• A NEW CHAPTER: AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI IS A RECORD BREAKER

    Posted on 18 May 2026

      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 […]

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  • ‘Outrageously good’ debut takes top fiction honours at 2026 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards

    Posted on 14 May 2026

    Poet, memoirist and scholar Ingrid Horrocks has won the $65,000 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize at the 2026 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards for her fiction debut, All Her Lives, a story collection that follows nine different women across nine different life stages as they resist, nurture and transform. It is the first time in five […]

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  • Wellington Writers Walk – new sculpture in te reo Māori coming to Wellington waterfront

    Posted on 12 May 2026

      Wellington Writers Walk is excited to announce that a new sculpture with text in te reo Māori is to be installed on Wellington waterfront. The plan is to have the sculpture installed in time for Matariki 2026, and Wellington Writers Walk is running a Boosted Campaign to cover the final installation costs for this […]

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  • Storylines Award Winners 2026

    Posted on 31 March 2026

    Tim Tipene, recipient of the 2026 Margaret Mahy Award for services to children’s literature delivered the annual lecture which can be read HERE Congratulations to all winners announced last Sunday: Storylines Gaelyn Gordon Award for Best Loved Book: Flight of the Fantail – Steph Maketu Storylines Tessa Duder Award: Ten Thousand Pitches – Amy Martin Storylines Joy Cowley Award: Māhuri […]

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  • THE BIGGEST NAMES IN BOOKS ARE COMING TO AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI IN MAY 2026

    Posted on 11 March 2026

     A star-studded line-up bursting with well-known literary powerhouses, global thinkers and fresh new voices will take to the stage for the 27th Auckland Writers Festival Waituhi o Tāmaki from 12 – 17 May. Announced today, the programme features more than 220 artists from across the country and the world in over 170 events, creating a […]

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  • Iran: PEN International calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities that undermine international peace and security law

    Posted on 6 March 2026

    Iran 2026 Statement 6 March Written By PEN International    ‘We are witnessing grave challenges to world peace and security, with political leaders utterly failing to uphold international law and actively dismantling the rules-based order. The international community has a crucial responsibility to uphold international law and support UN institutions in resolving disputes between states through diplomacy, not […]

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  • Aotearoa NZ Children’s Book Week

    Posted on 6 March 2026

    Read NZ Announces Dates! Saturday 15th August – Friday 21st August Children’s authors and illustrators: More info and please register your interest and regional availability to be involved in bookshops or libraries This year, Read NZ Te Pou Muramura are leading the first ever Aotearoa NZ Children’s Book Week Sat 15 of August – Friday the 21st of August […]

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  • Storylines announces 2026 award finalists

    Posted on 5 March 2026

    Congratulations to the shortlisted entrants: Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon Award for a children’s novel manuscript. Timothy Bowden Heather McQuillan Philippa Werry Kelly Buchanan-Johns Tessa Duder Award shortlist: Megan Welch Sarah Pratt Amy Martin Joy Cowley Award finalists: Kati Vincent Sarah Harrison Barbara Uini Annabel Wilson & Regan Kupu Stokes Storylines Margaret Mahy National Awards Day Winners will be […]

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  • Panel talk — Disruption, trends and transformation: Libraries and archives leading change

    Posted on 3 March 2026

    Wednesday 25 March 2026, 5:30pm to 7:15pm Taiwhanga Kauhau — Auditorium, (lower ground) National Library Wellington. Entrance on Aitken Street. Free  Add to my calendar Hear from six international leaders about how best practice in the library and archive sectors is constantly shapeshifting, and how transformative programming and community engagement is changing the face of […]

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  • VERB WELLINGTON WELCOMES CO-DIRECTORS GABRIELLE VINCENT & KATE MCDONALD

    Posted on 17 February 2026

      Verb Wellington, the capital’s dedicated organisation for literary festivals, events and residencies, is thrilled to announce the appointment of Gabrielle Vincent and Kate McDonald to the roles of co-directors. Vincent and McDonald will steer Verb Readers & Writers Festival which will take place between 11–13 September 2026; and will deliver LitCrawl Wellington on November […]

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  • The 2026 NFFD competition is open!

    Posted on 15 February 2026

    Send your best 300 words! Submissions open through 30 April  The 2026 judges for the national competition are the award-winning writers Ingrid Horrocks and Louise Wallace. The 2026 youth judge is Josiah Morgan.  How to enter can be found on the NFFD Competition page. MICRO MADNESS A free competition open to international writers. For stories up to 100 words. The 2026 […]

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  • Tadra Vata + NZ Fringe Festival 2026

    Posted on 12 February 2026

    Tēnā koe, Ni sa bula vinaka, Halo olaketa and warm Pacific greetings, We are writing to invite you to Tadra Vata, a literary series of ideas produced by Studio Kiin as part of NZ Fringe. This program is supported by NZ Fringe and Creative NZ. Tadra Vata is a space for the dreaming that happens in the […]

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