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📚 WORD Christchurch gets the city buzzing with books, ideas and kōrero.
Next festival: 1 - 6 September 2026
Watch out for events through the year!

This Friday 1 May, join four Kiwi mystery novelist

This Friday 1 May, join four Kiwi mystery novelists for an evening of intrigue, suspects and insights into sculpting a convincing twist. WORD friend Doc Drumheller will be keeping the kōrero sharp as a knife.

Lucky us, this event is free, thanks to @ngaiomarshawards! You can get registration info from their Facebook page.

Join Kiran in the Kōrero Corner as she talks about

Join Kiran in the Kōrero Corner as she talks about author Karen Hao and her vital new book: Empire of AI.
Keen to come? You can get tickets from the link in the bio

Congratulations to WORD friend @rachfking; her new

Congratulations to WORD friend @rachfking; her new book 𝘚𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 is out today!

Rachael shares that the book is “𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘵𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘬 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴”. We can’t wait to get our hands on a copy.

Rachael will be in conversation with @kuangrf on 21 May. We’re excited to see the two best RFKs on stage together, both at the top of their game.

We could listen to Niall’s lyrical brogue for hour

We could listen to Niall’s lyrical brogue for hours. We saved you a snippet from Tuesday night; a generous and wry insight to his writing process.

Nici Wickes, (@niciwickesfood) a 2025 WORD guest,

Nici Wickes, (@niciwickesfood) a 2025 WORD guest, has a splendid ANZAC biscuit recipe in her first cookbook, A Quiet Kitchen. Make sure you save it so that you can bake it over the long weekend!

Unlike AI, Bleu needs vitamin D, so took Empire of

Unlike AI, Bleu needs vitamin D, so took Empire of AI for some time outside.

Spend some time inside at The Piano on Mon 11 May for Karen’s kōrero at WORD. Link in bio!

On Tuesday, WORD and friends spent a wonderful eve

On Tuesday, WORD and friends spent a wonderful evening enjoying Niall Williams and Kate De Goldi’s kōrero about writing, family, and the concept of place.

Niall spoke about letting the writing direct the narrative, following a single sentence to its second, to a novel. His characterisation - laden with symbolism and personal experiences - makes for a deep and nourishing read, or an equally joyful meander in Faha, the quasi-real town in which many of his books are set.

Thank you Niall and Kate, and thanks to our partners @universitybookshopcanterbury and @christchurchlib for supporting our autumn season.

Did you catch Mihingarangi Forbes' kōrero with Pul

Did you catch Mihingarangi Forbes' kōrero with Pulitzer Prizewinning author Louise Erdrich? Find the rest of the interview on the RNZ website, or see her live at WORD in May. Link in bio.

Ōtautahi, autumn has arrived, alongside some truly

Ōtautahi, autumn has arrived, alongside some truly superb authors. Come along to one or all of these conversations - they are bound to warm and inspire.

Save this post for later or buy your tickets today. Link in bio.

Now living in Texas, Aotearoa author and friend of

Now living in Texas, Aotearoa author and friend of WORD Andrea Eames is coming back to kōrero about her first fantasy novel for adults. A Harvest of Hearts, is a Sunday Times bestseller and the Target Book Club Pick for March 2025.

Join Andrea at UBS on Thursday 23 April. You can find all the details at @universitybookshopcanterbury.

Steph tells it how it is: getting books by Louise

Steph tells it how it is: getting books by Louise Erdrich in the post is like Christmas!

Come and hear the Pulitzer prizewinner kōrero with us on Tue 26 May. Link in bio.

The @nzpoetrysociety's annual poetry competition i

The @nzpoetrysociety's annual poetry competition is open until the end of May.

Ōtautahi Christchurch’s own @islahuia is judging the young poet’s category! If you have young poets in your life, please encourage them to apply.

Poets of all ages can submit, with a category just for haiku if you are syllabically inclined.

We are crossing our fingers that Ōtautahi poets stack the winners’ circle this year, but will condone other regions sharing their talent too.

Attention published writers: the Michael King Writ

Attention published writers: the Michael King Writers' Centre is once again offering a residency with Varuna, The National Writers’ House across the ditch.

Stay in this incredible home in New South Wales, write up a storm over the three week residency, and be part of the Blue Mountains Writers’ Festival.

Applications close on Monday 27 April, so head over to their website and apply!
#writersresidency #nzwriters

You heard it here first folks, florals are out, wr

You heard it here first folks, florals are out, writers are in! We have a unbe-leaf-able autumn line up, welcoming four award-winning writers from the Northern Hemisphere to kōrero with us.

These writers are worth braving the drizzle for, more information and tickets on the website. Link in bio!
#christchurchnz #booklover

Romance is taking the world by storm in 2026, with

Romance is taking the world by storm in 2026, with Heated Rivalry, Romantasy writ large, and a new season of Bridgerton saturating our scroll.

Forever abreast of the trends, we were there first! At the festival last year, Chris Tse (@chrisjtse) hosted a charming dating show featuring some of our favourite New Zealand poets and writers; Una Cruickshank, Erik Kennedy (@erikcurtiskennedy), Claudia Jardine (@uriel.septim.piercing) and Josiah Morgan (@josiahmorganartist).

You can see Josiah hosting a new version of the show at @featherstonbooktown's Karukatea Festival next month 💚

#poetrylovers #wordchch #romantasy #nzwriters

Come for a hīkoi (walk) with Steph as she becomes

Come for a hīkoi (walk) with Steph as she becomes immersed in @kiltumper's gorgeous novel, Time of the Child. What a sense of place!

Bleu’s kiwi read pales in comparison to Niall’s Irish brogue: get the real thing on Tue 21 April. Find tickets to our kōrero with Niall in the bio.

#IrishWriters

An immediate New York Times bestseller, Karen Hao’

An immediate New York Times bestseller, Karen Hao’s Empire of AI offers a generous peak into the dark and curious Silicon Valley. From the USA to Kenya to Chile, Karen’s compelling journalism integrates the abstraction of AI with the human stories embedded within.

Join us on Monday 11 May for a deep dive into Karen’s investigation. Ticket link in bio.

#AI #openai #christchurch

Head along to @lytteltoncoffeeco at 6pm this Thurs

Head along to @lytteltoncoffeeco at 6pm this Thursday 9 April to celebrate the launch of @richard.langston's oral history 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒏: 𝑰𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑵𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝑹𝒖𝒃𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝑺𝒐𝒖𝒍. This is the definitive story of the beloved Dunedin band The Clean who had a profound impact on music here and internationally.

Richard will be speaking about the book and there will be a very special musical treat that fans won't want to miss.

Entry is free and books will be available to purchase.

More info at our friend's page: @aucklanduniversitypress

WORD festival 2025 was a treat! How good it feels

WORD festival 2025 was a treat! How good it feels to reminisce.

We are delighted to be hosting internationally acc

We are delighted to be hosting internationally acclaimed investigative journalist, Karen Hao in May. Come along, get informed, leave feeling that sweet smug feeling of a nuanced technological outlook.

Grab your tickets from our website - link in bio!

#AI #aieducation #technews #techwriter

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