The Auckland Writers Festival has announced its 2026 lineup, featuring over 220 artists in more than 170 events from May 12 to 17. Highlights include former prime minister Jacinda Ardern discussing her memoir and Booker Prize winners such as David Szalay, Yann Martel and Roddy Doyle. The programme spans literary discussions, family activities and explorations of topics like AI and global histories.
The Auckland Writers Festival, one of the largest in the southern hemisphere, will take place from Tuesday, May 12, to Friday, May 17, 2026, at the Aotea Centre. It attracted 85,000 attendees in 2024 and 2025, offering a mix of ticketed and free events. Artistic director Lyndsey Fineran stated, “Nothing has thrilled me more than seeing attendances soar over the last two years and watching a broader range of readers (and the reading-curious…) fill our theatres.”
Key international guests include Booker Prize winners David Szalay, appearing for his novel Flesh; Yann Martel, presenting Son of Nobody; and Roddy Doyle, discussing Life Without Children after chairing the Booker judges. Jacinda Ardern will speak on the final night about her Ockham Awards-nominated memoir A Different Kind of Power, which details her time as New Zealand's youngest prime minister amid national crises. Other notable authors are Mick Herron, creator of the Slow Horses TV series and author of Clown Town; Helen Garner; Rebecca Kuang, with Babel, Yellowface and Katabasis; Ian McEwan, on What We Can Know; and SA Cosby, discussing King of Ashes alongside local crime writer Michael Bennett.
Local highlights feature honoured writer Bill Manhire, in conversation about Lyrical Ballads at a free Friday afternoon event, followed by a performance of Betsy Balloon on Saturday morning. Historian Christopher de Hamel will lecture on medieval illuminated manuscripts, while journalist Eugene Bingham recounts the life of Māori chief Te Pahi in The Chief and the Empire. Patrick Radden Keefe opens the festival, speaking on works like Empire of Pain and London Falling, and joins an investigative journalism panel.
The programme addresses social issues, with Karen Hao on AI's impact, Luke Kemp on modern civilisation's fragility, Lyse Doucet on Afghanistan's history, and Tareq Baconi on growing up gay and Palestinian. Family-oriented Pukapuka Adventures returns free, featuring Dav Pilkey of Captain Underpants and Dog Man. Plot Twist targets youth with zine-making, DJs and BookTok meetups, while Streetside offers a free street festival of writers and musicians. Translation sessions cover Shakespeare, language politics and indigenous languages, with appearances by Bora Chung and Tayari Jones.
Tickets go on sale at 9am on March 13.