For many unpublished writers, getting a foot in the door of the publishing world can feel like an impossible task, often shrouded in mystery and seemingly impervious borders. We’re here to tell you it’s not!

Three seasoned writers, editors and literary practitioners get together to kōrero about the world of publishing in Aotearoa today - what to do, what not to do and the myriad ways in which to make it happen. Join writer and Starling editor Louise Wallace, chapbook micropress publisher Josiah Morgan, and children’s writer and publisher Kitty Brown in conversation with Lynley Edmeades, writer and current Landfall editor, as they discuss the various avenues that allowed them to make their entry into the world of publishing in Aotearoa. Presented in association with University of Otago | Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka.

This event was part of the New Zealand Young Writers Festival (Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th September 2025)

In this special mix-and-mingle reading event, our young writers take the stage to share original work - from poetry to storytelling: lyrical, personal, political, and everything in between. Each piece offers a glimpse into the future of Aotearoa literature and showcases a diversity of style, identity, and imagination. The event highlights the vibrancy of Aotearoa’s next generation of storytellers.

Hosted by acclaimed writer and performer Josiah Morgan, this is a rare opportunity to feel the creative pulse of our future literary leaders.

03:59 - Josiah Morgan (Host - Part 1)

07:50 - Stella Weston

12:35 - Helena Mayer

16:46 - Nadia Solomon

20:12 - Tunmise Adebowale

24:20 - Holly Rowsell

27:50 - Mariwakiterangi Paekau

29:55 - Jordan Irvine

35:07 - Te Awhirēinga Heperi

41:51 - Paige Walker

46:01 - Ruby Macomber

50:43 - Josiah Morgan (Host - Part 2)

52:10 - Krysana Hanley

55:07 - Ella Sage

58:22 - Lillian Kelleher

01:05:09 - Sahara Pohatu-Trow

01:08:50 - Tōrea Scott-Fyfe

01:15:30 - Aroha Witinitara

01:20:14 - Nick Tipa

01:26:10 - Waiata from writers

This event contains some strong language & themes that may not be suitable for all audiences.

This event was part of the New Zealand Young Writers Festival (Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th September 2025)

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.

This event was part of the New Zealand Young Writers Festival (13th - 15th September 2024)

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.

This event was part of the New Zealand Young Writers Festival (13th - 15th September 2024)

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.

This event was part of the New Zealand Young Writers Festival (13th - 15th September 2024)

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.

This event was part of the New Zealand Young Writers Festival (13th - 15th September 2024)

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.

This event was part of the New Zealand Young Writers Festival (13th - 15th September 2024)

‘We sweat and cry salt water so we know the ocean is really in our blood’ (Teaiwa, 2017).

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.

This event was part of the New Zealand Young Writers Festival (13th - 15th September 2024)

Podcasting is an innovative storytelling technique and a creative entry point for some of today’s most important conversations. We join poet and playwright Vira Paky as she chats with Thabiso Sibanda and Kii Small from the Unpack and PhD: Unpacked podcasts about how to create thought-provoking audio content and the potential of podcasts to amplify voices and ignite change. This event was part of the New Zealand Young Writers Festival (21st - 24th September 2023)

The arts are gradually becoming more diverse, but many acclaimed writers of the literary canon are still of the old-white-man persuasion. Given the lack of representation in the field, it can be hard for emerging young authors – especially people of colour and gender diverse folk – to dare to dream of successful careers. We join poet and writer Naomii Seah, NZYWF Young Writer in Residence Ruby Macomber, Isla Huia and Vira Paky as they discuss their creative journeys and the road to overcoming imposter syndrome. This event was part of the New Zealand Young Writers Festival (21st - 24th September 2023)