Past Events

Whaia te ara o te Kareao: Follow the path of the Kareao

Sunday, 1 September 5:30 pm

Ko Kāi Tahu me Te Tiriti – CANCELLED

Sunday, 1 September 3:30 pm

Te Rōpū Toikupu o Aotearoa New Zealand Poetry Society Presents . . .

Saturday, 31 August 6:30 pm

Gems from the Archives

Saturday, 31 August 4:00 pm

Dawn Raids Reading: Pacific Underground at 30

Saturday, 31 August 3:00 pm

Rangatahi Boogie

Saturday, 31 August 2:00 pm

Storywalk (pm)

Saturday, 31 August 1:00 pm

Multidisciplinary Māori Writers

Saturday, 31 August 12:30 pm

Storywalk (am)

Saturday, 31 August 11:00 am

Zinefest 2024

Saturday, 31 August 11:00 am

Adventures with Books: Claire Mabey & Rachael King

Saturday, 31 August 10:30 am

Romancing AI

Friday, 30 August 7:30 pm

The Mires: Tina Makereti

Friday, 30 August 11:30 am

Te kākahu huruhuru o te Tiriti

Friday, 30 August 10:30 am

Poetry Machine

27 Aug - 01 Sep 2024 10:00 am

Ōtautahi is Flash!

24 Aug - 28 Oct 2024 11:00 am

Books Come Alive!

Saturday, 10 August 11:00 am

Word – The Frontline Ōtautahi 2024: Semi-Finals Heat 2

Friday, 9 August 6:30 pm

Word – The Frontline Ōtautahi 2024: Semi-Finals Heat 1

Thursday, 8 August 6:30 pm

AIRANA NGAREWA: THE BONE TREE

Sunday, 27 August 3:00 pm

Airana Ngarewa (Ngāti Ruanui, Ngā Rauru, Ngāruahine) in-conversation about their gritty coming-of-age debut novel The Bone Tree.

THE MUSIC BOOK CLUB

Sunday, 27 August 1:00 pm

Bring your favourite music book to discuss at this book club.

THE QUIET HERO: ANDREW BAGSHAW

Sunday, 27 August 10:30 am

In The Quiet Hero, Philip Matthews tells the extraordinary story of Andrew Bagshaw. Join Philip and Dame Sue and Phil Bagshaw, speaking with Kamala Hayman, to launch this special biography.

ŌTAUTAHI ZINEFEST

Sunday, 27 August 10:00 am

Join Ōtautahi Zinefest to celebrate the creation of zines and small press arts – all ages and abilities welcome.

THE GREAT WORD STORY HUNT

Saturday, 26 August 2:00 pm

The Great WORD Story Hunt is back. Grab the whānau and find clues hidden in the library that will lead you to the next story.

THE LOST ART OF LETTER WRITING

26 Aug - 27 Aug 2023 11:00 am

Love notes and travel stories, heartbreak and haiku – signed, sealed and delivered by you. The Lost Art of Letter Writing is a chance for you to send letters to, and receive them from, strangers.

POU KOHIKOHINGA MĀORI IN RESIDENCE

Saturday, 26 August 10:00 am

Meet Tūranga's Pou Kohikohinga Māori - Māori Collection Specialists who are available to answer any of your queries relating to our Ngā Pounamu Māori collection, whakapapa, or any other kaupapa Māori research.

AI VS LIBRARIANS

Friday, 25 August 6:00 pm

Is artificial intelligence any match for the combined years of wisdom of Tūranga’s reading advisor librarians? Join us for a fun hour of human vs machine, AI vs librarian.

TE KĀHUI ŌHUA

Friday, 25 August 5:30 pm

This casual, monthly reading group celebrates the content of Tūranga's Ngā Pounamu Māori collection. Each month members choose any book from the collection – Fiction, Non-Fiction, Children’s, Adults – and shares back with the rest of the group.

SUMMONING WHAKAPAPA

Friday, 25 August 5:00 pm

Ruby Solly (Kāi Tahu, Waitaha, Kāti Māmoe) and Ariana Tikao (Kāi Tahu) discuss writing family histories and the protection of whakapapa with Helen Brown (Ngāi Tahu).

NAMING THE SIRENS

Thursday, 24 August 6:00 pm

Join Sudden Valley Press poets Gail Ingram, Jeni Curtis, Janet Wainscott and Marisa Cappetta for a celebration of local poetry.

AMY HEAD: SIGNS OF LIFE

Thursday, 24 August 5:30 pm

Join us at Scorpio Books for the launch of Amy Head's new short story collection Signs of Life.

MEET THE BOOK WITCH

24 Aug - 25 Aug 2023 3:00 pm

The Book Witch will use her crystal ball, magical powers, and tarot cards to help match curious young adult readers with the books of their dreams.

RANGAHAU Ā IWI – NGĀTI TAMA

Wednesday, 23 August 6:00 pm

Pou Kohikohinga Māori – Tūranga's Māori Collection Specialists - share insights, resources and key texts for iwi research that are available in their collections. In August the spotlight is on Ngāti Tama.

TĀNGATA NGĀI TAHU: PEOPLE OF NGĀI TAHU 2

04 Sep - 19 Sep 2022 4:00 pm

Join Tā Tipene O'Regan, Helen Brown and Michael Stevens for a journey through some extraordinary Ngāi Tahu lives.

INFIDELITY, DOMESTIC LIFE & DESIRE

Sunday, 4 September 2:30 pm

Tracey Slaughter, Brannavan Gnanalingam and Murdoch Stephens chat about the harsh realities of domestic life and parenting, desire and rage, loss and sexual politics in their books.

