NZ Young Writers Festival marks two milestones this year

Posted: Thursday Sep 12, 2024

A poetic reimagining of the Dunedin Sound and lessons on writing grief are just some of the events on offer at a Dunedin literary festival.

NZ Young Writers Festival marks two milestones this year | Otago Daily Times Online News (odt.co.nz)

The New Zealand Young Writers Festival is back — this time for its 10th year.

Produced by the Dunedin Fringe Arts Trust, the festival features young writers between the ages of 15 and 35 and is aimed at an audience "from tweens to adults".

Dunedin Fringe Arts Trust co-director Ruth Harvey said the festival’s 10th birthday — as well as the 10th anniversary of Dunedin’s status as a Unesco City of Literature — was a "huge milestone" and would be commemorated with cake before two special opening night events.

"Moana Speak from the South" was a panel celebrating Pacific voices, while "The Remix" offered responses from poets and musicians to the legacy of the Dunedin Sound.

The festival’s founders, former Dunedin mayor Aaron Hawkins and Josh Thomas, would also speak at the opening night. But while there were birthday celebrations to be had, the festival was always about providing a platform for literary events for young people, Ms Harvey said.

The festival was an important introduction into the literary festival scene and created connections that could catapult young writers into other opportunities.

"We’ve got 10 years’ worth of alumni who have been supported by this festival, which is the only literary festival in the country that is focused solely on young voices, so it’s a unique platform for young people to express themselves", Ms Harvey said.

Guest curator Ruby Macomber, of Auckland, said major life events had drawn her to writing, which had offered her a platform to explore them.

"And so I wanted to provide space for writers to use writing to navigate some really big feelings and big events, but also want a platform to be in conversation with each other knowing that writing can be quite an isolating practice sometimes."

"Whose stori is it anyways?" was a workshop about what it meant to exercise story sovereignty and understanding your identity when writing, "Writing Grief" would explore how to make writing about grief potentially safer and the Te Ao Kāi Tahu writing panel would be an exciting event for young Kāi Tahu writers willing to bring their experiences and identity to the page, she said.

The festival runs from tomorrow until Sunday at various venues across the city.