Skip to content
Support Subscribe
Festival
2026 Festival Programme Livestream and On Demand events Free and Pay What you Wish events Changes/Updates WORD FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions Ticketing Info Accessibility Partners For Schools
Writers About
About WORD WORD Community Guidelines Locations Board Our Team Support
Media
News Podcasts
My Events
Saved items Support Subscribe
WORD Christchurch

Programme

The full WORD Christchurch 2026 Festival programme. Find headline events, in-conversations, workshops and free events across six days in Ōtautahi.
books-come-alive-2026-portrait-image-(1920-x-1080-px).png

Books Come Alive!

Saturday, 15 August — 11:00am – 1:00pm

Join Giselle Clarkson (Omnibird) and Sacha Cotter and Josh Morgan (A Guide to Rocks) for a special story time at Te Ara Ātea.

View event details
reading-rave-2026-website.png

Reading Rave

Sunday, 16 August — 10:30am – 1:30pm

Did you know reading is a superpower? It can take you on wild adventures, even to a party at Tūranga!

View event details
a-mua-website-event-image.png

Ā Mua

Tuesday, 1 September — 7:00pm – 8:15pm

Multi-instrumentalist Riki Pirihi (Ngāti Wai, Patuharakeke, Ngaati Maahanga) and award-winning writer Tina Makereti (Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Rangatahi-Matakore, Pākehā) weave together sound and story, taonga pūoro and strings, in this special performance.

View event details
otautahi-youth-poetry-slam-website-event-image.png

Ōtautahi Youth Poetry Slam

Wednesday, 2 September — 7:00pm – 9:30pm

Celebrate our rangatahi, what they have to say and the stories they want to share. Expect the voices of youth to speak their truth proudly and loudly – no topic is too big for these brave poets!

View event details
cocktails-and-tarot-website.png

Cocktails & Tarot

Wednesday, 2 September — 7:00pm – 9:00pm

Head along to our favourite whisky and cocktail lounge for an intimate evening of tarot and book chat with our best book witch Claire Mabey.

View event details
otautahi-poetry-slam-web.png

Ōtautahi Poetry Slam Final

Thursday, 3 September — 7:00pm – 9:30pm

The Ōtautahi Poetry Slam returns to WORD Christchurch! Poets will be throwing down like their lives depend on it, raising the bar a little more over three intense rounds.

View event details
letters-out-loud-web.png

Letters Out Loud

Thursday, 3 September — 8:00pm – 9:15pm

Papers past, read by some of our favorite voices in the festival including Elisabeth Easther and Ariana Tikao (Kāi Tahu). A special night of storytelling via scrawled messages and typewriter ink.

View event details
he-told-us-web.webp

He Told Us

Friday, 4 September — 10:00am – 11:00am

He Told Us shows how a far-right terrorist escaped detection ahead of Christchurch’s 2019 attack. Terrorism researchers Chris Wilson and Michal Dziwulski uncovered crucial information that official agencies missed.

View event details
the-art-of-the-glimpse-web.png
Short Stories:

The Art of the Glimpse

Friday, 4 September — 10:30am – 11:30am

The writer William Trevor said the short story form is defined by “the art of the glimpse.” It should be an explosion of truth. Its strength lies in what it leaves out just as much as what it puts in, if not more.

View event details
sally-wenley-event-web.png
The Crash:

Sally Wenley

Friday, 4 September — 12:00pm – 1:00pm

In 1987, Sally Wenley was a driven, fun-loving and at times naughty high school sports prefect. After a fatal bus trip she became a paraplegic, her sporting dreams in tatters.

View event details
shortland-pounamu-web.png

Shortland Pounamu

Friday, 4 September — 12:30pm – 1:30pm

Taonga are potent connectors travelling across space, time, and generations. Imbued with the whakapapa of our tīpuna, they connect our past, present, and future.

View event details
charlotte-grimshaw-the-black-monk-web.png
The Black Monk:

Charlotte Grimshaw

Friday, 4 September — 2:00pm – 3:00pm

One of our most celebrated writers returns with a part psychological thriller, part family saga, The Black Monk, Charlotte Grimshaw’s first novel since her sensational memoir The Mirror Book.

View event details
foreign-correspondents-web-(1).png

Foreign Correspondents

Friday, 4 September — 4:00pm – 5:00pm

World-leading Pacific correspondent, Barbara Dreaver and TVNZ’s first Asia correspondent, Charlotte Glennie talk about their powerful memoirs.

