Here are five poetry events on offer at AWF 2026 along with The Ockham Book Awards event where the poetry winner will be announced.

Check full programme here

Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry: Nafanua Purcell Kersel (Satupa‘itea, Faleālupo, Aleipata, Tuaefu); Sophie van Waardenberg; Erik Kennedy; Anna Jackson

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2026 Honoured Writer Bill Manhire

A short programme blurb can’t do justice to Bill Manhire’s immense contribution to the country’s literary landscape.

He was Aotearoa New Zealand’s inaugural poet laureate, has won the Ockham NZ Book Award for Poetry five times, and founded and directed the International Institute of Modern Letters at Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington, from which countless of the nation’s finest writers have emerged.

We are thrilled to be recognising Manhire as the Festival’s 2026 Honoured Writer, and have him join a list of luminaries including Witi Ihimaera, CK Stead, Patricia Grace, Joy Cowley, Fiona Kidman, Anne Salmond and Gavin Bishop.

While Manhire is unable to attend, Fergus Barrowman will lead a wide-ranging session about Bill’s extraordinary life in letters and his major new collection, Lyrical Ballads.

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Masterclass

Emma Neale is one of our most celebrated poets. She was awarded the Lauris Edmond Memorial Award for a Distinguished Contribution to New Zealand Poetry in 2020 and her sixth collection Liar, Liar, Lick, Spit won the Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry at the 2025 Ockham NZ Book Awards.

In this practical and engaging workshop, Neale will help you find your way into a poem – and how to stay on course once you’ve begun.

Through guided writing exercises, you’ll generate first drafts, before turning to the art of self-editing, learning about common pitfalls that Neale encounters as an editor.

You’ll gain insights into how to craft poems that truly lift – and truly land.

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Dreaming for the Ocean in Us: Tangata Moana Writers and Desire

A bold, intimate conversation exploring Pacific writing beyond expectation and what writers are reaching for when they choose desire as a compass. Tusiata Avia, Amber Esau, and Danielle Kionasina Dilys Thomson with Ruby Macomber.

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Hot Takes, Sharp Lines: A Spoken Word Round Table

Poetry, mischief and unforgettable storytelling featuring poet baddies Dominic Hoey, Mr Meaty Boy (Ngāti Porou, Ngāpuhi), Liam Jacobson (Kāi Tahu), Amber Esau (Ngāpuhi, Manase) and Michael Pedersen.

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Love Won, Love Lost, Love Burned Up in Flames

Hearts soaring, hearts broken and everything in between. Seven writers tell intimate, passionate, uplifting, devastating stories of love. Including Matariki Bennett and Michael Bennett.