New Zealand Young Writers Festival

Writers! Poets! Performers! Artists! Enthusiasts of words! Join us for the annual New Zealand Young Writers’ Festival here in the heart of Ōtepoti/Dunedin from Thursday October 28th - Sunday October 31st.

Four days packed with completely free events (workshops do require pre-registration, since spots are limited, but still free!)*, and whether you’re a seasoned writer or simply curious, we’ve got flavours to suit every palate. Featuring performances, workshops, panel discussions, playwriting, poetry, and more, we hope to see you there!

Come down and browse the creative wares of local poets, illustrators, artists, designers, and zinesters at our Zinefest Market, or get involved and make your own at our Zine making workshop. Strengthen your performance skills, or learn some new ones, at the Spoken Word Workshop - then take a shot at performing in the Poetry Slam, (with the winner being sponsored to go to the National Slam). Celebrate two years of the Ōtepoti Writers Lab at RUA:TWO, a birthday extravaganza showcasing the work of the community over the past two years. Connect to global thinking at our hybrid conversation/workshop focussed on how to creatively tell stories about sea level rise. All this and more is coming your way very soon, so keep an eye out for our festival guides and posters when they hit the streets in early September, or check out our website.

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*Under Alert Level 2 registration is required for all events to manage capacity. Registrations will be available on the NZ Young Writers Festival website from 24th September. If we move into Alert Level 1, registration will only be required for workshops.