He pānui, he angitu | News and Opportunities
Heritage Collections team shares this children's book from 1945 with a fascinating connection to Dunedin Public Libraries.
Three brown bears and the manpower man was written by Margaret (Peggy) Dunningham and Illustrated by Anne McCahon. Both ...
Posted: Monday Jan 19, 2026
Barbara Else - Much-loved author wins top award
Barbara Else is a New Zealand writer, editor, and playwright who has written for both children and adults. Late last yea...
Posted: Monday Jan 19, 2026
NEW PODCAST: Parishay's Book Club on Youth Zone!
A cozy stop in the book nook, where stories come alive. 10-year-old Parishay Khan shares a favourite read, and the chara...
Posted: Friday Jan 16, 2026
Wrestling with the right words...and winning
Nick Tipa had an excellent 2025! The Ōtepoti-based writer and performer debuted his one-man play, Babyface, at the 2025 ...
Posted: Wednesday Jan 14, 2026
Introducing 'Light on Dunedin Lines'
— a stunning new photography portfolio where Ōtepoti poetry comes to life through the lens of photographer Alex Bligh.
Posted: Wednesday Jan 14, 2026
Submit a Film - Submissions for NZIFF 2026 Now Open!
NZIFF accepts submissions of films only from Aotearoa New Zealand and the wider New Zealand Territory. DEADLINE: Friday ...
Posted: Tuesday Jan 13, 2026
Meet Sofia Drew, 2026 Elizabeth Brooke-Carr Emerging Writers Resident
Sofia is currently studying English literature and philosophy in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, and has had her writing published ...
Posted: Tuesday Jan 13, 2026
Apply for a 1 month residency in Ljubljana!
Ljubljana City of Literature are offering two 1 month residencies in in April and November 2026 to writers from UNESCO C...
Posted: Friday Dec 19, 2025
#17Booksfor17SDGs 2025 Campaign
Shining a light on SDGs and our Ōtepoti authors
Posted: Thursday Dec 18, 2025
Big news for Māori rock art!
Massive congratulations to our Curator Māori, Dr Gerard O’Regan, who has been awarded a prestigious Mana Tūānuku Researc...
Posted: Thursday Dec 18, 2025
Today on Write Spot
Wendy Parkins received the 2025 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best First Novel for her book The Defiance of Frances Dickinson. W...
Posted: Wednesday Dec 17, 2025
Te Tupu Hauroa Development Grants 2026
The Māori Literature Trust – Te Waka Taki Kōrero invites submissions from mid-career Māori writers. Submissions close at...
Posted: Wednesday Dec 17, 2025
Humanist poet produces his best efforts yet
Walking into the bright lights of a bookshop can be annoying. Books everywhere: novels, cookbooks, biographies.
Posted: Tuesday Dec 16, 2025
Takatāpui writer paving the way for community
Essa Ranapiri (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Pūkeko, Te Arawa) has become the first Māori PhD graduate from the University’s Engl...
Posted: Tuesday Dec 16, 2025
Lifetime of learning
At 88, Peter Duncan is proof it’s never too late to learn.
Posted: Tuesday Dec 16, 2025
Poetry Shelf cafe readings: Sue Wootton
Listen to Sue Wootton read a few of her poems on Paula Green's Poetry Shelf cafe reading series!
Posted: Friday Dec 12, 2025
The City Library Book Group will be returning on 12 February 2026
There won’t be a meeting in January to give you more time to relax and read!
Posted: Friday Dec 12, 2025
The MacLeods epic overland journey
In 1962, Dunedin farmer Alan MacLeod said to his wife Joan and six kids, 'how about going for a drive'?’
Posted: Friday Dec 12, 2025
Landfall Tauraka Review December
Eric Trump reviews: Everything but the Medicine: A doctor’s tale by Lucy O’Hagan (Massey University Press)
Posted: Friday Dec 12, 2025
A Conversation with Nicole Flattery - CISS Irish Writing Fellow 2025
Earlier this year, Dunedin Public Libraries and Ōtepoti UNESCO City of Literature had the joy of hosting young Irish aut...
Posted: Friday Dec 12, 2025
Call for applications for the 2026 writing residencies at Vil·la Joana, Barcelona
Submit your application before 16 January 2026 and live a unique experience in the heart of Collserola Park.
Posted: Thursday Dec 11, 2025
Poetry Shelf celebrates ...
Te Whāriki: Reading Ten New Poets from Aotearoa edited by Anna Jackson, Dougal McNeill and Robert Sullivan (Auckland Uni...
Posted: Thursday Dec 11, 2025
Inspiring Communities
Child-Rich stories of local leadership and action
Posted: Wednesday Dec 10, 2025
Book of the Week: Give the patient a comfortable chair
Dr Eileen Merriman savours a memoir by Dr Lucy O’Hagan
Posted: Wednesday Dec 10, 2025
Entries for the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults!
