Writing for Wellness returns for a second season

By Ōtepoti He Puna Auaha | Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature | Posted: Thursday Aug 27, 2026

For participants in this year’s Writing for Wellness workshop series, four weeks of creativity, connection, laughter and new ways of looking at the world offered a welcome boost to everyday wellbeing.

Following the success of last year’s programme, WellSouth, Dunedin Public Libraries and Ōtepoti UNESCO City of Literature brought Writing for Wellness back for a second season, exploring four ways writing can support wellbeing: Word Play for Resilience; Poetry for Connection; Journals, Diaries, Lists and Letters; and Creative Story Writing.

Across four Thursday sessions, WellSouth Health Improvement Practitioners Sarah Redfearn and Rohana Weaver were joined by City of Literature South D Poet Lorikeet Jenny Powell to guide participants through a different theme each week. Individual and group activities made creative writing accessible to everyone, whether returning to writing after many years or simply curious to give it a try.

Jenny says there is a renewed interest in the links between writing and wellbeing:

“As a health tool it’s prescription-free, recyclable and accessible, and can be utilised in many settings.”

Each session included a take-home information sheet, giving participants practical ideas to return to beyond the workshops.

Jenny says this year’s Writing for Wellness sessions offered “multiple oral and written tasks targeting stress reduction, increasing personal resilience and a lift in mood.”

The response was overwhelmingly positive:

“I love these sessions. They’re so thoughtfully planned. Comfortable. It’s easy to join in,” wrote one participant, while another described the series as “uplifting & fun”.

For some, the workshops opened the door to writing after a long absence. One participant said they had “got creative and discovered writing again”, sparking the idea of connecting with others through writing and building a new community.

Participants also found some of the exercises particularly useful when working through difficult emotions, with the supportive approach of the facilitators helping create a space where people could experiment without pressure or expectation.

Jenny reflects that the sessions produced “new discoveries with language in its most positive and beautiful forms”:

“From single words to shared sentences, from short stories to poems, workshops opened new doors of experience. Requests for the group to continue reflected the success of selected activities, and the impact of social cohesion.”

One participant captured the feeling beautifully, describing the experience as “a golden burst of blanket”.

For many participants, the four weeks offered more than an opportunity to write — they were a chance to rediscover creativity, connect with others, see familiar things from a different angle and leave with a few more tools to help navigate everyday life.

Thank you to WellSouth and City of Literature South D Poet Lorikeet Jenny Powell for bringing this programme to life, and to Dunedin Public Libraries for once again hosting the series and providing such a warm, welcoming space for people to write, share and connect.