If you have a date in the diary for an event or campaign and think we should know about it or want our help to promote it, please get in touch.
2026
August: Hamilton Book Month
6–9 August: Photobook/NZ
15–21 August: Aotearoa NZ Children's Book Week
19 August: New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults Ceremony – 2026 Winners Announced.
28 August 2026: National Poetry Day
1–6 September: Word Festival, Christchurch
4-13 September: Kia rerekē te hua, Ōtaki / In other words, Ōtaki
24 September: PANZ Design Awards
26 September: Tamariki Book Festival, Christchurch
25-27 September: Verb Readers & Writers Festival
3–4 October: Storylines Children’s Writers and Illustrators’ National Hui
10 October: Bookshop Day
9-11 October: Hawke’s Bay Readers and Writers Festival
15–25 October: Yarns in Barns
16–18 October 2026: KUPU Māori Writers Festival
22 October – 1 November: Nelson Arts Festival Pukapuka Talks
22 October – 1 November: Tauranga Arts Festival
1 November: The Women's Bookshop Ladies' Litera-Tea
1.00pm–5.30pm
Raye Freedman Arts Centre, Epsom Girls
An afternoon of women's words, wit & wisdom
6–8 November: Queenstown Writers Festival
14 November: LitCrawl 2026, Wellington
24 November The Children's Booker Prize 2027 shortlist announced
2027
January
28 January Ockham New Zealand Book Awards Longlist Announced
February
2 February The Children's Booker Prize 2027 winner announced
10 February Women's Prize for Non-Fiction Longlist announced
18 February NZ Booklovers Awards Shortlist Announced
19–28 February Hamlit, Hamilton Arts Festival Toi Ora ki Kirikiriroa
10–14 February ABA Winter Institute
March
3 March Ockham New Zealand Book Awards Shortlist Announced
10 February Women's Prize for Fiction Longlist announced
16 March Bukhman International Booker Prize Longlist Announced
18 March NZ Booklovers Awards Winners Announced
RAWA Festival: Readers and Writers Akaroa
Stella Prize Longlist Announced
April
3–11 April Wānaka Festival Of Colour and Aspiring Conversations
7 April Women's Prize for Non-Fiction Shortlist announced
15 April Bukhman International Booker Prize Shortlist Announced
19–25 April Global Book Crawl 2027
18-19 April EIBF RISE Conference, Galway
28 April Women's Prize for Fiction Shortlist announced
Stella Prize Shortlist Announced
May
7–9 May Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival 2027
11–16 May Auckland Writers Festival
12 May Ockham Awards Ceremony – 2027 Winners Announced
Bukhman International Booker Prize Winner Announced
The Orwell Prizes Finalists Announced
June
17 June Women's Prize Winners announced
19–21 June ABA Conference, Hobart
18–25 June NZ Mountain Film & Book Festival, Wānaka and Queenstown
New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults Shortlist Announced
The Orwell Prizes Winners Announced
July
23–25 July Marlborough Book Festival
24–26 July Booksellers Aotearoa NZ Conference 2027, Wellington
26 July Booksellers Trade Day, Wellington
26 July Aotearoa NZ Book Industry Awards Ceremony, Wellington
August
New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults Ceremony – 2026 Winners Announced
Aotearoa NZ Children’s Book Week
Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival
September
Kia rerekē te hua, Ōtaki / In other words, Ōtaki
Tamariki Book Festival, Christchurch
Verb Readers & Writers Festival
October
9 October Bookshop Day 2027
Hawke’s Bay Readers and Writers Festival
Yarns in Barns: Wairarapa Festival of Reading
Dunedin Writers & Readers Festival
Storylines Children’s Writers and Illustrators’ National Hui
November
Nelson Arts Festival Pukapuka Talks
The Women’s Bookshop Ladies’ Litera-Tea