WORD Christchurch is go! The programme hit the streets and the web at the beginning of July and it looks like it will definitely live up to this year's theme: Joy.
Festival-goers this year are spoiled for choice - I have a huge list of things I'd like to go to but I've had to pare it down a bit. The events listed below are the merest tip of the iceberg of incredible talents on offer this year:
Damien Wilkins and Laurence Fearnley: In Praise Of Gentle Fiction
Damien Wilkins and Laurence Fearnley are a great pairing. Both Delirious and The Grand Glacier Hotel were nominated for the Jann Medlicott Prize for Fiction at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards, with Wilkins taking out the coveted prize of $65,000!
Wilkins and Fearnley have an impressive canon of works to their names and are known for their gently moving prose, balancing the big questions of life with poignance and humour in equal parts.
This event will be your only chance to see Laurence Fearnley, while Damien Wilkins is appearing in two more events at WORD.
Writing Grief is a masterclass in creating fiction around the experience of loss, and in This Band Could Be Your Life, Wilkins is part of a star-studded panel of WORD authors, sharing the music that has shaped their lives.
Queens of Atmosphere: Charlotte Wood, Catherine Chidgey and Michelle Duff
These three hugely popular authors are famous for the way they build a strong sense of unease, create atmospheric settings and put in motion characters that imprint on the reader's mind.
Setting is a big part of these authors' latest books. A writer of both fiction and non-fiction, Charlotte Wood's Stone Yard Devotional begins with the central character visiting her parent's graves, then escaping the world to live in an isolated abbey in a remote dry Australian setting.
In The Book of Guilt Catherine Chidgey's sharp pen tells an uncomfortable tale of decrepit children's homes on the edges of English villages, where the residents are kept from society, suffering from a strange 'bug' they must be medicated for and yearning for the day when they will be well enough to travel to the seaside fair at Margate.
Journalist and fiction writer Michelle Duff has penned two biographies on Jacinda Ardern. Her latest book, Surplus Women, is a short story collection encompassing past, present, future; the entire spectrum of human experience, emotions and responses to life as women. It's a work of feminism, resistance and remembrance, in an atmosphere with "wafts of impulse from a backpack in the 90s" - the blurb for this book is incredible - imagine the book itself!
Catherine Chidgey will be in three events this year, including The Cabinet of Curiosities, and The Book of Guilt.
Michelle Duff is chairing Strong Minded, where she interviews RNZ Broadcaster and war corresponent Susie Ferguson and investigative journalist Ali Mau.
Charlotte Wood appears in two events with Emily Perkins: Stone Yard Devotional and Elements of Fiction - an extension of their masterclass workshop. Audience members are invited to bring along their work, questions and road-blocks to share. Participants must submit their questions in advance - what a brilliant way to get some help with creation!
Shared Reading Sessions
If you've spent all your dosh and feel like something free, come along to one of the Shared Reading group sessions at Tūranga during WORD (bookings required). You might even get a session with me! These run from 11am- 12pm, 1-2pm, and 3-4pm on Sunday 31 August. Shared Reading is sponsored by Reading Revolution, a scheme that celebrates reading in a group where writers' work is celebrated and personal response to the work is valued and encouraged.
And a bonus "After the festival" event...
The Ngaio Marsh Awards and The Murderous Mystery
When the circus has left town and you're feeling like you have nowhere to go, WORD and The Ngaio Marsh Awards have given us something to look forward to. The Ngaio Marsh Awards ceremony for the best Crime and Mystery books of the last year will be held on Thursday 25 September in the Tautoru/TSB Space at Tūranga from 6pm. Before the awards, the amazing Court Jesters from our new neighbour the Court Theatre will entertain the crowd with a murder mystery. Come along if you dare...
Top festival tips
If you're looking for value for money, a five-event multipass to the festival is a good investment. Another option for festival-goers is an online ticket, which gives access to events for longer and they can be revisited from your armchair. These are listed next to each event. Some events are free too!
WORD Christchurch is shaping up to be an exciting way to end the winter. I hope you find it a joyous celebration in how stories make a difference to our lives.
Looking for something to read? Check out our Fiction Genre Guides or ask us for a Reading Recommendation.
More WORD
Make your own picks of the festival - check the programme online or pick up a printed copy from your library.
- WORD Christchurch website
- Follow WORD Christchurch on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok
- Our WORD Christchurch 2025 page - Find books by writers coming to this year's festival
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