For books published between 1 April 2025 and 30 November 2025, submissions close at 5pm on Friday 12 December 2025. For ...
Posted: Wednesday Dec 10, 2025
Check out the Weekly Top 5 at University Bookshop
Trust other Booklovers: these are worth reading.
Posted: Wednesday Dec 10, 2025
The 2026 John O’Connor First Book Award
Submissions close at midnight on 16th January 2026.
Posted: Tuesday Dec 09, 2025
Applications are open for the NZSA Mentor Programme
Applications close 1 February 2026
Posted: Monday Dec 08, 2025
Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel Research grants (Post-doc and Short-term Fellowships)
Application deadline: January 31, 2026, start: January 1, 2027
Posted: Monday Dec 08, 2025
Check out the Weekly Top 5 at University Bookshop
... including 3 Otago University Press Books!
Posted: Friday Dec 05, 2025
Outstanding contributions recognised with Honorary Doctorates
Highly-respected Ōtākou kaumātua Edward Ellison and Emeritus Professor John Broughton will be awarded with Otago's highe...
Posted: Friday Dec 05, 2025
Poetry Shelf celebrates a Laureate evening
Poetry Shelf celebrates our Poetry Treasures
Posted: Friday Dec 05, 2025
University Book Shop Christmas Late Night
Thursday 4 Dec 9-8pm, and 25% off storewide all day!
Posted: Thursday Dec 04, 2025
Applications for Te Pou Theatre's Nohonga Creative Residencies 2026 are now open!
Applications close Sun 14 Dec 2025.
Posted: Thursday Dec 04, 2025
APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN
Applications are open from 1 December 2025 to 31 January 2026 for writers interested in residencies at the cottage for p...
Posted: Thursday Dec 04, 2025
Congratulations to Richard Joseph - recipient of the 2025 Dunedin Public Libraries' Citation
Dunedin Public Libraries are delighted to announce that the recipient of the 2025 Dunedin Public Libraries' Citation is ...
Posted: Thursday Dec 04, 2025
Today on Write Spot
Award-winning Dunedin author Barbara Else has received a Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement
Posted: Wednesday Dec 03, 2025
Being awarded fellowship has extra meaning for writer
Dunedin writer Laurence Fearnley was a student when she first experienced poetry as "a living, breathing form".
Posted: Wednesday Dec 03, 2025
Writing Competitions and Contests - Weekly Updates
13 opportunities | 3 closing this month | Total prizes over $25,000
Posted: Wednesday Dec 03, 2025
Where might Alice end up if she tumbled down, down, down through the earth?
The Antipodes, of course — Larnach Castle in New Zealand!
Posted: Wednesday Dec 03, 2025
Call for Nominations: 2026 Bucheon Diaspora Literary Award
Submissions close 23 December 2025
Posted: Wednesday Dec 03, 2025
Dive into the Dream Issue of Pasefika Presence
Posted: Wednesday Dec 03, 2025
Celebrating the inaugural Master of Creative Writing students
Posted: Wednesday Dec 03, 2025
Together
Posted: Tuesday Dec 02, 2025
Venerable comedy given sparkling outing by youth
The Importance of Being Earnest - Playhouse Theatre.
Posted: Monday Dec 01, 2025
Announcement of 2026 Scottish Writing Fellowship, in conjunction with Mātai Airana, Mātai Kotirana - the Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies (CISS)
Donald will be staying at Caselberg House in August 2026.
Posted: Monday Dec 01, 2025
Poetry Shelf celebrates Aotearoa’s new Poet Laureate: Robert Sullivan
Posted: Saturday Nov 29, 2025
The Reread with Hera Lindsay Bird
Tonight Hera Lindsay Bird joins us for the Reread.
Posted: Friday Nov 28, 2025
Need a small but meaningful Christmas gift for your mate, colleague, client or Great Aunty Gertrude?
We've got you covered!
Posted: Friday Nov 28, 2025
Call for Videopoetry — UNESCO Cities of Literature.
Deadline: January 10, 2026.
Posted: Friday Nov 28, 2025
Indigenous Voices in Children’s Literature
Register for this four-day programme 2 Feb - 5 Feb 2026, Te Kura Toi Tangata, School of Education, Waikato University (H...
Posted: Friday Nov 28, 2025
Beatrice Hale's new book, The Black Thistle (Kellas Cat Press) is available now!
The sequel to The Resolute Heart, by Beatrice Hale
Posted: Friday Nov 28, 2025
Writing Prizes Roundtable - call for registrations
Join coordinators from literary prizes across the UNESCO Cities of Literature for a dynamic virtual meeting hosted by Me...
Posted: Friday Nov 28, 2025
Sending aroha from Dunedin to Halyna Bolkun at Mystetska Biblioteka and Lviv City of Literature
These incredible art books, donated by our friends at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery are poised and ready for the shelve...
Posted: Thursday Nov 27, 2025