View event details
mortified-web.png
Mortified:

Pax Assadi

Friday, 4 September — 4:30pm – 5:30pm

The hilarious Pax Assadi has herded ducks in West Auckland and experienced catastrophic culture shock in Pakistan. He discusses his joyfully chaotic and painfully honest memoir, Mortified.

View event details
risky-women-web.png

Risky Women

Friday, 4 September — 8:00pm – 9:30pm

Our much-loved storytelling session is back and promises to be as revealing and inspiring as ever. Brilliant wāhine talk about when they took a risk – in love, life or career – and what happened next.

View event details
small-presses,-big-impact.png

Small Press, Big Impact

Saturday, 5 September — 12:00am – 12:00am

Going up against the big guns in the book world, it’s small independent presses who do the hard yards finding and publishing diverse talent.

View event details
zinefest-web-actual.png

Zinefest

05 Sep - 06 Sep 2026 — 11:00am – 4:00pm

Zinefest is a whānau friendly day celebrating zine culture, small press and self-publishing in Ōtautahi and across Aotearoa.

View event details
tame-iti-web.png
Mana:

Tāme Iti

Saturday, 5 September — 12:00pm – 1:00pm

Iconic Māori activist, artist and performer Tāme Iti (Ngāi Tūhoe) sits down with Delaney Davidson to share tales from his extraordinary life of resistance, resilience and rangatiratanga.

View event details
noelle-mccarthy-stakes-web.png
Stakes:

Noelle McCarthy

Saturday, 5 September — 12:30pm – 1:30pm

Growing up in Catholic Ireland, Noelle McCarthy was captivated by the fantasy of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, a risk-free alternative to the fraught realities of desire.

View event details
working-class-heroes-web.png

Working Class Heroes

Saturday, 5 September — 12:30pm – 1:30pm

Dominic Hoey (1985) and pip adam (Kluge) discuss and celebrate the importance of seeing working class characters and stories on the page.

View event details
zines-bryce-galloway-web.png
Zines NZ:

Bryce Galloway

Saturday, 5 September — 2:30pm – 3:30pm

In his beautifully illustrated book Zines NZ, Bryce Galloway celebrates the Aotearoa zine story, from our first punk-rock music zine in 1980 to today.

View event details
a-life-in-forensics-web.png

A Life in Forensics

Saturday, 5 September — 2:30pm – 3:30pm

Two of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most accomplished forensic investigators come together for a fascinating glimpse into working on crime scenes and disaster zones including the Christchurch earthquakes.

View event details
i-wish-i-wrote-that-web.png

I Wish I Wrote That

Saturday, 5 September — 8:00pm – 9:00pm

Four writers share a favourite song or book that they adore. Be introduced to new musical and literary gems or gain new ways of looking at old favourites.

View event details
cross-party-lines-web.png
Cross Party Lines:

Live

Sunday, 6 September — 12:00pm – 1:00pm

Hosted by Phil Goff and Chris Finlayson, Cross Party Lines is this election year's hottest ticket. Don’t miss this special live edition of the podcast that challenges the status quo.

View event details
aotearoa-gothic-web.png

New Aotearoa Gothic

Sunday, 6 September — 12:30pm – 1:30pm

Aotearoa has a long-held gothic tradition in our literature, art, film and music. Join fresh voices in a discussion about their craft.

View event details
dave-dobbyn-web.png
Songwriter Speaks:

Dave Dobbyn

Sunday, 6 September — 4:00pm – 5:00pm

In this special conversation Dave will be sharing tales of his career, as well as the stories behind some of his favourite work, and the inspiration of Aotearoa – the people and the place.

View event details
can-i-live-1_1_2022.jpg

Can I Live?

Sunday, 6 September — 6:00pm – 8:00pm

Why don't we talk about it? Fehinti Balogun asks this urgent question and offers an invitation in Can I Live?, a vital new digital performance about the climate catastrophe. Followed by a live panel discussion.

View event details

Word Social Feed

wordchch

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

Hey, you! We want you to join the WORD fest volunteer team! 💚 Become part of the buzz at one of Ōtautahi's most belove... Introducing our brilliant Production Manager Cat! She’s a venue, crew and logistics superstar, but what is she reading?... Come one come all to our 2026 WORD CHCH Festival Launch! In just a couple of weeks we are launching our 2026 festival pr... We are looking forward to our friends at @objectspace hosting a bunch of bookish events this July in their central city... WORD is stoked to be collaborating with @otautahi_zinefest and @christchurchlib again this year. Tonight there’s the for... We are delighted to present two FREE schools events to enchant Primary and Intermediate school readers and storytellers....
Follow on Instagram
Creative New Zealand
Christchurch City Council
Rātā Foundation
Publica
University of Canterbury