Octagon Poetry Collective's monthly reading
Wednesday, 11th November 2026 7:00 PM - 9:15 PM
New Athenaeum Theatre in The Octagon, Dunedin
Poet and novelist Sue Wootton’s most recent book is The Yield (Otago University Press, 2017), which was a finalist in the 2018 Ockham New Zealand book awards. Her poems have won or been placed in several awards, including the Caselberg International Poetry Prize, the NZ Poetry Society International Poetry Competition, the Hippocrates Prize for Poetry and Medicine and the Canberrra Vice Chancellor's International Poetry Prize. She has held the Robert Burns Fellowship, the NZSA Beatson Fellowship and the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship. In 2025 she was awarded the Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems, for a suite of sonnets called ‘Holding Patterns: Seven songs of pots, jars, bowls and vases’. Sue lives in Ōtepoti Dunedin, and is the publisher at Otago University Press. suewootton.com
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Megan Kitching is an Ōtepoti Dunedin poet. Her debut collection At the Point of Seeing from Otago University Press (2023) won the Jessie Mackay Prize for Poetry in the Mātātuhi Foundation Best First Book Awards and was awarded Best International First Collection in the UK Poet Laureate’s The Laurel Prize. In 2021, she was the inaugural Caselberg Trust Elizabeth Brooke-Carr Emerging Writer in residence at Broad Bay.
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Your Collective committee:
Jackson
Mac MacDonald
Jasmine Taylor
Nicola Thorstensen
Ben Wilmot
Sophia Wilson
Octagon Poetry Collective — Poetry Nights in Dunedin!
Calling all poets, spoken-word lovers, and creative spirits!
The Octagon Poetry Collective brings together local and visiting poets for monthly readings and an open mic in the heart of Dunedin. Whether you're an experienced writer or new to sharing your work, this welcoming session offers a supportive stage to listen, perform, and connect with Ōtepoti’s vibrant literary community.
When: Monthly — second Wednesday of the month at 7pm (check their Facebook/Octagon Collective or Instagram/@octagoncollectivepoetry pages for updates)
Where: New Athenaeum Theatre in The Octagon, Dunedin
What to Expect: Featured guest poets, open mic, warm atmosphere, free entry.
Bring a poem to share or just come and enjoy the words — with drinks and snacks available from the theatre.
All are welcome.
For more information visit facebook.com/octagoncollective