The 2023 Auckland Writers Festival will be happening during Tuesday 16 to Sunday 21 May

Main Festival Venue:

Aotea Centre, Auckland CBD.

• Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre
• Waitakere Room
• Hunua Room
• Waihoritiu Room
• Limelight
• Herald Theatre

Please specify when purchasing tickets if you have wheelchair requirements.

The Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre has an induction loop system.

Café and parking available at Aotea Centre and other nearby locations.

Other Festival Venues:

Auckland Town Hall
Queen Street. Parking available at Aotea Centre and other nearby locations.

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 Events, it may be worth investigating our Concession Passes, available as a Five Ticket Concession Pass or Ten Ticket Concession Pass, which save you up to $5 per General Event ticket. See "What is a Concession Pass?" below for more info.

Online: Ticketmaster

By phone: 0800 111 999

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

By post:
Auckland Writers Festival Bookings
Ticketmaster NZ
PO Box 106 443
Auckland 1143

Patrons and Friends of the Festival have a priority booking line number (09) 951 2525.
Please provide you Friend Number or Patron details with booking.

Ticketmaster NZ is the only authorised seller for Auckland Writers Festival tickets. Please avoid viagogo and other reselling websites. Info here.

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

Earlybird - $22 (available until 9am on 11 May 2021)
General - $27.50

These prices are inclusive of GST, but will incur service fees from Ticketmaster.

Student discounts and concession passes are also available (see below).

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

Workshops are $60 (unless otherwise stated). Concession Passes, student prices and Earlybird discounts are not eligible for Workshops.

Concession passes are an alternative to purchasing multiple General Event tickets, and save you up to $5 per General Event ticket. They can be purchased as either a Take 10 or Take 5 Pass, depending on the amount of tickets you would like to buy.

Take 5 Concession Pass
$93 before 9am Monday 15 May 2023
or $120 after 9am thereafter

Take 10 Concession Pass
$175 before 9am on 9am Monday 15 May 2023
or $230 after 9am thereafter

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

There is no limit to how many concession passes you may buy.

Concession Passes can be purchased through Ticketmaster, as linked above. Instructions for redemption.
Event tickets are subject to availability, so we advise you to redeem your Concession Passes early.

Concession Passes can only be used for General Events, and are not applicable for Workshops or Special Events.

If you have further questions or queries about Concession Passes, please contact Ticketmaster.

Yes. Students get a significant discount on General Event tickets and discounted ticket prices for some Special Events, subject to availability.
Please note this is a discount on the Full Price event ticket, not Earlybird price.

There are no student discounts for Workshops.

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

Ticketmaster service fees (per transaction) are as follows:

Online: $5.00
Phone and post: $11.00
Courier Fee: $5.50 standard
In-person at Box Office and retail outlets: $1.50 per ticket

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

Yes, tickets can be purchased at the Ticketmaster box office right up until the session commences. 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.

Seating for all events is General Admission to assist in speedy turnarounds between session.
If you have tickets for the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre please check which level you are seated on Stalls / Circle / Balcony.
Patrons and Friends have reserved seats at the front of each level at each session.

Patrons and Friends can access dedicated Ticketmaster booking lines, (open 9am - 5pm Monday-Friday):

Patrons: (09) 970 9745
Friends: (09) 951 2525
or email groups@ticketmaster.co.nz and quote your Patron details or Friend membership number.

For any queries, please contact the Festival Office on (09) 376 8074 or info@writersfestival.co.nz

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 wine, coffee, light refreshments and newspapers.

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

For further inquiries, please contact Kate Meere on (09) 376 8074, ext 3, or email kmeere@writersfestival.co.nz

Patrons’ packs including tickets, lanyards and wristbands can be collected from the Festival Information Desk at the Aotea Centre from Tuesday 23 August.

For information on bus, ferry and train services in Auckland City, visit the Auckland Transport website or telephone them on (09) 366 6400. We will also have a bike valet service available at the Aotea Centre.

With plenty of options to leave your car at home you can find easy options for getting around in the Heart of the City with this go to guide

Parking is also available near all of the Festival locations, see Auckland Live.

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.

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

Note that all of our venues are accessible by wheelchair. When booking tickets, please advise Ticketmaster if you have wheelchair requirements.

The Aotea Centre's Kiri te Kanawa Theatre has an induction loop system for those with hearing impairments.

The majority of events last one hour. Some special events and workshops are 90 minutes to 2 hours long, and family events are less than an hour. End times for each event will be detailed on their online event listing and in the program.

The Festival has its own dedicated bookstalls at the Aotea Centre (on the lower, middle and upper levels) and at all other Festival venues. 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.

Ticketmaster will post your tickets to you, unless you specifically ask for your tickets to be couriered. Posted tickets are not replaceable if lost. Tickets cannot be posted less than 7 days or couriered less than 3 days prior to the start of the Festival; if purchased after these dates, you must collect your tickets from the Ticketmaster Box Office at the Aotea Centre.

Ticketmaster NZ is the only authorised seller for Auckland Writers Festival tickets.
Please avoid viagogo and other reselling websites. Info here.

Invitations are issued at the discretion of the Artistic Director, who designs the programme well ahead of each Festival. (the programme is closed mid-February each year).

Each year the Festival receives many unsolicited submissions from authors wishing to speak at the event or people putting forward an idea for the program. 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.

There will be film and sound recordings of each of the sessions for archival and publicity purposes. 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.

Click here to view a collection of videos and podcasts from past festivals.

All lost property from the Festival will be 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

The Festival runs workshops for writers of all levels.

For writers seeking ongoing assistance and advice contact the New Zealand Society of Authors or the Publishers Association of New Zealand.

Yes! We offer over 30% of our programme to the public as free events, no ticket required.
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!

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

Yes, we have a day of special events for children on Sunday 16 May. Our Rā Whānau Family Day will be held in the Town Hall (Concert Chamber and Supper Room) and are free.

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.

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