NZSA Webworkshops – a series of webinars to enable ongoing professional development

Featuring writers and industry professionals offering virtual workshops on topics such as self-publishing, romance writing, poetry, structure, short stories, pitching, contract advice, dystopian writing and the business of writing.

All Webworkshops are hosted on Zoom. Zoom is free to download 

Learn more about what to expect in a Webworkshop in this article from the NZ Author magazine – Spring 2020

Webworkshops – 2026 season

Info on how our Webworkshops run

  • Our Webworkshops are held on Zoom.
  • Bookings close 1pm, two business days prior to the workshop or when workshop reaches capacity.
  • If you are unable to make the live event we have you covered, as all registered participants will be emailed a recording of the Webworkshop (sent to you a few days after the event) to view for one month after it is aired live.

Shelley Burne-Field – Getting to the Heart of Your Short Story

Wednesday, 11 March | 5:30pm – 7:30pm     

Have you asked yourself what is at the heart of your short story? The real beating center. After all – you’ve got a story idea, perhaps you’ve even got a structure figured out, and all of a sudden a bunch of words just exploded on a page or a screen, right? But can you feel it? Does your story have life? Let’s find out.

Shelley is an acclaimed short story writer who lives in Hawke’s Bay. Her short stories ‘Pinching out Dahlias’ and ‘Another dumb school’ are #1 and #2 as the most read short stories online in Newsroom. Her short story ‘Speaking in tongues’ was the sole NZ finalist in prestigious Commonwealth Short Story Prize. In 2025, she was invited to the International Conference of the Short Story held in Killarney Ireland. Shelley’s short stories are published in journals and anthologies around the world. She also writes children’s novels and publishes through Allen & Unwin New Zealand.

NZSA members $35 | Non-members $75
Register HERE

  • Please note that the Webworkshop is held on Zoom.
  • Bookings close 1pm, two business days prior to the workshop or when workshop reaches capacity.
  • If you are unable to make the live event we have you covered, as all registered participants will be emailed a recording of the Webworkshop (sent to you a few days after the event) to view for one month after it is aired live.

Kirsten McKenzie – Self-Publishing 101: Your Complete New Zealand Guide

Wednesday, 25 March | 5pm – 7pm     

Thinking about self-publishing but not sure where to start? Join New Zealand author Kirsten McKenzie for a comprehensive overview of the self-publishing journey specifically tailored for Kiwi authors.

This webinar will cover the essential foundations of self-publishing, including: what to expect at each stage of the process, how to format your manuscript for publication, understanding ISBNs and copyright in New Zealand, choosing between print-on-demand and other printing options, navigating distribution channels (both local and international), international pricing strategies, and realistic costs and timelines from finished manuscript to published book.

Whether you’re considering self-publishing your first book or looking to understand the landscape before making a decision, this session will give you the practical knowledge you need to move forward with confidence. Perfect for authors who want the big-picture view before diving into platform-specific tutorials.

Kirsten McKenzie fought international crime for fourteen years as a Customs Officer in both England and New Zealand, before leaving to work in the family antique store. Now a full time author, she lives in New Zealand with her family and alternates between writing time travel trilogies and polishing her next thriller. Her spare time is spent organising author events and appearing on literary panels at various festivals around the world. You can find her on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok.

You can also sign up for her sporadic newsletter at: https://www.kirstenmckenzie.com/newsletter/

NZSA members $35 | Non-members $75
Register HERE

  • Please note that the Webworkshop is held on Zoom.
  • Bookings close 1pm, two business days prior to the workshop or when workshop reaches capacity.
  • If you are unable to make the live event we have you covered, as all registered participants will be emailed a recording of the Webworkshop (sent to you a few days after the event) to view for one month after it is aired live.

Cristina Sanders – Representing Real Characters in History

Tuesday, 14 April | 5:30pm – 7:30pm     

In this workshop we’ll discuss some of the ethical issues around the representation of real characters in fiction, covering ideas like: personal perspective, care of descendants, and how history gets made in the first place. We’ll look at historical lacuna and ways to fill in the gaps, stray into the realms of historical truth, accuracy and personal fudge levels. Finally, we’ll examine various ways writers use fly-on-the-wall, or invented supporting characters to bring a specific lens to an historic character.

Aimed at lovers of historical fiction – both writers and readers.

Cristina Sanders is an historical fiction writer from Wellington, now living in Hawke’s Bay. Her book trade career has included bookselling, publishing and marketing. She has a Graduate Diploma in Creative Writing and writes a popular book review blog, mainly promoting NZ writers. Her novels have all been bestsellers and: Jerningham (2020) was shortlisted for the NZ Heritage Literary Awards; Displaced (2021) won the Storylines Tessa Duder Award, was shortlisted for the NZ Heritage Literary Awards and was a finalist in NZCYA; Mrs Jewell and the Wreck of the General Grant (2022) was shortlisted for the Booklovers Award and was a finalist in the Ockhams for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction. Ōkiwi Brown (2024) was longlisted for the Ngaio Marsh Awards. She is currently working on an historical fiction about Governor George Grey, and in 2025 was awarded the NZSA Shaw Writer’s Award.

NZSA members $35 | Non-members $75
Register HERE

  • Please note that the Webworkshop is held on Zoom.
  • Bookings close 1pm, two business days prior to the workshop or when workshop reaches capacity.
  • If you are unable to make the live event we have you covered, as all registered participants will be emailed a recording of the Webworkshop (sent to you a few days after the event) to view for one month after it is aired live.

Previous Webworkshops

Chris Munnery – Self-Publishing with IngramSpark
Kirsten McKenzie – Seen, Not Salesy. Growing Your Author Presence Online.
Romance Writing and promotion with Author Enni Amanda
Charity Norman – Who Do You Think You Are? An introduction to characterisation.
Scott Bainbridge – Murder by death; an introduction to writing true crime.
Cassie Hart – Stand in the place where you are; an introduction to world-building.
Tracy Farr – Tell it Slant: Truth and lies, and using fact in fiction.
Madison Hamill – Reconstructing Vividness: Working with lost memories in personal non-fiction.
Melissa Addey – How to Make and Use Book Trailers.
Elizabeth Heritage – Book campaign planning: media releases, pitching to journalists and more.
Siobhan Harvey – Applying for residencies, competitions and programmes – for Next Page Youth Network

“Can I just say that I am so enjoying these online classes – so much better than having to go out in the cold, wrestle for a park etc. Please keep providing these! I live part of the time on a farm and it is just so wonderful to be able to participate in these sorts of things when I am not in the city. Makes all the difference!”

 

We are grateful to Copyright Licensing NZ for the support of our professional development programmes: