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Bookworms walking down Shotover St would be forgiven for spying wetsuits and snowboard gear in the window of NZSHRED and strolling right on by. But inside, literary treasures abound. We caught up with owners Jase and Jon to find out how they got here. “…reading doesn’t always have to be a struggle for knowledge. It’s […]
To add a little extra dazzle to this year’s festival, we decided to host a fast and furious writing competition. On the opening evening we announced three prompts (plus a bonus, thrown in at the behest of judge Steve Braunias) and gave writers in Otago and Southland just 48 hours to write something stunning. From […]
Queenstown Writers Festival chair Tanya Surrey is still coming down from the high of another successful festival. Here’s her wrap-up of this year’s event. After months of meetings, phone calls, emails to publishers and efforts to source peonies for the stage, the Queenstown Writers Festival came together last weekend. We called it a “mini festival” […]
Queenstown Writers Festival co-founder Tanya Surrey sat down for a chat with our feature guest for the 2023 festival. It was a sunny morning in Wellington when I arrived at the home of New Zealand filmmaker, Dame Gaylene Preston to discuss the Queenstown Writers Festival. As we sat and talked about the world of film, […]
We’re not 100% sure about this, but there’s a very good chance that Cristina Sanders is the busiest and most energetic person we know. We dragged her out of the wild outdoors – she’s a trail runner, a sailor, a whitewater rafter, a photographer, a traveller – for long enough to answer a few questions. […]
Megan Nicol Reed is no newcomer to writing and the discipline required to get words on the page – a journalist turned newspaper columnist, deadlines don’t faze her. That said, Megan is new to writing novels, but her answers to our compulsory questions suggest it’s not such a different challenge really. Megan’s columns and her novel, […]
Calling all writers…If you’re based in Otago or Southland you’re invited to feel the fear and do it anyway in a new competition as part of this year’s Queenstown Writers Festival. You’ll have exactly 48 hours over the festival weekend of 11 to 12 November to compose up to 800 words of literary gold, based […]
Barbara Else, who joins us for two events at Queenstown Writers Festival, is a living legend of book publishing. Her life has been one of continuous transformation: from clever girl to obedient wife to feminist finding her voice. From award-winning novelist to admired editor to nurturer of upcoming writers as a literary agent. And now […]
Michael Bennett’s striking début novel, Better the Blood, is a crime thriller with a message about the dark secrets of Aotearoa New Zealand’s history and how they still resonate today. We’re very much looking forward to welcoming Michael to Queenstown Writers Festival and hearing his conversation with lawyer Bryony Shackell. He’ll talk about the genesis of his […]
Expect the mysterious and the morbid, as well insights into memoir writing, at the 2023 Queenstown Writers Festival. For our 2023 programme we’ve brought together acclaimed writers from across Aotearoa New Zealand to discuss bold ideas and their latest books, on the weekend of November 11 to 12 at Te Atamira in Frankton. Dame Gaylene Preston […]