Auckland Writers Festival starts this week—here’s everything to go to

Auckland Writers Festival is back this week, and the 2025 lineup is one of its strongest yet. From literary heavyweights to cult favourites and genre-defying voices, the programme reads like a who's who of contemporary writing—the kind of names that spark standing ovations, book club debates, and last-minute panic-buys at Unity Books. Whether you're in the mood for a sharp take, a slow burn, or something that leaves you emotionally wrecked (in the best way), these are the sessions we wouldn't dream of missing. 

An Evening with Trent Dalton
If you’ve ever cried into a paperback copy of Boy Swallows Universe, this one’s for you. Dalton returns for a one-night-only conversation with Michelle Langstone and what promises to be a joyful, chaotic, deeply human Q&A session with fans. Expect reflections on his career, big news on his next project, and the exact kind of soul-stirring warmth that made 2000 people flood the foyer last year.
Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Aotea Centre
Tuesday, 13 May 2025 | 7:00pm – 8:30pm

Harriet Walter: All the World’s a Stage
From Succession’s icy Lady Caroline to Shakespeare’s most misunderstood women, Dame Harriet Walter is a master of inhabiting complex roles. In this conversation with Jennifer Ward-Lealand, she unpacks her book She Speaks! — a clever reimagining of what Shakespeare’s women might have said if they’d been allowed more than a handful of lines.
Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Aotea Centre
Friday, 16 May 2025 | 8:30pm – 9:45pm 

Mariana Enriquez
Gothic horror, political critique, and feminist rage — Mariana Enriquez does it all, and does it brilliantly. Her fiction and journalism slice into Argentina’s darkest undercurrents, and this rare appearance (her first in Aotearoa) is essential for fans of the unsettling and unforgettable. Chaired by Pip Adam, and not for the faint of heart.
Hunua Room, Aotea Centre
Saturday, 17 May 2025 | 1:00pm – 2:00pm

Samantha Harvey: The 2024 Booker Prize Winner
Only Samantha Harvey could make 136 pages about astronauts in space feel like a sweeping meditation on humanity. In conversation with Kate De Goldi, she reflects on Orbital, her quietly brilliant Booker-winning novel, and the isolation, wonder, and vast perspective of life above Earth.
Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Aotea Centre
Saturday, 17 May 2025 | 7:00pm – 8:15pm

David Nicholls
The man behind One Day has had a very big year. Nicholls joins Michele A’Court to talk about love, ageing, and finding new ground in his best-selling novel You Are Here — a middle-aged love story set on a hiking trail that has readers (and critics) swooning all over again.
Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Aotea Centre
Sunday, 18 May 2025 | 10:00am – 11:00am

Asako Yuzuki: Japan’s Trailblazer
Butter might be the most deliciously dark novel you’ll read this year—think food, feminism, and female rage all wrapped in a murder mystery. In her Festival debut, Yuzuki joins Paula Morris to dissect culinary seduction, gender expectations, and what Japan’s literary scene is really serving.
Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Aotea Centre
Sunday, 18 May 2025 | 1:00pm – 2:00pm 

Hanne Ørstavik
Don’t let the slim size of her books fool you: Ørstavik writes emotional wrecking balls. The Norwegian literary heavyweight talks to Noelle McCarthy about grief, love, and the unflinching psychological intimacy of her acclaimed novellas, from Love to Ti Amo and her latest, Stay with Me.
Waitākere Room, Aotea Centre
Sunday, 18 May 2025 | 1:00pm – 2:00pm

Colm Tóibín
When Colm Tóibín speaks, you listen. The master of quietly powerful fiction (Brooklyn, The Master, Long Island) joins Paula Morris to unpack decades of work, characters that linger, and the politics of home and memory. Expect wisdom, wit, and some literary magic.
Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Aotea Centre
Sunday, 18 May 2025 | 7:00pm – 8:15pm

To discover the full programme and reserve your seats, visit writersfestival.co.nz