Dunedin Writers Retreat Expands to 27 Participants for Second Year

Twenty seven young writers spent the recent weekend at Puketeraki Marae in Karitane, participating in the second annual New Zealand Young Writers Festival residency. The Dunedin Fringe team organized the event, which expanded its cohort size for this cycle. Participants were aged between 18 and 35.

The three-day program followed a tuakana and teina framework, pairing experienced mentors with emerging talent. This structure aimed to build specific skills while providing creative inspiration. The group began with a pōwhiri and a Talitali kava ceremony. These rituals allowed writers to honor deceased loved ones and set personal intentions for the festival duration.

The residency included a guided tour of Huriawa pā. This site visit grounded the writers in the local history of the land where they were creating new work. Each morning, the group gathered to greet the sunrise with karakia and waiata. These practices served as a grounding routine before daily writing sessions began.

Mentors led a variety of workshops throughout the stay. Eric Soakai guided the cohort through a life mapping exercise that covered past experiences and future goals, including mortality. Josiah Morgan, the 2026 Young Writer in Residence, taught a movement-based session focused on comfort in discomfort. Antony Deaker and Nick Tipa provided instruction on practical artist finances, such as managing funds, taxes, and grant applications.

The formal festival program opened with a presentation by the residency cohort. The event, titled Pou Kōrero, Pou Talanoa: Posts that Speak, featured new work from the participants. The session closed with the writers performing a song composed by the previous year's group. This piece now serves as the official anthem for the festival.

The following weekend featured a dense schedule of creative workshops. Topics included slam poetry, zine making, multilingual collaborative poetry, and ritual. Tara Leckie led a workshop called Talking to the Dark. One attendee described the session as a healthy way to process difficult thoughts before returning to the safety of the light. The Otago Poetry Slam Champs also launched on Saturday night with a series of performances.

The festival concluded with a panel discussion featuring five selected writers from the cohort. The group discussed themes of courage, revolution, and lived experience in their work. MC Rachel O'Neill moderated the session, asking questions that addressed collaboration and suspension of disbelief. The cohort gathered afterwards for closing reflections and a poroporoaki, marking the end of the intensive period.

The Dunedin Fringe team, including Vanessa, Hannah, and Katrina, managed the logistics for the event. Tuakana mentors Eric and Rauhina Kohuwai-Banks also contributed behind the scenes and during the marae stay. The festival takes place in Dunedin, which holds UNESCO City of Literature status.