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.

Pitching Your Manuscript

6:30pm – 8pm, Thursday 23 July

Register now!

Searching for a publisher for your completed manuscript? This August NZSA is running Perfect Online Pitch – your opportunity to pitch your (polished) manuscript to a leading New Zealand publisher and, if successful, to submit your full manuscript.

In order to help you make the best pitch possible, join publishing expert Harriet Allan with Melanie Laville-Moore, Managing Director of Allen & Unwin NZ and Kate Stephenson, Senior Publisher at Hachette Aotearoa NZ, to up-skill before the pitching sessions.

By the end of the WebWorkshop you’ll understand what publishers are looking for, how marketing and sales influence the success of your manuscript, and how to put your best foot forward!

Paid participants will be invited to submit questions before the event.

The Perfect Online Pitch programme is only for NZSA members. However, anyone is welcome to attend this WebWorkshop. Sign up here

Fee: NZSA Members – $25. (Non-members – $50)

Please note that bookings for this event will close 5pm, 15 July.

Please note that all 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.

Recent Webworkshops

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!”