New Zealand Young Writers Festival Launches 2018 Programme

Posted: Wednesday Aug 15, 2018

Robot poetry, decolonising literature, and feminism in the age of #metoo are among the hot button topics at this year’s New Zealand Young Writers Festival. Performances, workshops, panel discussions, and film screenings make up the 18 free events taking place in Dunedin from September 6th - 9th.

“Dunedin’s designation as a UNESCO City of Literature isn’t a museum exhibit” says programmer and Dunedin Fringe Arts Trust chair Aaron Hawkins. “Events like these maintain the city’s status as a supporter of young talent and big ideas.”

With the support of the Australian High Commission, the festival welcomes Winnie Dunn, Shirley Le and Phoebe Grainer from Sweatshop: Western Sydney Literacy Movement, who will be performing work and running workshops focused on empowerment through the written word.

Alongside them, audiences can peer inside a mélange of writerly minds, including Pasifika playwright Leki Jackson-Bourke; poet Freya Daly Sadgrove; journalistsEleanor Ainge Roy and Sasha Borissenko; and commentator Miriama Aoake.

“Over the past four years we’ve been proud to present a festival by and for young writers, one that offers opportunities for them to share ideas, develop skills and build community” says Hawkins.

For those wanting to put pen to paper themselves there’s a programme of workshops to help kickstart the creative process, from making a zine to writing a script, or even turning old diary entries into performance poetry with the help of National Poetry Slam winner 2017 Daisy Lavea-Timo.

This year also marks the 60th anniversary of the Robert Burns Fellowship, and the NZYWF has worked with the University of Otago to present events featuring two past Burns Fellows: Victor Rodger will facilitate a play-reading and writing workshop; and Craig Cliff will run a workshop on writing with robots.

For further juicy details, head to http://youngwritersfest.nz/

WHAT: NZ Young Writer’s Festival 2018

WHEN: 6-9 September 2018