We are delighted to be offering our 10th Summer Writing School and once again we have some stellar tutors ready to inspire, guide and mentor young writers. Come and join our inclusive community of writers. 

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Monday, January 12th

9:30:  Registration and mihi

10:00 to 3:30: Workshop Options

3:30 to 4:00: Snacks and chat

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a. "After" Poetry

In this workshop, we’ll check out powerful poems written in Aotearoa over the past decade and use them as launchpads to create our own. You’ll write “after” poems—about your life, your place, your moment.

Tutor: Josiah Morgan

 

b. Hauntings: When Memories Linger

Creepy houses, voices from the past, shadows that stick around… Dive into the eerie side of storytelling. Build tales full of mystery and ghostly figures who refuse to leave this earthly realm.

Tutor: Desna Wallace

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Tuesday, January 13th

10:00 to 3:30: Workshop Options

3:30 to 4:00: Snacks and chat

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a. Page to Air. 

Where do words turn into music? Join singer-songwriter Lisa Tui and unlock the secrets of lyric writing. Play with rhythm, flow, and raw emotion to transform your thoughts into songs that linger in the air.

Tutor: Lisa Tui

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b. In Action: Characters & Scenes

Every story needs characters who want something, whether they’re human, animal, or something stranger. In this workshop, you’ll create unforgettable characters and drop them into scenes where they act, clash, and chase their desires.

Tutor: Josiah Morgan

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Wednesday, January 14th

10:00 to 3:30: Workshop Options

3:30 to 4:00: Snacks and chat

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a. Pages of Possibilities

Your writer’s journal can be your ultimate writing tool. In this workshop, you’ll collect words, ideas, overheard lines, sketches, dreams and learn creative ways to turn those jottings into powerful stories and poems. 

Tutor: Philomena Johnson

 

b. Dyst-hope-ia

The world’s burning, systems are breaking down, and the future looks bleak — so what next? In this workshop, you’ll write stories that throw characters into dystopian chaos and watch them claw their way toward resilience, rebellion, and maybe even hope.

Tutor: Heather McQuillan

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Thursday, January 15th

10:00 to 3:30: Workshop Options

3:30 to 4:00: Snacks and chat

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a. Poetry Lab

Zuihitsu? Language Poetry? Math Poetry?! Step into the lab and experiment with forms that bend, twist, and surprise. You’ll try out new shapes for words while still chasing that true lyric vibe. This is poetry, but not as you know it.

Tutor: Gail Ingram

 

b. Quest

This is your invitation to step in, go deep and become a writer of ritual and magic, of myth and mystery. You shall learn to dispel enchantments, conjure words from the air, cast poetic protections and call the elements into your craft

Tutor: Harley Bell.

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Friday, January 16th

10:00 to 12:00: Redrafting and 1:1 mentoring

Work in small groups to develop and redraft works in progress.  Time will be allocated for 1:1 mentoring with one of the tutors.

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1:00 to 3:30: Celebration of writing * family and friends welcome

Join us in the Imagitech Theatre for a panel discussion/ performance/ readings from the tutors, and from 2:00 pm, an open mic sharing of work created over the week of

Summer Writing School.

Followed by Snacks and Chat

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Fees

Full week = $360 

One day fee = $76* per day ( will be available from the beginning of December)​

 

Places are strictly limited in each workshop. Book and pay early to ensure your first choice of workshops.​

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*Prices given are exclusive of GST

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Please note that we have limited subsidised places available for young writers in need of financial support. Please apply to schoolforyoungwriters@gmail.com if you know someone who would benefit from this opportunity. ​​​​​

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