Sector news
What's happening

OPPORTUNITIES

• Entries for the Allen & Unwin Aotearoa 2027 Fiction Prize are now open and will close on 31 March 2027.
• The Romance Writers of New Zealand Daphne Clair de Jong First Kiss competition opens on 01 November and closes 30 November.
• Last call for expressions of interest for judges for the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, this opportunity closes 02 November.

HAPPENING

• VERBCrawl is happening Sat 14 November in Wellington, which is an unmissable high-energy, one-night-only lit crawl.
• The Kiwi Christmas Books 2026 Christmas campaign will be back from November 1st until December 10th. Donations and support are welcome.
• The Read NZ 2026 Pānui with David Hill is happening on Tuesday 3 Nov at 6pm at the National Library of New Zealand in Wellington. RSVP here.
• Katherine Mansfield House has an epic event on 11 November, From Plate to Page: An Evening with Peter Gordon.
• Booksellers Summer Reading Guide is out now! Grab your free copy at your local indie bookshop or shop the full list online with BookHub.

AWARDS/APPOINTMENTS

• Pip Adam has won the 2026 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction
• Penny Richards has won the 2026 Allen & Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand 2026 Fiction Prize
• Alice Miller is the 2027 International Institute of Modern Letters Writer in Residence  
• The 2026 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureates were announced and included Catherine Chidgey for literature.

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