I want to steal a phrase from El Jaguar's Book (Fight) Club - "Literati Thunderdome". That's what it was like when 23 teams stepped into a booky cage fight last night for WORD's annual quiz. I confess to pre-quiz nerves, but Tautoru / TSB Space in Tūranga was chill - drinks, snacks, raffles, laughs, and chat. Still, competition was hot. How could it not be in a book quiz with teams stacked full of readers, booksellers, writers, poets, librarians, and book-loving peeps and friends. WORD Nerds are a competitive bunch!
Host with the most Claudia Jardine set the scene - 8 rounds of ten questions, get your answers marked by another team, and GO!
It was a pacy and challenging quiz, with rounds on:
- famous first lines
- literary prizes
- te ao Māori
- book covers
- children and young adult's literature
- mystery and crime
- music
- adaptations.
We had a ball, digging deep into every nook and cranny of our brains. Sometimes coming up with an answer like a pearl, sometimes mangling it slightly, and other times workshopping our way to an educated guess.
BTS Here are some of my team's answer sheets (team name: Asterisk and the Footnotes)
After having our book brains thoroughly exercised, it was the end.
Congrats to everyone who made the night such a success - the WORD team, quiz MC Claudia, and question-maker Ray.
Here are the teams who made it the podium (drum roll please):
Third place
Scorpy Tales (from Scorpio Books)
Second place
Asterisk and the Footnotes (Moata, Megan, Ned, Karen, and Me)
and the winners
First place - Ultra Elite
(team includes Rachael King, Erin Harrington, and Naomi van den Broek)
Naomi and the trophy!
The quiz really is a perfect Festival starter - it gets your mind fizzing with words and joy. See you at WORD!
Photos
Want more quizzular action?
Test your local history knowledge with our monthly quizzes
Reporting from past quizzes
- The Great Ngaio Marsh Game Show and Awards – Saturday 14 September 2019
- Kiwi Quiz Night and the Ngaio Marsh Awards 2023: Yeah Noir
- WORD Christchurch 2023: Lost the plot! The WORD quiz night
More WORD Christchurch
- Read our coverage of WORD Christchurch Festival 2025
- Check the WORD Christchurch website
- Follow WORD Christchurch on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok
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