New Zealand Young Writers Festival

Dunedin Fringe Arts Trust
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The NZ Young Writers Fest welcomes young writers, aged 15-35, of all kinds to celebrate a diverse range of wordsmithing. It’s Aotearoa’s only literary festival focussed solely on young writers - and it’s held right here in Ōtepoti Dunedin.This live-recorded podcast series from the 2025 New Zealand Young Writers Fest is brought to you by Otago Access Radio and supported by Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature.

Episodes

  1. 09/17/2025

    Publishing in Aotearoa Today: An insider’s guide

    For many unpublished writers, getting a foot in the door of the publishing world can feel like an impossible task, often shrouded in mystery and seemingly impervious borders.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)

    1h 4m

  2. 09/17/2025

    Feathers in Flight: Voices of the Next Generation

    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)

    1h 29m

  3. 09/30/2024

    How to transition from emerging to ‘emerged’

    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)

    52 min

  4. 09/30/2024

    Starling Micro Residency Panel Discussion

    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)

    59 min

  5. 09/30/2024

    Everything Pressing, Everything Pertinent - Writing and Reading in Solidarity

    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)

    52 min

  6. 09/30/2024

    Journalism as an Act of Community Building

    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)

    1h 19m

  7. 09/30/2024

    Te Ao Kāi Tahu - Writing the whenua and whakapapa of Te Waipounamu

    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)

    58 min

  8. 09/30/2024

    Moana Speaks from the South

    ‘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)

    1h 2m
  • 8 Episodes

About

The NZ Young Writers Fest welcomes young writers, aged 15-35, of all kinds to celebrate a diverse range of wordsmithing. It’s Aotearoa’s only literary festival focussed solely on young writers - and it’s held right here in Ōtepoti Dunedin.This live-recorded podcast series from the 2025 New Zealand Young Writers Fest is brought to you by Otago Access Radio and supported by Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature.

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