Tuesday 13 - Sunday 18 May 2025

Aotea Centre, Auckland Live
Auckland CBD

The Festival takes place across a number of locations within the Aotea Centre: Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Hunua Room, Waitakere Room, Waihorotiu Room, Limelight Room and the Herald Theatre. Our free programme for families, Pukapuka Adventures and our informal, drop-in events in Kōrero Corner are located on Level 5. Keep an eye out for a whole range of events taking place in Aotea Square with fun for the whole family. More information about these locations can be found on individual event listings.

For AWF25, mark your diaries for Friday 9 May - a whole week earlier - when STREETSIDE: BRITOMART celebrates Tāmaki Makaurau's writers, storytellers, musicians and creatives taking over the Britomart precinct for a whole evening of free riotous fun.

The Civic Carpark is located under the Aotea Centre with entry from Greys Ave. Please be aware that this car park is often at full capacity over the Festival weekend. A number of pre-pay parking spaces are available and can be purchased when booking tickets. For more details, visit Auckland Live. Alternative park buildings are situated on Greys Ave, Albert Street and Victoria Street.
The Festival takes place across a number of locations within the Aotea Centre: Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Hunua Room, Waitakere Room, Waihorotiu Room, Limelight Room and Herald Theatre. More information about these locations can be found on individual event listings

Parking available at Aotea Centre and other nearby locations.

2025 Festival tickets will be on sale via Ticketmaster on Friday 14 March

AWF Patrons and Friends have priority booking and will be updated closer to the time.

Sign in and manage your tickets here.

The Auckland Writers Festival consists of a combination of ticketed and free events. Please consult individual event listings or descriptions to check whether you need to buy tickets for each event.

All tickets will be sold via Ticketmaster. Ticketed events do sell out, so it is recommended that you purchase your tickets well in advance.

If you are wishing to purchase multiple tickets for General Event sessions, it may be worth investigating our Ticket Bundles, available as a Take 3, 5 and 10 Ticket Bundles, which save you up to $5 per ticket for General Events. See "What is a Ticket Bundle?" below for more info.

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Yes! We offer over 25% of our programme to the public as Free Events. Admission to Free Events is on a first-come, first-served basis. Bookings are not taken for these events.

You are encouraged to arrive early as Free Events are extremely popular and seats are limited. Queues can start to form as early as 45 minutes prior to the event starting!

General Event tickets can be purchased individually or as part of a Ticket Bundle. Individual prices are as follows:

General - $29.50
Earlybird - $24 (Friday 14 March to Friday 11 April 2025).

These prices are inclusive of GST, but will incur service fees from Ticketmaster. Student discounts and Ticket Bundles are also available (see below).

Feature Events have varied ticket prices, as noted in their event listings.

Masterclasses are $65 unless otherwise stated.

Ticket Bundles, student prices and earlybird discounts are not eligible for Masterclasses.

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There will be film and sound recordings of each of the sessions for archival and publicity purposes. Click here to view a collection of videos and podcasts from past festivals.

These will be made available on the Festival website. It is possible that audience members’ images will be included from time to time in the filming. Should you wish not to be filmed, please advise an usher. No flash photography or recording by attendees is permitted.

For information on bus, ferry and train services in Auckland City, visit the Auckland Transport website or telephone them on (09) 366 6400. Parking is also available near all of the Festival locations (see above).

Ticket Bundles are an alternative to purchasing multiple General Event tickets, and save you money on each General Event ticket. They can be purchased as either a Take 10. Take 5 or Take 3 Pass, depending on the amount of tickets you would like to buy.

Take 10 Ticket Bundle
$215 (until 9am Friday 11 April 2025)
or $254 (thereafter)

Take 5 Ticket Bundle
$110 (until 9am Friday 11 April 2025)
or $130 (thereafter)

Take 3 Ticket Bundle
$69 (until 9am Friday 11 April 2025)
or $78 (thereafter)

Ticket Bundles are perfect for individuals wishing to attend multiple events, or for group of friends or Book Clubs who want to attend one or more event/s together.

There is no limit to how many Ticket Bundles you may buy.

Ticket Bundles can be purchased through Ticketmaster, as linked above. Upon purchase, you will receive a promotional code which will allow you to exchange your pass for session tickets. Sessions are subject to availability, so we advise you to redeem your Ticket Bundles early.

Ticket Bundles can only be used for General Events, and are not applicable for Masterclasses, Catered Events or Feature Events.

If you have further questions or queries about Ticket Bundles, please contact Ticketmaster.

Sign in and manage your tickets here.

