Going West Books and Writers Festival

21/09/2026

https://goingwestfest.moosend.com/show_campaign/1efc37c2-30b1-4bcd-9802-60e5392762bb

But for now, we’re putting together an evening of celebration. Last time we wrote, we asked you to save the date. Now we have a line-up to share, tickets to book, and thirty years of literary life to celebrate.

17/09/2026

For 30 years, Going West has brought writers, readers and ideas together - creating unforgettable conversations, championing distinctive voices and helping shape the literary life of Aotearoa.

Now we’re marking that extraordinary legacy with A Love Letter to Going West: a warm, lively evening of stories, poetry, conversation and music, selected treasures from Going West’s archive of audio and images and - as always - plenty of warm Westie hospitality.

Celebratory nibbles will be served during the evening, and drinks will be available to purchase.

Some of the writers and friends who have helped make Going West what it is, will look back at the moments that mattered, reflect on where we are now, and imagine what might come next.

Featuring:
- Glenn Colquhoun
- Stephanie Johnson
- Simon Wilson
- Anne Kennedy with poets Kiri Piahana-Wong, Zech Soakai, Richard von Sturmer and Zephyr Zhang
- Music by HINA (Te Rarawa, Ngāti Raukawa): Tāmaki Makaurau-based singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist

This is much more than a retrospective. It’s a celebration of our literary community - and of the words, people, and connections that have kept Going West going west for three remarkable decades.

On Friday 16 October, join us from 7pm for a drink and a chance to catch up. The evening begins promptly at 7.30pm.

Tickets available at https://events.humanitix.com/love-letter-to-going-west

22/08/2026

21/08/2026

https://goingwestfest.moosend.com/show_campaign/5afe752e-dad5-4e0a-983d-d86cf755a854

Winter is still hanging on by the tips of its icy wee fingers, but spring is showing up in sly little drifts of daffodils and the more rhapsodic display of those dark-pink Taiwan cherry blossoms lining the road into Titirangi village, exciting tūī and human alike. 

23/06/2026

Theatre has always been a part of Going West — we love stories in all their forms. So it's exciting to see the words of one of our greatest playwrights return to the stage.

BRUCE MASON IN REPERTORY
Few writers have shaped Aotearoa theatre as profoundly as Bruce Mason. Writing with courage and insight, he captured the contradictions of life in Aotearoa - identity, aspiration and cultural tension, with clarity, humour and deep humanity. A champion of the underdog, his work remains as sharp and relevant today as when it was first performed.

This July, acclaimed actor Stephen Lovatt and director Shane Bosher return to Q Theatre to revisit Mason’s legacy in a rare repertory season of two of his most powerful plays - The End of the Golden Weather and Not Christmas, But Guy Fawkes, playing 23 July to 2 August 2026 at Q Theatre Loft.

Presented in repertory, the two plays run across the same season at Q Theatre, with each available as a standalone performance and the option on weekends to see them back to back. Together, they offer a rare chance to experience the breadth of Mason’s work within a single season.

Lovatt and Bosher are known for landmark productions including Angels in America and Long Day’s Journey Into Night, and here turn their attention to one of Aotearoa’s most significant playwrights with clarity, intimacy and precision.

For more information and bookings, see: https://www.qtheatre.co.nz/shows/every-kind-weather

22/06/2026

Whose stories make it into the literary canon — and whose are left out?

The Southern Hemisphere Fiction 100, a new project by Paula Morris and Harley Hern, offers a powerful response to the Guardian's "Best 100 Novels" list, where southern hemisphere fiction was largely overlooked.

Drawing on nominations and votes from almost 200 writers, critics, booksellers, librarians, scholars and festival directors, the project celebrates the novels that have shaped literary cultures across the southern hemisphere.

A rich and thought-provoking reading list, and a reminder that great literature has never belonged to one hemisphere alone. (And great to see Maurice Shadbolt on there!)

Take a look, and please share widely.

https://www.anzliterature.com/feature/the-southern-hemisphere-fiction-100/?fbclid=IwY2xjawSllidleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEerk4qQd_-gydwHw52Ob5D4fj0MwmxcWPpC64P3GZ1VSUBkU0j0txWUjQq43Y_aem_2pk5ptim8O948aiTdh_EYg

The rest of ‘the greatest literature ever published in English’

11/06/2026

Unique collections and resources from Auckland Libraries research centres and heritage collections.

09/06/2026

07/06/2026

Going West has always been about the word, in all its forms. Our archivist James Littlewood put this fantastic piece together for AudioCulture on the musical side of our kaupapa.

Dive in, and follow all those links...they lead to some wonderful audio taonga.

"I was brilliant. Th' Dudes were the hottest band in town and we were the hottest road crew in town. We were right up ourselves."

So said Murray Gray to the NZ Herald some years back. Murray could fairly be described as a force of nature. He was not only part of the Th' Dudes crew; he also worked with Hello Sailor and controlled the stage at both Nambassa and Sweetwaters; he ran the much-loved Under Silkwood bookshop in Auckland's Parnell; and he, with partner Naomi McCleary, founded the literary and music Going West Books Festival in 1996.

We lost Murray in 2023, but the festival is going from strength to strength and will always be a memorial to Murray. The new writers' residence it now owns in Maurice Shadbolt's former home in Titirangi will be too.

A further tribute to Murray and Naomi's vision is the new Auckland Libraries archive of the festival's work. James Littlewood writes: "Amongst the hundreds of literary kōrero are many dozens of extraordinary musical recordings, covering an astonishing range, and backed up with thousands of photos ... Amongst the concerts, one of the big surprises is the 2007 reformation of BLERTA. For younger readers, that’s Bruno Lawrence’s Electric Revelation and Travelling Apparition. It’s a lengthy session, with many band members taking part in a Q&A hosted by Keith Newman and Bill Gruar before knocking out the jams. And yes, ‘Dance All Around The World’ is in there."

Going West’s musical treasure: https://www.audioculture.co.nz/articles/going-west-s-musical-treasure

The photo is Graham Brazier and Harry Lyon of Hello Sailor, at Going West, 12 September 2014, taken by Gil Hanly- and yup, that's online, at the above link.

02/06/2026

30 years. That's how long it's been since the first Going West Writers Festival. 30 years of books, readers, writers, ideas. And so much of that history is now searchable online through Auckland Libraries.

To celebrate, we've made a short film exploring where we've come from and what the future holds. Enjoy.