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Published 12 March 2026Writers' Festival line-up announced
A star-studded line-up of literary powerhouses, global thinkers, and fresh new voices will take to the stage for the Auckland Writers Festival Waituhi o Tāmaki from 12–17 May.
Announced on Wednesday, the programme features more than 220 writers. Emeritus Professor Bill Manhire CNZM FRSNZ will feature as the Festival's Honoured Writer, with Fergus Barrowman leading a celebration of his work. The Royal Society Te Apārangi is supporting two events:
- Professor Emerita Charlotte Macdonald FRSNZ discusses Garrison World: Redcoat Soldiers in New Zealand and across the British Empire (Bridget Willams Books). This book investigates the reordering of power that shaped Aotearoa in the 19th century.
- Emeritus Professor Philip Garnock-Jones used a Charles Fleming Publishing Award from the Society to develop He Puāwai: A Natural History of New Zealand Flowers (Auckland University Press), which describes 100 native species, with more than 500 remarkable photographs.
Dr Vincent O’Malley FRSNZ will explore Irish immigration to Aotearoa New Zealand. Kim Hill CRSNZ will chair two sessions with Australian authors. Dr Carwyn Jones FRSNZ (Ngāti Kahungunu, Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki) and Professor Margaret Mutu FRSNZ (Ngāti Kahu, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Whātua) will discuss 100 years of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The Society is also looking forward to Associate Professor Sereana Naepi MRSNZ and former staff member Tracy Farr discussing their new books.
Other Festival highlights include many of New Zealand’s most esteemed writers Witi Ihimaera (Te Whānau a Kai, Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata, Ngāti Ira, Ngāti Porou), Catherine Chidgey, Tusiata Avia, Charlotte Grimshaw, and Elizabeth Knox. Some of literature’s most recognisable household names will visit our shores, such as Irish novelist Roddy Doyle; Life of Pi author Yann Martel; winner of the 2025 Booker Prize David Szalay; winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction Tayari Jones; and Native American winner of the Pulitzer Prize Louise Erdrich.
Some of the world’s sharpest non-fiction writers will join New Zealand commentators for panel discussions and talks. A special delegation of Canadian writers – including leading political commentator and writer David Moscrop and Booker Prize-longlisted Ukrainian–Canadian author Maria Reva – will bring fresh cultural perspectives to the Festival.
Watch a trailer of Garrison World at Bridget Williams Books.
Explore the full programme at Auckland Writers Festival.