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Former Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern will be among the headline speakers at this year’s Auckland Writers Festival Waituhi o Tāmaki.
The 27th annual festival, running from May 12–17, will bring more than 220 writers, thinkers and performers from New Zealand and around the world to Auckland for over 170 events across the Aotea Centre and other central city venues.
Festival audiences will be among the first in Aotearoa to hear Ardern discuss her book A Different Kind of Power, which is nominated in this year’s Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. Her event is scheduled for Sunday, May 17 at 7.30pm at the Aotea Centre.
One of the Southern Hemisphere’s largest literary festivals, the event drew more than 85,000 attendances last year and saw around 12,000 books sold.
Artistic Director Lyndsey Fineran says the 2026 programme aims to appeal both to loyal festival audiences and to new readers.
“Nothing has thrilled me more than seeing attendances soar over the last two years and watching a broader range of readers fill our theatres,” Fineran says.
“My hope is that this year’s programme excites our Festival regulars while also opening the doors to new audiences.”
International literary heavyweights appearing this year include Irish novelist Roddy Doyle, Life of Pi author Yann Martel, Booker Prize winner David Szalay, and celebrated Native American writer Louise Erdrich.
They will be joined by prominent New Zealand writers and commentators including Witi Ihimaera, Catherine Chidgey, Gilbert Enoka, Vincent O’Malley and activist Tāme Iti.
Topics set to be explored across the festival include artificial intelligence, climate change, modern masculinity, Indigenous rights and global politics.
The programme also includes events for younger readers, including an appearance by Dog Man and Captain Underpants creator Dav Pilkey, along with a free family programme running over the festival’s final weekend.
A new youth-focused strand called Plot Twist will debut this year, featuring spoken word, BookTok meetups, zine-making and other creative events at Q Theatre.
Tickets go on sale from 9am on Friday, March 13.
More than a quarter of the festival’s events will be free to attend.
