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WORD Christchurch

PO Box 29 270
Christchurch 8440 | Level 1
The Piano - 156 Armagh Street
Christchurch 8011

Ph: +64 3 377 5313

admin@wordchristchurch.co.nz

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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

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

Your annual reminder that you CAN judge a book by

Your annual reminder that you CAN judge a book by its cover.

The @publishersassociationnz Book Design Award winners have been announced, here's our gallery of pukapuka from the awards that have been highlighted at WORD over the past year or two:

1: Sight Lines: Women and Art in Aotearoa by Kirsty Baker won the Gerard Reid Award for Best Book and the @penguinbooksnz Award for Best Illustrated Book
2: Amma by @saraiddesilva won the @allenandunwinnz Award for Best Commercial Book for Adults

And on the shortlist:
3: Feijoa by @feijoafellowship
4: The Grand Glacier Hotel by Lawrence Fearnley
5: The Witch of Maketū by Anika Moa

Massive congrats to the designers and the publishers!
@aucklanduniversitypress @moapress @penguinbooksnz

#bookawardsnz #bookcovers #nzbooks #nzlit #nzbookstagram

Our cozy crime fighters Ciaran and Brendon from @c

Our cozy crime fighters Ciaran and Brendon from @courttheatrenz are ready to solve the great mystery of just who will win the @ngaiomarshawards this Thursday night. Tickets are still available to join us for this deadly event!

#yeahnoir #wordchch #nzbookstagram #ticketsavailablenow #nzlit #whodunnit #truecrime #crimefiction #crimewriting #truecrimenz

Hari huritau Kiran! @steelydass is our Programme D

Hari huritau Kiran! @steelydass is our Programme Director and it is her birthday today. We're wishing her a sun-filled day with many a good read/listen/watch on hand.

📷: @petramingneau

#virgoszn

From Historical fiction to Climate stories - Jenny

From Historical fiction to Climate stories - Jenny Pattrick has written it all!

Joins us to hear the beloved Jenny Pattrick kōrero with @morrinrout on her tremendous writing career, from Denniston Rose to her latest book, Sea Change.

🗓 Thursday 23 October, 6pm
📍 Tautoru TSB Space, Tūranga
🎟 $25 full, $20 concession

Tickets available on our website now.
See you there.

@batemanbooks

#thejoyofwords #wordchch #ticketsavailablenow #nzlit #nzbookstagram #nzbookcommunity #nzbookclub #livinglegend #chch

It's Te Wiki o te Reo Maōri, so of course we've g

It's Te Wiki o te Reo Maōri, so of course we've gone straight to the bookshelf! This release from @kotahi_rau_pukapuka - a trust with the goal of producing 100 great books in te reo Māori - shows Maya Angelou's ruri/poems in both te reo Māori and English.

Check out their pukapuka/books and add them to your own bookshelf as a wonderful way to learn more te reo Māori.

#thejoyofwords #reomāori #tewikiotereomāori

Check out these mugshots - who is your pick to ste

Check out these mugshots - who is your pick to steal the @ngaiomarshawards this year?

All will be revealed in two weeks with a murder mystery event where the @courttheatrenz gumshoes will solve it for us. Get your tickets from our website now.

#yeahnoir #wordchch #thejoyofwords #nzauthor #whodunnit #crimewriting #whowillwin #ticketsavailablenow #crimefiction #truecrimenz #truecrime #ōtautahi

Did WORD stir a story inside you? Keen to write bu

Did WORD stir a story inside you? Keen to write but not sure where to start? We were sad that @dominichoey couldn't make it to the festival this year, but here's your chance to learn from him on Saturday 13 September. Dominic says the workshop is "designed for beginners or anyone who wants to learn how I turn my stupid thoughts into stories and poems."

Find out more at @te_waa_the_space, one of the most exciting new spaces in the city.

#amwriting #wordchch #thejoyofwords #learntowrite

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PO Box 29 270, Christchurch 8440 | Level 1, The Piano - 156 Armagh Street, Christchurch 8011

Ph: +64 3 377 5313 admin@wordchristchurch.co.nz

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