Young writers to convene for festival

By The Star | Posted: Thursday Sep 04, 2025

“Mā te huruhuru ka rere te manu” — with feathers, the bird can fly.

This whakataukī (Māori proverb) captures the spirit of the New Zealand Young Writers Festival 2025, which comes to Dunedin’s Te Whare o Rukutia venue next Saturday and Sunday, September 13-14.

Now in its 11th year, it is the only national literary festival in Aotearoa dedicated entirely to writers aged 15-35.

Organisers said, in a statement, the festival would feature events on slam poetry, personal narrative, whakapapa-based writing, zine-making, publishing insights, and podcasts. All events are free/pay what you can to attend.

For the first time the festival will include a three-day wānaka at Puketeraki Marae in Karitāne, in the lead-up to the public programme.

Initiated through a partnership with mana whenua and Kaupapa Māori liaisons Antony Deaker and Jessica Sutherland-Latton, this wānaka brings together selected young writers for peer mentorship, creative inspiration, and skill-building, grounded in tikanga Māori.

Tuakana/mentor writers include Josiah Morgan (Kāi Tahu, Ngāti Maniapoto), Ruby Macomber (Ngāpuhi, Rotuma), and Rauhina Scott-Fyfe (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Ngāi Pākehā), supported by Deaker and Sutherland-Latton (Kāi Tahu).

The public programme will open on Saturday, September 13, with a fast-paced slam poetry workshop led by Amy Grace Laura, followed by "Tūpuna Talk", a reflective session on whakapapa and identity with Ruby Macomber.

Audiences can then experience new work from festival wānaka participants in "Feathers in Flight", a showcase of emerging voices hosted by Josiah Morgan.

The day concludes with the Otago poetry slam championships, where poets take the stage in a community-driven competition supported by Motif Poetry.

The programme on Sunday, September 14, begins with "Rock, Paper, Scissors/Mauka, Awa,Tai" a workshop focused on grounding creative writing in place and tikanga, facilitated by siblings Rauhina and Tōrea Scott-Fyfe (Kāi Tahu).

The weekend wraps up with "Publishing in Aotearoa Today", a panel conversation offering practical insights into the publishing world. The session features Kitty Brown (Waitaha, Kāti Māmoe, Kāi Tahu, Ngāti Kahungunu), Josiah Morgan, and Louise Wallace in conversation with Lynley Edmeades.

This year’s young writer in residence is Nick Tipa (Kāi Tahu) — an Ōtepoti-based writer and performer known for his solo play Babyface, which won the 2024 UNESCO City of Literature Beyond Words Award at the Dunedin Fringe Festival.

Tipa will take part in both the wānaka and the public festival.

For more information, visit youngwritersfest.nz