Most events are free and others are low cost. Several require registration via our website.
Sign up for our six workshops!
Do you have an idea for a feature article? Come and work with experienced journalist Venetia Sherson.
Want to try your hand at fiction? Register to work with Ockham award-winner Damien Wilkins.
Keen to do some bookbinding and make your own journal? Librarian Natalie Coats can help.
Seeking ideas on writing historical fiction? Monty Soutar has tips for you.
After techniques to write complex characters for crime, thriller and mystery fiction? Charity Norman will deliver.
Wanting to dive into the fundamentals of storytelling on screen? Acclaimed screenwriter Michael Bennett has the goods.
Public Faces, Private Stories: Panel
Launch event Fri 1st August, 6.30-8.00pm
Event Room 1
Wintec’s City Campus
Newswomen Alison Mau, Susie Ferguson and Diana Wichtel in conversation with Venetia Sherson
Free event, no registration required.
How to Pitch and Write Long-Form Stories for Publication: Feature Writing Workshop
Sat 2nd August, 9.30-12.30pm
Trust Waikato
4 Little London Lane
Venetia Sherson guides you through the process of feature writing including structure, tone, subject matter, sources and audience analysis. She will also share where and how to pitch your work.
$30, registration required
The House Within: Film
Tues 5th August, 6.30-8.00pm
The Lido
Centre Place, 501 Victoria St
Enjoy the Hamilton premiere of documentary The House Within on internationally renowned NZ writer Dame Fiona Kidman, followed by a Q&A with film producer Joshua Prendeville and Andrea Haines, Hamilton Film Society President.
$21/$17/$15 book at The Lido
Guilt, Freedom & Delirium: Panel
Fri 8th August, 6.30-8.00pm
The Atrium
Wintec’s City Campus
Panellists Catherine Chidgey & Carl Shuker join chair Damien Wilkins in conversation about their best-selling, prize-winning novels The Book of Guilt, The Royal Free & Delirium.
Free event, no registration required
Writing Grief: Workshop
Sat 9th August, 9.30-12.30pm
Trust Waikato
4 Little London Lane
How can fiction approach grief? In this workshop Damien Wilkins will explore with us various ways fiction can dramatise moments of personal loss and how to give grief emotional force on the page.
$30, registration required.
Bringing the Past to Life: Panel
Fri 15th August, 6.00-8.00pm
Waikato Museum
1 Grantham St
Monty Soutar, Deborah Challinor and Tina Shaw discuss the power of historical fiction and how they make their stories come alive. Join us at 6pm for refreshments before the panel in the museum foyer.
Free event, no registration required
Historical Fiction: Workshop
Sat 16th August, 9.30-12.30pm
Trust Waikato
Little London Lane
Monty Soutar offers tips from his own experience writing the Kāwai series to encourage both beginning and practising fiction writers to get their manuscript started or finished. He talks about the obstacles you might face on your journey and how to overcome them.
$30, registration required
The Time Traveller’s Guide to Hamilton Gardens: Talk
Thurs 21st August, 6.30-8.00pm
Chartwell Room
Hamilton Gardens Pavilion
Through captivating storytelling and stunning photography, The Time Traveller’s Guide to Hamilton Gardens book shares all the hidden secrets & fascinating histories behind each garden. Hear Peter Sergel talk about the vision behind each one.
$10 cash, no registration required
