgey, Louise Erdrich, Mick Herron, Lily King, Yann Martel and Tayari Jones proved New Zealanders are voracious readers.

The Festival-feeling continues with two special events still to come. Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales will speak about disinformation in our post-truth era on Monday 25 May and consummate New Yorker Fran Lebowitz will bring her razor-sharp commentary and unapologetic observations to Auckland on Thursday 28 May.

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ENDS

About Auckland Writers Festival Waituhi o Tāmaki

Auckland Writers Festival Waituhi o Tāmaki is an annual celebration of books and ideas and the leading showcase for national and international writers, thinkers and creatives to discuss their work to an Aotearoa New Zealand audience. As one of the Southern Hemisphere’s best-attended book festivals, the event attracts 85,000 attendances of all ages who flock to the Aotea Centre in central Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland over six days in May. The 2026 Festival takes place between 12 – 17 May, with the ever-popular STREETSIDE: BRITOMART serving as a pre-Festival teaser on Friday 8 May. The Festival team also runs a number of high profile out-of-season events throughout the year.

Joining Lyndsey Fineran on the programming team are Grace Sinclair, Programme Manager, Gabrielle Vincent, Family and Schools Programmer, Guest Curators Shilo Kino (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Te Ata) and Zech Soakai (Poutasi, Upolu, Samoa / Pangai, Ha’apai, Tonga), STREETSIDE: BRITOMART curators The D*List, Emma Gleason and Matariki Bennett (Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Hinerangi) and Programmers at Large, Matariki and Michael Benntt (Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Whakaue).

Auckland Writers Festival Waituhi o Tāmaki would like to acknowledge the support of our Festival Patrons and the following key sponsors and funders: Principal Partner ARA Group; Platinum Partner: Freemasons Foundation; Gold Partners; Creative New Zealand, Ockham Residential, Auckland Council Events and Auckland Live.