Winter is here, and so is Writers on Mondays! From 6 July to 28 September 2026, Writers on Mondays is celebrating Aotearoa’s literary culture with a series of free lunchtime events.

This free event series run by Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington’s International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML) in conjunction with Te Papa, Meow, and Circa Theatre, invites audiences to hear from some of Aotearoa’s most celebrated writers. 

Award-winning writers and exciting pairings are sure to spark lively conversations in this year’s programme, held from 12.15‒1.15 pm each Monday throughout July, August, and September.

Ingrid Horrocks, winner of the 2026 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction for her short story collection All Her Lives, and Laurence Patchett whose Have This Heart comprises “ten new stories, every one of them a winner” (Harry Ricketts, RNZ), discuss the art of short fiction. Tim Corballis joins 2018 Acorn Prize winner pip adam, 2026 IIML Emerging Māori Writer in Residence Terri Te Tau, to discuss speculative fiction and writing the strange present and possible futures in their new novels. There’s also a treat in store for readers of all ages, with the fantastic Rachael King and Claire Mabey speaking about their newest novels for young people.

2026 is a big year for memoir, and Writers on Mondays features the thrilling pairing of memoirists Noelle McCarthy and Kate Camp. Expect big laughs and a compelling discussion about their new books (Stakes and Leather & Chains), the 1980s, hungry girls, and vampires. Beloved novelist Elizabeth Knox will discuss her acclaimed memoir, Night, Ma. We also celebrate the Year of the Horse with another great pairing, of Abby Letteri and Marty Smith, whose works of non-fiction take very different approaches but hold the horse at heart.

Poetry offerings explore some big questions this year. Tusiata Avia, lauded poet and current IIML Writer in Residence will consider what poetry is for, and how to make it accessible to wider audiences. Airini Beautrais, Helen Rickerby, and Haro Lee will join Chris Tse to discuss blending forms of poetry and memoir, writing uneasy times, and making pasts and futures come alive. The 2025 edition of Ōrongohau | Best New Zealand Poems will be celebrated with readings from an all-star line-up of local poets.

Local writers Joseph Trinidad and Shariff Burke are making waves with their debut works. Shariff’s collection of short stories,Childish Palate, explores Te Whanganui-a-Tara through what he describes as “the emotional truth of outsiders”. Joseph’s prize-winning essay collection, Lucky Creatures, is described by Lana Lopesi as a “vibrant intervention into the literary landscape”.

For a glimpse of the emerging talent from the IIML’s Master of Arts workshops, scriptwriting students will have their words brought to life in lunchtime performances at Circa Theatre, while the next wave of novelists, poets, and creative nonfiction writers will read in special evening events at Meow.

Writers on Mondays will run from 12.15‒1.15 pm each Monday from 6 July to 28 September 2026 at Te Papa and Circa Theatre, with two special evening sessions at Meow. Admission is free and all are welcome. The series is supported by the Letteri family.

Come celebrate Aotearoa writers with us at Writers on Mondays—we look forward to seeing you there.

View the full Writers on Mondays programme

For further information, contact morgan.bach@vuw.ac.nz.

Image details: Ōrongohau | Best New Zealand Poems 2024 contributors and editor at a session from the 2025 Writers on Mondays series at Te Papa Tongarewa. Left to right: Zephyr Zhang, Stacey Teague, Simon Sweetman, Helen Rickerby (reading for Kiri Piahana-Wong), Robin Peace, James Brown and Philomena Johnson, with BNZP 2024 editor Nick Ascroft and Te Herenga Waka University Press publisher Fergus Barrowman (reading for Vincent O’Sullivan). Photo by Caoimhe McKeogh.