WORD Christchurch

2026 WORD Events

WORD Christchurch festival runs from 1 - 6 September  2026 at The Piano, Tūranga, the Christchurch Art Gallery, the University of Canterbury’s Ilam campus and other venues. 

This year’s festival, which has 'Making Waves’ as its theme, is packed with talented UC experts and alumni, along with current and former writers-in-residence.

UC is presenting two events: Booker Prize Winner Shehan Karunatilaka, a 2026 University of Canterbury Ursula Bethell Writer in Residence, on Friday 4 September, 6pm until 7pm, at The Piano; and UC Senior Fellow and well-known psychologist and resilience expert Dr Lucy Hone, who will be discussing her book How Will I Ever Get Through This? on Sunday 6 September, 10.30am until 11.30am at Tūranga.

UC is also hosting the free Inspiring Minds: Secondary Schools Day on Thursday 3 September, 10am – 2pm, at our Ilam campus. This is a brilliant opportunity for students to hear from innovative storytellers and writers, including award-winning author Claire Mabey, creator of the magical, medieval world of The Raven’s Eye Runaways and its sequel The Raven’s Eye Rebellion; award-winning comedian and TV writer Pax Assadi; educator and former Rugby Sevens player Jason Tiatia, who recently released his first book Sāmoan Made Simple; and picture book illustrator Hilary Jean Tapper, who is also a UC Faculty of Arts lecturer.

The Inspiring Minds event is a chance for students to find out more about different styles of storytelling across a range of mediums. Secondary school teachers can register their students here.