Ngā Hui Taurima

Auckland Writers Festival is New Zealand’s premier literary event, and ‘brings the very best local and international writers of contemporary fiction and non-fiction, scientists, economists, poets, journalists and public intellectuals together with audiences to explore ideas, share stories and experience brilliant conversations.’ Based at the Aotea Centre in Tāmaki Makarau, the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards ceremony is part of the festival.

Dunedin Writers & Readers Festival is a biennial event, and was last held in October 2023.

An annual festival held over a weekend, the Featherston Booktown Festival programme has a diverse range of events, including workshops, panel discussions, and readings. The 2024 festival featured 39 literary events.

Based in Titirangi and other locations in West Auckland, Going West was held each spring.

This new festival for Maori writers launched in 2022 and is held in Rotorua, with school and marae events through the week.

This writers festival has been running each winter since 2014. Its venues are the ASB Theatre Marlborough in Blenheim and Spy Valley Wines in the Waihopai Valley.

Nelson Arts Festival has a literary programme that features workshops, panel discussions, and readings.

Queenstown Writers Festival is ‘a boutique festival that brings writers and readers together to celebrate the written word in many forms.’

Tauranga Arts Festival held two literary workshops in October 2021: Writing Romance 101, and Turning Memories into Memoir.

This biennial festival is ‘a readers and writers festival with a lifestyle theme.’

‘We bring writers and readers together with a vibrant series of events that celebrate our stories, ideas and books.’

WORD Christchurch is ‘a world-class festival of writing and ideas… a typical programme comprises 75 events spread across five days, with 150 authors as our guests.’