What's On

Escaping the Humdrum

One of the joys of reading is being transported into the wilds of both your own and someone else’s imagination. HG Parry and Gareth Ward will discuss crafting stories that take us into fantasy worlds far from the mundane, with Bronwyn Wylie-Gibb.  




Tickets here: https://www.dunedinwritersfestival.co.nz/2021-escaping-the-humdrum.html
Dunedin Public Art... Read more…

Workshop: Lusting for Words ​Writing Romance

This two-hour workshop, presented by Nalini Singh, will begin with an introduction to writing romance: the foundational elements of the genre, what separates a love story from a genre romance, the sprawling breadth of the romance genre, and how emotion can... Read more…

At the Drop of a Hat Poetry, but not as you know it

At the Drop of a Hat is an interactive poetry show featuring Liz Breslin, Laura Williamson, and Annabel Wilson.   Audience members will be greeted with pen and paper, and asked to direct the evening’s antics by writing down a single word. These... Read more…

Love in the Time of COVID ​A Chronicle of a Pandemic

A morning with Witi Ihimaera and Michelle Elvy, exploring the idea of creativity under lockdown, and what it means to find creative space under constricted circumstances.   Witi and Michelle will share underpinning concepts and contents from the online project Love... Read more…

The Dunedin Public Libraries Association Special: Essie Summers, Peerless Romantic

With sales of more than 19 million romance novels worldwide, Essie Summers remains New Zealand’s most successful novelist. Her place in New Zealand’s writing history will be marked with the unveiling of a plaque on Dunedin’s... Read more…

Drawing The World

Why do people draw what they draw?   Jessica Thompson Carr, aka the Māori Mermaid, and Melissa Boardman will demonstrate their technique while they talk about what attracts them to the natural world. 



https://www.dunedinwritersfestival.co.nz/2021-drawing-the-world.htmlDunedin Public Art Gallery Read more…

The Books that Made Me

Rose Carlyle, Nalini Singh, and Kyle Mewburn will read an excerpt from a significant childhood story and talk about the shaping effect it has had on their adulthood. Hosted by Bridget Schaumann. 



https://www.dunedinwritersfestival.co.nz/2021-the-books-that-made-me.htmlDunedin Public Art Gallery Read more…

NZ Crime What's Going On?

Jared Savage and Steve Braunias will tackle some of the big questions about crime in New Zealand, and what they have learned in the process of writing about it. With Rob Kidd.Tickets: https://www.dunedinwritersfestival.co.nz/2021-nz-crime.html
Dunedin Public Art Gallery... Read more…

Walking the Heartland

In Map for the Heart: Ida Valley Essays, Jillian Sullivan’s gentle essays about her wanderings and wonderings in the vast Ida Valley are an exploration of the physical place, and how it connects us to our community.   She and Liz Breslin will discuss how place and space affect the heart.  



https://www.dunedinwritersfestival.co.nz/2021-walking-the-heartland.htmlDunedin Public Art Gallery Read more…

Writing Romance in the 21st Century

Chair Susan Sims and authors Nalini Singh, Steff Green, and Jayne Castel will unpick why romance writing matters in 2021, and discuss the ongoing appeal of romance novels and what success looks like to writers of this billion-dollar genre. Buy Tickets: https://www.dunedinwritersfestival.co.nz/2021-writing-romance.htmlDunedin Public Art Gallery  Read more…

Book Launch: The Wilder Years by David Eggleton

Otago University Press warmly invites you to attend the launch of The Wilder Years by David Eggleton.David Eggleton, Poet Laureate of Aotearoa 2019–21, has published nine poetry collections, and now, finally, comes a ‘Best Of... Read more…

Dunedin Writers & Readers Festival 2021

With enormous pleasure, we present you with this, the 2021 Dunedin Writers & Readers Festival programme.  ​Inside, you’ll find a wealth of Aotearoa’s literary gold, with our spotlight focused squarely on our homegrown writers. While this came about through pandemic-related necessity,... Read more…