WRITERS
Presented in partnership with Verb Wellington

Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts proudly partners with Verb Wellington for a vibrant weekend Writers programme. 2026 marks 40 years of the Festival and we acknowledge all the brilliant literary artists who have graced our stages and the wonderful community of readers and writers who have welcomed them. In that spirit, we’re very excited to bring you this year’s offering.  

Between Events: Books & Brews 
Take a break between events to grab a coffee, enjoy a snack, and browse beautiful books from our official bookseller Unity Books. Writers will be available for book signings after each session, giving you plenty of time to meet them before the next event starts.

Thanks to Judith Binney Trust, Unity Books

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Letter to my Art Mother 
Sat 7 Mar, 10am 
A line-up of six writers perform an address to their “art mother” – the figure who has best nurtured their dreams, their ambitions; the figure who has guided them through hardship and into the light of a new day. Or is an art mother a figure to push against, and prove wrong? Find out when Dr Rachel Buchanan (Taranaki iwi, Te Ātiawa, Taranaki Whaanui ki te Upoko o Te Ika), Matariki Bennett (Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Hinerangi), Henrietta Bollinger, Elizabeth Knox, Kate Camp, Khadro Mohamed and more weave an hour of transportive, surprising storytelling. 

Me aro koe ki te hā o Hineahuone – Pay heed to the dignity of our soils 
Sat 7 Mar, 12pm 
Centring the sacred connection between soil, seeds and Indigenous peoples, Dr Jessica Hutchings (Ngāi Tuhoe, Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Huirapa, Gujarati) and Nadine Hura (Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi, Pākehā) advocate for environmental justice through the restoration of matriarchal knowledge systems. 

Drawing on Jessica's recent publication, Pātaka Kai: Growing Kai Sovereignty (co-authored with Jo Smith) and Nadine's genre-blending essay collection Slowing the Sun, they will talk about the causes of both environmental and spiritual disconnection, and disconnection and offer pathways that ignite responses vested in indigenous leadership. 
Co-created with Te Hā o Ngā Pou Kaituhi Māori.  

Manuhiri – the many guises of the guest 
Sat 7 Mar, 2pm 
Celebrated author Dr Rachel Buchanan (Taranaki iwi Te Ātiawa, Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika) discusses the shifting roles and guises of visitors and guests in three interconnected places  – Pōneke Wellington, Taranaki and Te Ao Moemoeā Australia. Her lecture will explore the theme and impact of manuhiri, the fleeting or long-term visitors – welcome or not – that uplift, overturn, challenge and transform the lives of individuals and communities. A Q&A will follow the lecture, chaired by Paul Diamond (Ngāti Hauā, Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi).

Universality: Natasha Brown  
Sat 7 Mar, 4pm 
Natasha Brown (UK) appears in Aotearoa for the first time to discuss her latest satirical novel Universality, a twisty, slippery descent into the rhetoric of truth and power. Longlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize, and told through a voyeuristic lens, Universality focuses on words: what we say, how we say it, and what we really mean. Brown’s debut novel Assembly won a Betty Trask Award (2020) and was translated into 17 languages. Natasha will be in conversation with Pip Adam. 

The Breath of the Gods: Simon Winchester - Cancelled
Sun 8 Mar, 10am 
We are sorry to share the news that due to unforeseen circumstances Simon Winchester has cancelled his Australia and New Zealand tour, and his event at the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts has been cancelled. Ticketholders will be contacted directly to arrange refunds, and a new event will be announced shortly.  Thank you for your understanding, and we apologise for any inconvenience caused.

New Session: The Black Monk: Charlotte Grimshaw
Sun 8 Mar, 10am
Join Charlotte Grimshaw, the award-winning, bestselling author of The Mirror Book, for an exploration of her new work of fiction, The Black Monk. Described as a "daring novel", The Black Monk is part psychological thriller, part family saga, that examines the themes of the moment: shame, addiction, truth and the stories we tell to survive. While her brother Cedric spirals into addiction, Alice Lidell finds herself confronted not only by his decline, but by memories of the past. From their chaotic Auckland childhood to her present day life, Alice is haunted by a mysterious figure she calls the Black Monk. Wellington audiences will be among the first to hear Charlotte discuss the making of this extraordinary new novel as she sits down with Kiran Dass.

Dark Academics: Elizabeth Knox and Lili Wilkinson 
Sun 8 Mar, 12pm
Elizabeth Knox’s latest novel, Kings of this World, is a propulsive kidnap drama that sees Vex and her school friends, who all possess the mysterious gift of “P”, embroiled in political and personal upheaval. Lili Wilkinson’s Hallowed Halls sees Page Whittaker unravel the dangerous mysteries of her exclusive new school, Agathion College. 

Join the authors for a compelling conversation about harnessing elements of “dark academia” to create worlds where demonic magic and supernatural powers mark teenaged protagonists; and to learn what it takes to write novels for all ages, today.  

A Pōneke Poetry Showcase with Robert Sullivan and friends 
Sun 8 Mar, 2pm 
Bring your friends and bask in the warmth and jubilation of this vibrant poetry showcase. Newly minted Poet Laureate, Robert Sullivan (Ngāpuhi, Kāi Tahu) welcomes poets including Arihia Latham (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha), Matariki Bennett (Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Hinerangi), Amber Esau (Ngāpuhi / Manase), Jordan Hamel, Rebecca Hawkes, Nick Ascroft and more to the stage to demonstrate the unmissable power and beauty of poetry in live performance.

Lyrical Ballads: Bill Manhire - Cancelled
Sun 8 Mar, 4pm 
In this special, closing event Bill Manhire, one of Aotearoa’s most esteemed and internationally acclaimed poets, will speak to Damien Wilkins about his latest collection, Lyrical Ballads as well as mark his exceptional back catalogue and outsized contribution to New Zealand literature. Join us to celebrate New Zealand's inaugural Poet Laureate, the founder of the International Institute of Modern Letters, and legendary teacher of creative writing (amongst a host of other achievements).  

New Session: Jenny Bornholdt: What to Wear
Sun 8 Mar, 4pm 
In this closing event of the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts’ writers programme, Jenny will speak with Damien Wilkins about her extraordinary career as a writer, including the creation of her latest collection, What to Wear, a stunning work, potent and vital, that illuminates the magic of daily life.

‘Mischievously joyful, like being in on the very best in-joke … Some of these poems move like a heat-seeking missile set to the heart.’ - Louise Wallace, author of Ash and This Is a Story About Your Mother

Jenny Bornholdt is one of Aotearoa’s most acclaimed and treasured poets. She has published over a dozen books of poems, including Lost and Somewhere Else (2019), Selected Poems (2016) and The Rocky Shore (winner of the Montana New Zealand Book Award for Poetry, 2009). She was New Zealand’s Poet Laureate in 2005–2007, and in the 2014 New Year Honours she was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services as a poet.

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Wheelchair Seating is available at all shows at Tāwhiri Warehouse. All access tickets are $20. Companion tickets are free. For more information and to book access tickets, please contact access@festival.co.nz or phone (04) 473 0149 to book.