• WORD Christchurch Festival 2024 Programme Announcement Aug 27 – Sept 1

    A dazzling array of words and performance takeover Ōtautahi Christchurch in August  More than 100 writers, thinkers and performers from New Zealand and around the world will take to the streets, schools and theatres of Ōtautahi Christchurch offering a feast of fresh ideas, music, powerful stories and creative escapes during WORD Christchurch Festival which runs […]

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  • Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2024 Winners

    ‘Disturbing, smart, and funny as hell’ novel wins country’s richest writing prize. Internationally acclaimed New Zealand writer Emily Perkins MNZM has won the $65,000 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the 2024 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards for Lioness – a smart, multi-layered, laugh-out-loud novel exploring wealth, class and female mid-life reckoning.   Ms […]

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  • PUKAPUKA ADVENTURES Free Family Fun Ak May 18-19

      Come and enjoy a free family weekend at the Auckland Writers Festival. From 18 – 19 of May, Pukapuka Adventures will take over the top floor of the Aotea Centre. Expect book readings, dancing, singing, drawing, zine-making, crafting activities and more. The interactive line-up has been inspired by all the wonderful words and illustrations from newly […]

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  • Prominent writers pull out of PEN AMERICA literary festival, citing Gaza

      March 15, WASHINGTON POST: A group of writers including Lorrie Moore and Michelle Alexander announced Thursday that they are pulling out of this year’s PEN AMERICA World Voices Festival, citing the organizer’s inaction over the war in Gaza. In a letter published on Lit Hub, the writers criticized literary nonprofit PEN America for failing […]

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  • Auckland Writers Festival announces unbeatable lineup for this year’s Festival – world’s top writers light up New Zealand this May

    The Auckland Writers Festival today unveils the full Festival programme with more than 40 international authors and 200 events live in Auckland this autumn   Full Festival programme is available here. The 2024 Auckland Writers Festival Waituhi O Tāmaki reveals one of the starriest lineups in years, inviting New Zealanders to spend a week with […]

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  • Literary heavyweights vie for top fiction prize in Ockham NZ Book Awards

    WEDNESDAY 6 MARCH 2024  Booker Prize-winning author Eleanor Catton faces off against critically acclaimed former national award winners Emily Perkins, Pip Adam and Stephen Daisley for the $65,000 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction, as finalists in the 2024 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards announced today. The four novelists are joined by a further 12 […]

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  • Catriona Ferguson appointed as Managing Director of AWF

    The Auckland Writers Festival has announced the appointment of our new Managing Director, Catriona Ferguson. Catriona is an integral part of Aotearoa’s literary community, bringing over 20 years of experience and knowledge to the Festival. Formerly the Director of the Publishers Association of New Zealand Te Rau o Tākupu and Chief Executive Officer of Read NZ Te […]

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  • The Diaspora Grows Louder – Books by Aotearoa’s South Asian Writers

    Published on KETE Books and RNZ Saraid de Silva curates a selection of recent books by Aotearoa’s South Asian writers. Find more information about the books in this selection here. I’m lucky that so many of my literary heroes are South Asian. As a teenager, reading the work of writers like Kiran Desai, Jhumpa Lahiri, […]

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  • NZSA President of Honour Witi Ihimaera will deliver the 2023 NZSA Janet Frame Memorial Lecture

    You are invited to hear NZSA President of Honour Witi Ihimaera    deliver the 2023 NZSA Janet Frame Memorial Lecture     The NZSA Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (PEN NZ) appoints a President of Honour each year from the ranks of its revered and senior members. This year, NZSA President of Honour, Witi Ihimaera DCNZM, QSM, will deliver the […]

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  • the inaugural AT THE BAY | I TE KOKORU Katherine Mansfield creative writing competition

    Introducing…  AT THE BAY | I TE KOKORU Katherine Mansfield creative writing competition Bring your Sparkling Prose We’re pleased to announce a new competition for a mix of storytelling genres: submit your micros, flash, hybrid work (including poetry and prose combined) or short stories. Win $500 plus publication of your story at AT THE BAY […]

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  • The Coalition for Books annual Winter Hui series – register now

    The Coalition for Books is hosting four Zoom hui to bring our members and the broader book sector together to discuss current challenges and to promote dialogue about sector needs. The hui are each an hour-long between 27 July – 8 August. More Hui #1 – Thursday July 27th @10.00 am Writers Festivals Post Covid […]

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  • AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES NEW ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

    02 June 2023 Auckland Writers Festival |Waituhi O Tāmaki is thrilled to announce one of the UK’s leading literary industry talents as its new Artistic Director – ushering in a bold and exciting new era for New Zealand’s largest and most anticipated annual festival of books and ideas. Lyndsey Fineran, Deputy Head of Programming, international programme and […]

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