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 usually 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.
Substack for Authors
- Brought to you by Substack in association with NZSA
- A FREE virtual masterclass
- Featuring a Q&A with Anna Fifield (“Between Two Giants” Substack)
- Thursday 20th August, 6pm-7.30pm NZDT
- All welcome
Join us for a FREE virtual masterclass exploring how authors around the world are using Substack to do something the traditional publishing path has rarely prioritised: connect directly with readers. Whether it’s sharing work-in-progress, building a community and email list that belongs to them, reaching new audiences, teaching their craft, creating additional revenue streams, showcasing their voice to publishers and agents, or running Substack LIVE book tours — authors are finding Substack an unexpectedly powerful tool for both the creative and commercial sides of a writing life.
This session covers two things:
1) inspiration and discovery: demonstrating how authors globally are building distinctive publications and genuine reader relationships
2) practical activation: giving participants the knowledge, examples, and platform guidance they need to begin developing a Substack publication of their own.
Facilitated by Annabelle Russell (Head of Partnerships, Substack AUNZ) and featuring a Q&A with Anna Fifield (“Between Two Giants” Substack).
How to Write Funny with Catherine Robertson
Thursday 24 September, 5:30 – 7:30pm
Register here
Humour can be deeply subjective but no matter what makes you laugh, you can learn to inject more of it into your writing and make your readers laugh, too. Catherine Robertson’s first novel was only acquired after she managed to make it (her publisher’s words) “much, much funnier”. She has now published twelve humorous fiction novels and novellas, and will share her tips for writing your own brand of funny.
Catherine Robertson is a best-selling novelist who writes humorous contemporary fiction and dabbles in cozy fantasy. In 2020, she was the CNZ/International Institute of Modern Letters Writer in Residence. Catherine reviews for Jesse Mulligan’s Book Critic slot on RNZ and is Chair of the Hawke’s Bay Readers & Writers Trust, and on the board of Verb Wellington.
Fee: NZSA Members – $35. (Non-members – $75) – register now!
(bookings close at 1pm, two business days prior to the workshop or when workshop reaches capacity)
Imposter Syndrome, Kiwi Cringe, and Other Anxieties with Lee Murray
Thursday 15 October 2026, 6 – 8pm
Register here
Award-winning author Lee Murray presents a round-table discussion on dealing with the low points in a writing career, including isolation, rejection, comparititus, and tall poppy syndrome. This WebWorkshop includes strategies for leveraging creativity for resilience, connection, and understanding and is for anyone who struggles with the ups and downs of writing life!
Lee Murray ONZM is a writer, editor, poet and screenwriter from Aotearoa New Zealand, a Shirley Jackson Award and five-time Bram Stoker Award® winner. A USA Today bestselling author with more than forty titles to her credit, Lee holds a New Zealand Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement in Fiction and is an Honorary Literary Fellow of the New Zealand Society of Authors. Among her works are feature film Grafted (Propaganda-Fluroblack) directed by Sasha Rainbow, horror anthology This Way Lies Madness (Flame Tree Press) co-edited with Dave Jeffery, and Oversight: Erasure Poetry (RIZE) a collaboration with Carina Bissett. www.leemurray.info
Fee: NZSA Members – $35. (Non-members – $75) – Register now!
(bookings close at 1pm, two business days prior to the workshop or when workshop reaches capacity)
- Bookings usually 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.
Recent Webworkshops
Pitching to Publishers – with publishing expert Harriet Allan with Melanie Laville-Moore, Managing Director of Allen & Unwin NZ and Kate Stephenson, Senior Publisher at Hachette Aotearoa NZ
Cat Sirota – helping writers of romance fiction find their readers
Joshua T. Calvert – helping writers of SpecFic (i.e. fantasy, science fiction, dystopian and horror) find their readers
Sherryl Clark – helping writers of fiction for children and young adults find their readers
Cat Connor – helping writers of crime fiction find their readers
Kirsten McKenzie – Self-Publishing 101: Your Complete New Zealand Guide
Shelley Burne-Field – Getting to the Heart of Your Short Story
Chris Munnery – Self-Publishing with IngramSpark
Kirsten McKenzie – Seen, Not Salesy. Growing Your Author Presence Online.
Romance Writing and promotion with Author Enni Amanda – Next Page youth network
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 Tāwhia Copyright Aotearoa for the support of our professional development programmes:
