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Bel Monypenny

Bel Monypenny

Bel Monypenny is a bookseller, writer and editor from Naarm/Melbourne who now calls Ōtautahi/Christchurch home.

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📚 WORD Christchurch gets the city buzzing with books, ideas and kōrero.
🎟️ Festival on now! 27-31 August 2025
👇🏻 Get your tickets here

78 years and 250 editions - a landmark for @landfa

78 years and 250 editions - a landmark for @landfallnz! It is great to see our friends at @03_magazine celebrating this milestone in their latest edition. Find a copy around Ōtautahi Christchurch, or check it out online. It's a great summer read.

#christchurchnz #supportlocal #03magazine #nzlit

Librarians from around the world have made us all

Librarians from around the world have made us all an amazing reading list! @dublinlitaward takes its nominations from libraries around the world so if you're looking for a recommended read, their 69 books nominated by 80 libraries is a good list to start from!

Congratulations to @dominichoey, @damienwilkins103, @bexmana and @tina.makereti - their latest novels all feature on this list.

@christchurchlib @dunedinpubliclibrariesnz @auckland_libs @wgtncc

#tbrpile #litawards #nzlit #thejoyofwords

AWARD WINNER! Toi Te Mana: An Indigenous History o

AWARD WINNER! Toi Te Mana: An Indigenous History of Māori Art by Deidre Brown (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu), Ngarino Ellis (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou) and the late Jonathan Mane-Wheoki (Ngāpuhi, Te Aupōuri, Ngāti Kurī) is the winner of the @apollomagazine Book of the Year award!

Published by @aucklanduniversitypress and @uchicagopress , and the feature of a great kōrero at the @chchartgallery as part of our festival in August.

#apollomagazine #apolloawards2025 #art #books #ceremony #awards

FREE BOOK LAUNCH & RECORD SPINNING: Join us to cel

FREE BOOK LAUNCH & RECORD SPINNING: Join us to celebrate the release of Chris Knox: Not Given Lightly, a biography by Craig Robertson.

📍 Wednesday 3 December, 6pm at Lyttelton Coffee Co.

Come along to hear author Craig Robertson in conversation with Bruce Russell. Books will be available to purchase thanks to @universitybookshopcanterbury and Craig will sign your copies! Records will be spinning before and after the kōrero.

Presented in partnership with our friends at @aucklanduniversitypress.

#nzmusic #nzlit #booklaunch #ohinehau #wordchch

This Thursday night is book night in Ōtautahi!

This Thursday night is book night in Ōtautahi!

5.30PM: @scorpiobooks hosts @lynleyedmeades in conversation with our own @steelydass

Also at 5.30PM: @physicsroom launches their new book, Correspondence IV,
with contributions from Raine Angeles, Hāwea Apiata, Jenny Gao, Bella Macdonald, and Nell May, and editor Anna Welham.

then at 7.30PM: @ngapukapukapekapeka series 2 launches at @littleandromedachch with @annabelwilsonwriter, @hey.ray.shipley and @nathaniel4heathcote

That should keep us all busy for the night! Make sure you RSVP to keep the organisers happy and ready for you.

#wordchch #supportlocal #christchurchnz #bookcity #nzlit #nzart #toiōtautahi

Celebrate 250 years of Jane Austen with @christchu

Celebrate 250 years of Jane Austen with @christchurchlib on Sunday 14 December with a bookmaking workshop and Devonshire Tea. Held at the Sumner Centre, it sounds like something the Bennet sisters would love to attend (IYKYK). Find out more on the What's On section at www.my.christchurchcitylibraries.com

#austen250 #romancereads #nzbookstagram #nzbookcommunity #mrdarcyfans #christchurchnz

No big deal, but we've just got a few Emmy nominat

No big deal, but we've just got a few Emmy nominations to celebrate! The @skynz Originals TV series adaptation of Red Rocks by @rachfking has been nominated in three categories of the Children and Family Emmys, including a nomination for writing.

Congratulations to the series writers for such a great adaptation of Rachael's work.

📷 of Rachael from Books Alive! 2025

#nzlit #bookstoscreen #booksforlife📚 #thejoyofwords #nzbookstagram #nzauthor #nzonscreen

The 2025 @storylinesnz Notable Books List is out n

The 2025 @storylinesnz Notable Books List is out now, , compiled from entries from publishers by expert panels of authors, teachers, librarians, academics and parents.

We've circled a selection from writers we've hosted at WORD the past year or two, including Gavin Bishop, @rachfking, @kirilightfoot , @heathermcqwriter, @meldixonwriter and @stacygreggauthor. Special mention to the beautiful Matariki book from our friends at @chchartgallery too.

#supportlocal #nzlit #kidlit #christmaspresentideas #wordchch #thejoyofwords

Local legend and WORD favourite Tusiata Avia has a

Local legend and WORD favourite Tusiata Avia has another extraordinary book on the way.

Come celebrate with her and @thwupbooks at the Book Launch of Giving Birth to My Father at @spaceacademychch on Saturday 15 November from 5pm. All welcome.

Tusiata Avia is the 2026 @modern@_modernletters_ Writer in Residence in Te-Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, so we might not get many local events with her next year!

#supportlocal #wordchch #nzpoetry

Hurō! The 2025 Prime Ministers Awards for Literar

Our friends at @scorpiobooks have several great ev

Our friends at @scorpiobooks have several great events on this month at the shop, including Harry Ricketts in conversation with @erikcurtiskennedy, Peter Dowling and Takerei Norton talking New Zealand Place names, and @lynleyedmeades talking to our own Kiran Dass AKA @steelydass.

Support local! Find more info and RSVP links on the Scorpio Books website.

WORD: Living Books. Back from WORD 2025 and bigger

WORD: Living Books. Back from WORD 2025 and bigger than ever this Friday night at Tūranga.

Join @chchhiphopsummit03 for an open kōrero with some of Aotearoa’s most iconic DJs, MCs, graffiti artists, producers, and dancers. These are the voices who built the culture here, the ones who lived it before the spotlight.

Hip Hop has always welcomed everyone, yet here in Aotearoa some of its earliest champions were Māori and Pacific peoples who made it their own. A platform for identity. A protest. A celebration. A stage for truth when there wasn’t one.

This is your chance to listen, learn, and engage directly with the people who shaped the movement.

Free entry! Get there early - it will fill up quick.

#LivingBooks #CHCHHipHopSummit #Ōtautahi #HipHopAotearoa #ForTheCulture #NZMusic #AotearoaArtists #KnowledgeIsPower #BarbersDJsMCsBreakingGraffiti #YouthAndCulture #YCD #HipHopCommunity

We love the Tūranga loos! Check out the recent ar

We love the Tūranga loos! Check out the recent article in @thespinofftv to read more about the adoration of the @christchurchlib central city library wharepaku. Just another reason we love being at Tūranga for so many of our events.

Here's our Festival team member @hlklaar and WORD regular @alexmcasey looking great with some of @liv_sisson's flowers. Read the article for more lavatory love.

https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/17-10-2025/these-christchurch-public-toilets-might-be-the-best-in-the-country?

#librarylove #tumeketoilets #christchurchnz #localreporting

Stay safe out there, WORD friends! We are very so

Stay safe out there, WORD friends!

We are very sorry to advise that the event Sea Change: Jenny Pattrick scheduled for this evening has been cancelled due to the red weather warning in place. Ticket holders have been notified - if that's you, please check your inbox.

If you have any questions or concerns then please do not hesitate to contact us, either by email at ticketing@wordchristchurch.co.nz or by phone at (03) 377 5313.

#christchurchnz #thisblows

It's Bookshop Day tomorrow! Go support your local

It's Bookshop Day tomorrow! Go support your local - get some sweet deals, hear some readings, find a golden ticket and relish in reading. Our local favourites include @universitybookshopcanterbury, @scorpiobooks, @theclocksbookshop, Hornby @paperplusnz, @paperplusbarrington @emmasatoxford and @paperpluskaiapoi.

#bookstagramnz #wordchch #nzbookstagram #buylocal #NZBookshopDay #ShopLocal #audiobooks #GoldenTicket

Terrific interview in this week’s @nzlistenermag

Announcing BLUE SKY DREAMING: a call out for write

Announcing BLUE SKY DREAMING: a call out for writers of all ages and stages.

It’s 2125, and you’ve magically stayed the same age you were in 2025. What does your everyday life look like?

Think creatively about how you might still be able to live here with the effects of a changing climate. We’re seeking a series of super-short pieces of writing by anyone with ideas to share, to be featured on posters throughout the city this Summer. It could be microfiction (a very short story), poetry, or creative nonfiction. Your piece should be up to 150 words and in English and/ or te reo Māori.

Submissions open now until 5pm Wednesday 5 November 2025.
Find out more on our website - check out the link in our bio for more reading and inspiration, as well as the terms & conditions.

A collaboration between WORD Christchurch and the Christchurch City Council.

#microfiction #bookstagramnz #chch #ōtautahi #nzlit #christchurchnz #nzauthor #amwriting #nzpoetry

Need a book recommendation? At @thomassainsbury's

Need a book recommendation? At @thomassainsbury's Reading Enthusiast's Soiree WORD friends @kaitlinsunday, @rachelparisauthor and @jjosiah.jj shared quite the list!

Luckily the Christchurch City Libraries bloggers have collated these top picks for us on their website - the link is in our bio.

📷: Petra Mingneau Photography
🛋: @noodnz

#nzbookcommunity #wordchch #nzbookstagram #nzbooks #nzbookclub #bookstagramnz #tbrpile

Amazing writers incoming - we're so excited that @

Amazing writers incoming - we're so excited that @shehankarubooks and @bexmana are coming to our city as the 2026 @ucnz @creativenz Ursula Bethell Writers in Residence!

There's a couple of big awards between them - the 2022 @thebookerprizes for Shehan Karunatalika and the 2020 @newzealandbookawards Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction for Becky (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Mamoe, Waitaha) - so we can't think of better writers to join the UC English Department as they launch their new majors and minors in writing... and we're looking forward to hosting them at WORD events too.

#nzlit #christchurchnz #wordchch

#nzbookstagram #nzbookcommunity #chch #ōtautahi

The deadliest books in the country have been annou

The deadliest books in the country have been announced - the 2025 @ngaiomarshawards winners! Crime and Thriller fans, here is what to add to your book pile:

Best non-fiction: THE CREWE MURDERS by @kirstyjohnston_nz and James Hollings
Best first novel: THE DEFIANCE OF FRANCES DICKINSON by @wendyparkinswriter
Best novel: RETURN TO BLOOD by Michael Bennett

Congratulations to all the winners, and all the finalists too - we hear the judges had a hard time deciding on the winners.

Simon & Schuster AU Massey University Pressseyuniversitypress
#nzlit #nzbookstagram #nzbooks #bookawardsnz #wordchch #whodunnit #yeahnoir

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