Yes. The Festival Information Desk will be located on Level 2 of the Aotea Centre, outside the stalls entrance to the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre. Lost property, information about the programme, venue and other general information will be available here.

Yes. Students get a 50% discount on General Event tickets and discounted ticket prices for some Feature Events, subject to availability. Please note that there are no student discounts for Workshops.

Ockham NZ Book Awards: $12.50
General Events: $13
Special Events: $21

Student ID and proof of eligibility may be required. Service fees apply.

You can view previous Festival programmes on our Past Festivals page.

Tickets for our 2025 Festival will be available from Friday 14 March.

Online: Ticketmaster

Phone: 0800 111 999 or 09 970 9700

Patrons 09 970 9745 and Friends of the Festival 0800 335 769 or groups@ticketmaster.co.nz (open 9am-5pm Monday-Friday).

In person: Aotea Centre Box Office, or at any Ticketmaster outlet.

Sign in and manage your tickets here.

Yes. However, all door sales are subject to availability. We suggest you book tickets in advance to avoid disappointment. We also strongly recommend you arrive well in advance of event start times if you choose to purchase door sale tickets.

All lost property from the Festival has been passed on to Auckland Live. If you lost something at the venue, please email lostproperty@aucklandlive.co.nz and tell them:

• What did you lose?
• Where did you lose it?
• When did you lose it?
• What event were you attending?
• Anything else that might help us find your property.

All online booking tickets are digital. You can either print at home or download tickets to your mobile. Physical tickets are available at the box office or when your booking is being processed by Ticketmaster.

Sign in and manage your tickets here.

Online: $8.00
Phone and post: $8.00
Courier Fee: $5.50 standard
No booking fees on tickets purchased at the Aotea Centre Box Office.

Please visit the Ticketmaster FAQs for more information about service fees.

To avoid delays between sessions, seating for all events is General Admission, so no allocated seating.

Patrons and Friends have reserved seats at each level.

The majority of events last one hour. Some feature events and workshops are of longer duration. End times for each event will be detailed on their online event listing and in the digital and print programme.

Thanks to The Women's Bookshop, there are three Festival Bookshops at the Aotea Centre (on the lower and middle levels plus a small pop-up on Level 5 during the Festival weekend). Audience members will be able to purchase books by authors appearing in the Festival at these bookstalls.

Yes. Book signings will take place immediately following most events, unless otherwise advised.

There are dedicated phone lines for AWF Patrons and Friends: 09 970 9745 for Patrons and 0800 335 769 for Friends to access the dedicated booking line (open 9am-5pm Monday-Friday) or email groups@ticketmaster.co.nz and quote your Patron name or Friend membership number when booking. Platinum and Gold patrons can phone or email Kate Meere on kmeere@writersfestival.co.nz

Yes, Pukapuka Adventures is a programme of lively, entertaining and free special events for children on Saturday and Sunday. These events will be held in the 5th Floor of the Aotea Centre. We also have a number of ticketed family events - see our website event pages for more details.

Our 2025 Schools Programme runs Tuesday 13 May - Thursday 15 May.

For further information contact: schools@writersfestival.co.nz

Please visit the Auckland Live acessibility page for all venue details.

All of our locations are accessible by wheelchair. Please specify when purchasing tickets whether you have wheelchair requirements.

The Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre has an induction loop system for those with hearing impairments.

Exclusive to our Patrons, this lounge is situated in the Circle Bar at the Aotea Centre, overlooking the square. It is the perfect place to relax or meet other members between Festival sessions, and to enjoy complimentary refreshments and light meals.

Patrons’ packs including tickets, lanyards and wristbands can be collected from the Festival Information Desk, Aotea Centre, from Tuesday 13 May 2025.

Visit our Support Us page to find out more about becoming a Festival Friend or Patron.

Yes! Each year the Auckland Writers Festival recruits a team of approximately 140 volunteers, without whom the event would not be possible. Find out more about Volunteering.

The Festival runs 14 Masterclasses for writers of all levels.

We are not able to pass on contact details for or messages to authors attending the Auckland Writers Festival – please contact the writers’ publisher or agent. If you have a media enquiry, please contact info@writersfestival.co.nz

Invitations are issued at the discretion of the Artistic Director, who designs the programme well ahead of each Festival.

Each year the Festival receives many unsolicited submissions from authors wishing to speak at the event or people putting forward an idea for the programme. We welcome these suggestions, but due to the large volume we are not able to respond to every submission or return materials sent for consideration. Please contact the Festival Office if you would like to submit a pitch for consideration.

If you have questions unanswered by this FAQ page, please Contact Us.