About us
The New Zealand Young Writers Festival (NZYWF), is a literary-focused festival held annually in the heart of Ōtepoti/Dunedin.
Proudly produced by Dunedin Fringe, the festival welcomes young writers, aged 15-35, of all kinds to celebrate a diverse range of wordsmithing including slam poetry, playwriting, songwriting, short fiction, novels, zines, screenwriting, poetry, journalism, blogging, critical content creation, podcasts, review writing, and more.
NZYWF is committed to celebrating queer, BIPOC and disabled perspectives - and we welcome everyone to take part. We are learning more about how to make our spaces more accessible, both in-person and online.
The festival is by young writers, for young writers, but audiences of all ages - from curious young minds to literary loving adults - are welcome. Join us in celebrating Aotearoa’s next generation of literary talent!
OUR HISTORY
In 2014, the same year Dunedin was declared a UNESCO City of Literature, Aaron Hawkins – former Dunedin Fringe Arts Trust member and later Mayor of Ōtepoti – saw the need for a festival dedicated to creating opportunities for young people to develop and grow creatively. With support from then Dunedin Fringe Director Josh Thomas, the New Zealand Young Writers Festival was born.
Aaron and Josh had a vision for a festival that was “by young writers, for young writers”: that young people should be front and centre in every aspect of festival programming. That founding kaupapa is still the bedrock of the festival today.
NZYWF has always been free to attend because our founders were crystal clear on one thing: “We don’t believe the value of your voice in your community should be dictated by the size of your wallet. If we want to be telling our stories, we need to enable as many storytellers as possible.
Now, a decade on, NZYWF continues to build a beautiful legacy of celebrating young voices, supporting them on their journey as writers. We thank the many staff, contractors, young writers, audiences, funders, sponsors, collaborators and friends upon whose shoulders we continue to build as we work to strengthen Aotearoa’s arts ecosystem together. Tehei mauri ora.
OUR GOALS
- Critical voice: create intentional space for young writers of different cultural backgrounds who have something urgent or critical to say;
- Embrace genre-bending and cross disciplinary content, in keeping with Dunedin Fringe’s wider kaupapa of resisting and challenging Western, commercialised definitions of art and its value to communities;
- Strive to expand what both artists and audiences consider ‘writing’ to be and find ways to attract young writers who might not identify as ‘writers’;
- Prioritise impactful opportunities for writers who are not already supported by institutional infrastructure, educational opportunities or who already have significant financial support;
- Actively facilitate young writers building networks and a sense of community for themselves by providing a vibrant, energetic forum for participation;
- Create intentional pathways for young writers, both within the festival itself and that utilise Dunedin Fringe’s wider networks.
