New Zealand Young Writers Festival

Writers of Te Moana-Nui-a Kiwa swim with their words; our narratives are embodied, visceral and deeply intertwined with our senses of self. In this panel discussion, NZ Young Writers Fest 2024 Guest Curator Ruby Macomber talks with Emele Ugavule, Zech Soakai and Stacey Kokaua about what it means to be geographically separated from the heartbeat of their whenua but to write in proximity to whakapapa, and to (re)imagine the moana through the beauty and complexity of contemporary diasporic identities. They also explore creative techniques that keep their bodies and narratives in conversation.

The land holds our stories. In conversation with Tessa Patrick, Kāi Tahu writers Rauhina Scott-Fyfe and Iona Winter explore the vast and intergenerational perspectives of this land, its history, and its future, and how writers — regardless of their whakapapa — can delve deeper into this whenua within their work. This kōrero is for anyone seeking to understand a unique way of telling stories with curiosity and fervent intent.

Interviews, profiles, reviews, essays. At a grassroots level, can these build communities? Join journalist Jamiema Lorimer, Critic Te Ārohi editor Nina Brown and Pantograph Punch kaiwāwahi and NZ Young Writers Fest’s 2024 Young Writer in Residence Sherry Zhang for a panel discussion on culture journalism, its responsibility in representing communities, and how meaning is transformed through different forms and platforms.

Leaning into the visceral, dynamic potential of multi-medium expression for community-building and activism, this short panel equips taiohi with skills to write and read for the progression of movements and causes close to their hearts. Join NZ Young Writers Fest 2024 Guest Curator Ruby Macomber and Helena Mayer, Frances Pavletich and Grace Cowley as they talk about the movements close to them and how they engage with and create texts to support their activism. This event contains some strong language that may not be suitable for all audiences.

Starling is an online literary journal showcasing the best new poetry and prose from young New Zealand writers. Join Louise Wallace and Francis Cooke, Starling Editors, in conversation with Ada Duffy, Margo Montes de Oca and Maddie Ballard, the three young writers who’ve been undertaking a micro-residency in Ōtepoti as part of the 2024 NZ Young Writers Fest. You’ll be treated to both a performance and a lively discussion about what it means to be a young writer today, navigating writing and publishing in Aotearoa, and the writers’ residency experience. This event contains strong language that may not be suitable for all audiences.

What does it mean to be ‘established’ when you feel like you’re just starting out? In this panel, playwright and journalist Sam Brooks will chair a panel with author Iona Winter and poet Devon Webb on what it means to move to a different phase of your writing life, what opportunities stop appearing and how it changes your approach to your craft. This event contains some strong language that may not be suitable for all audiences.