JULIE KING MEMORIAL LECTURE: TAONGA MĀORI AND CHRISTIAN MISSIONS

Sunday, 4 September 2:00 pm

Professor Deidre Brown presents the fascinating story of the trade in treasures between 19th-century Māori and Christian missionaries.

MAKE IT, SAY IT, DO IT NOW

Sunday, 4 September 2:00 pm

Under 25 with a message to spread or a story to tell? Come down for a mashup of free workshops, stalls and creative crafts.

HAPPINESS AND OTHER BAD IDEAS

Sunday, 4 September 12:30 pm

What makes our moods? What do meditation and medication do to our brains? Is it better to be happy or do good?

HE WAIATA HOU – INDIGENOUS WRITERS HUI

Sunday, 4 September 10:00 am

As a Māori or Pasifika storyteller, what do you want the future of indigenous storytelling to look like?

NO OTHER PLACE TO STAND: CREATIVITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Saturday, 3 September 4:30 pm

How do we adapt, mitigate and create in response to the climate crisis? Can good writing get us past the language of science and policy to where the ecological and human meet?

WAR AND PEACE

Saturday, 3 September 2:30 pm

Ross Calman and Dr Te Maire Tau on the life of Te Rauparaha, the turbulent history between Ngāi Tahu and Ngāti Toa and the peace marriages that followed.

THE GENTRIFICATION BLUES AND COMEDY HOUR

Saturday, 3 September 12:30 pm

Two gifted satirists, Coco Solid and Murdoch Stephens, tackle housing and gentrification in their recent books. Join them for a sparky conversation about the places we live.

REMEMBERING THE FUTURE, REIMAGINING THE PAST

Saturday, 3 September 10:30 am

Whiti Hereaka, Sascha Stronach and Cassie Hart on the craft of reimagining the past, present and future in their fiction.

THE GREAT WORD STORY HUNT

Saturday, 3 September 10:00 am

The Great WORD Story Hunt is back. Grab the whānau and find clues hidden in the library that will lead you to the next story.

CELEBRATING CULTURE AND SISTER CITIES

Friday, 2 September 7:00 pm

New Zealand poets join forces with Chinese musicians in celebration of the sister city relationship between Waimakariri and Enshi, China,

MELANI ANAE: FIFTY YEARS OF THE POLYNESIAN PANTHERS

Friday, 2 September 6:00 pm

Dr Melani Anae and Rev Alec Toleafoa reflect on the apology for the Dawn Raids, and five decades spent in peaceful resistance, educating New Zealand about ongoing racism, and Pasifika empowerment.

HUMANS OF NEW ZEALAND

Friday, 2 September 5:30 pm

Join Rebecca K. Reilly, Sue Orr and Chloe Lane in conversation with Kate De Goldi about the murky intricacies of emotional, sexual and family politics and dynamics explored in their novels.

OUT HERE: AN ANTHOLOGY OF TAKATĀPUI AND LGBTQIA+ WRITERS FROM AOTEAROA

Friday, 2 September 4:00 pm

Chris Tse and Emma Barnes host a range of special guests for a deep dive into the brilliance and diversity of Queer writing today.

MANA WĀHINE: INFLUENCE AND CRAFT

Friday, 2 September 1:30 pm

A kōrero with Coco Solid, Rebecca K Reilly and Nicole Titihuia Hawkins about the writing, art, music or people inspire them, and how these influences show up in their work.

Read Aloud Schools Day: Session 2

Thursday, 1 September 11:45 am

The Read Aloud Schools Day is back for another year. As always, we bring six exciting children’s writers across two sessions to the stage, free for all primary and intermediate schools in Canterbury.

Secondary Schools Programme

Thursday, 1 September 10:00 am

Once again, we’re offering incredible speakers to Christchurch secondary schools, absolutely free of charge.

Read Aloud Schools Day: Session 1

Thursday, 1 September 9:45 am

The Read Aloud Schools Day is back for another year. As always, we bring six exciting children’s writers across two sessions to the stage, free for all primary and intermediate schools in Canterbury.

TE PIKI O TĀWHAKI – 8:00 PM

Wednesday, 31 August 8:00 pm

WORD transforms Tūranga to tell the story of Tāwhaki which is woven into the building itself, using the spectacular central staircase as the stage.

TE PIKI O TĀWHAKI – 6:30 PM

Wednesday, 31 August 6:30 pm

WORD transforms Tūranga to bring to life the story of Tāwhaki which is woven into the building itself, using the spectacular central staircase as the stage.

BOOK LAUNCH: THE WANDERING NATURE OF US GIRLS

Wednesday, 31 August 6:00 pm

Join CUP to celebrate the launch of The Wandering Nature of Us Girls, Frankie McMillan’s new collection of exquisite, genre-defying prose.

HAIKU HIKE

Wednesday, 31 August 12:30 pm

Internationally award-winning haiku poet Doc Drumheller brings the ancient Japanese ginko, or haiku walk, into Waimakariri schools.

MAGAZINE-IN-RESIDENCE: TAKAHĒ

31 Aug - 04 Sep 2022 12:00 pm

Takahē is setting up shop and making an issue on-site during WORD. Drop in to find out what goes on behind the scenes at a literary magazine.

Out and About on New Regent Street

31 Aug - 04 Sep 2022 10:00 am

Out and About on New Regent Street takes framed poems from the new Out Here: An Anthology of Takatāpui and LGBTQIA+ Writers from Aotearoa into our favourite restaurants, bars and shops on New Regent Street. Track them down and be in to win.

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