| Always Going West Kia ora tātou, Winter is still hanging on by the tips of its icy wee fingers, but spring is showing up in sly little drifts of daffodils and the more rhapsodic display of those dark-pink Taiwan cherry blossoms lining the road into Titirangi village, exciting tūī and human alike. (Clumsy segue alert) Things are stirring at Going West, too. We have poems to share, a shout-out to Going West alumni, a very important date for your diary, a rather wonderful list of books to fossick through – and, dare we say it, Shadbolt House is almost finished. First up: bring us a poem: Bring us a poem: National Poetry DayOn Friday 28 August, we’re opening the doors of Shadbolt House for a small and very relaxed celebration of National Poetry Day. Bring a favourite poem to read aloud – one that’s made you pause or laugh, or hit you in the gut – or simply come along and listen. We’ll share some words over mulled wine and something to nibble, in a room that was once home to one of Aotearoa’s great writers. Friday 28 August | 7:30 pm | Shadbolt House | Free Spaces are limited, so please register with Tracey at tracey@goingwestfest.co.nz A poetic film from one of our ownA big congratulations to Going West alumni Amber Esau, who has been named one of the Academy of New Zealand Literature’s New Voices of Aotearoa. Amber has been part of the Going West community, and we’re delighted to see her work recognised. You can watch her beautiful reading of Whirlflow on the Going West website |
Always Going West Kia ora tātou, Winter is still hanging on by the tips of its icy wee fingers, but spring is showing up in sly little drifts of daffodils and the more rhapsodic display of those dark-pink Taiwan cherry blossoms lining the road into Titirangi village, exciting tūī and human alike. (Clumsy segue alert) Things are stirring at Going West, too. We have poems to share, a shout-out to Going West alumni, a very important date for your diary, a rather wonderful list of books to fossick through – and, dare we say it, Shadbolt House is almost finished. First up: bring us a poem: Bring us a poem: National Poetry DayOn Friday 28 August, we’re opening the doors of Shadbolt House for a small and very relaxed celebration of National Poetry Day. Bring a favourite poem to read aloud – one that’s made you pause or laugh, or hit you in the gut – or simply come along and listen. We’ll share some words over mulled wine and something to nibble, in a room that was once home to one of Aotearoa’s great writers. Friday 28 August | 7:30 pm | Shadbolt House | Free Spaces are limited, so please register with Tracey at tracey@goingwestfest.co.nz A poetic film from one of our ownA big congratulations to Going West alumni Amber Esau, who has been named one of the Academy of New Zealand Literature’s New Voices of Aotearoa. Amber has been part of the Going West community, and we’re delighted to see her work recognised. You can watch her beautiful reading of Whirlflow on the Going West website |
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Save the date: 30 years of Going WestSomehow, wonderfully, Going West turns 30 this year. We couldn’t let that pass without doing something, so on Friday 16 October we’ll be gathering for A Love Letter to Going West – a small (but perfectly formed) anniversary celebration of the writers, readers, performers, stories and general literary carry-on that have made Going West what it is. We’re still putting the pieces together, but expect some familiar voices, some newer ones, words, music, memories – and a little looking forward. Tickets will be strictly limited. Keep on eye out for more to come. (If you're a diehard fan with visions of FOMO, drop a note to tracey@goingwestfest.co.nz and ask to be put on a list (that does not exist) for an early heads-up that tickets are going on sale. Shhhh.) |
Save the date: 30 years of Going WestSomehow, wonderfully, Going West turns 30 this year. We couldn’t let that pass without doing something, so on Friday 16 October we’ll be gathering for A Love Letter to Going West – a small (but perfectly formed) anniversary celebration of the writers, readers, performers, stories and general literary carry-on that have made Going West what it is. We’re still putting the pieces together, but expect some familiar voices, some newer ones, words, music, memories – and a little looking forward. Tickets will be strictly limited. Keep on eye out for more to come. (If you're a diehard fan with visions of FOMO, drop a note to tracey@goingwestfest.co.nz and ask to be put on a list (that does not exist) for an early heads-up that tickets are going on sale. Shhhh.) |
The Southern Hemisphere Fiction 100 'The rest of ‘the greatest literature ever published in English’ |
The Southern Hemisphere Fiction 100 'The rest of ‘the greatest literature ever published in English’ |
Image from ANZL | Click for full article |
Image from ANZL | Click for full article |
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| This winter, the Academy of New Zealand Literature decided to have a little word with The Guardian. In response to its rather Northern Hemisphere-centric take on the greatest literature ever published in English’ – AKA ‘The 100 best novels of all time’ – the Academy looked south and assembled its 100 Best Southern Hemisphere Books. Split into four regions, it's a terrific list. Read the full list here → And the New Zealand and South Pacific list here → We were pleased to note among the New Zealand and South Pacific 25, is Maurice Shadbolt’s The Lovelock Version. But then we started looking at the other names and noticed how many have appeared at Going West over the years: Maurice Gee, Albert Wendt, Keri Hulme, C.K. Stead, Patricia Grace, Witi Ihimaera, Owen Marshall, Elizabeth Knox, Lloyd Jones, Paula Morris, Fiona Kidman, Catherine Chidgey... What a roll call! More than half the writers on the list! Seeing those names together is a reminder of just what an extraordinary literary legacy Going West has accumulated over thirty years. And, luckily, much of it is still there. Hundreds of conversations, readings, performances and unexpected moments from Going West’s history are now preserved in the Going West archive on Kura, Auckland Libraries’ Heritage Collections. It’s quite a rabbit hole. You can hear writers at different points in their lives and careers, revisit conversations that still feel startlingly current, or simply fossick around and see who turns up. But literary heritage isn’t only about keeping the old stuff safe. It’s about speaking it alive, keeping the conversation going: remembering the voices that brought us here, and making space for what’s being written now. Which, when you think about it, is pretty much what Going West has always done. That conversation is continuing at Shadbolt House, where Within These Walls has brought writers and readers together again this year, with more conversations, workshops and, before too long, writers in residence to come. Going West as it was, as it is – and as it keeps becoming. |
This winter, the Academy of New Zealand Literature decided to have a little word with The Guardian. In response to its rather Northern Hemisphere-centric take on the greatest literature ever published in English’ – AKA ‘The 100 best novels of all time’ – the Academy looked south and assembled its 100 Best Southern Hemisphere Books. Split into four regions, it's a terrific list. Read the full list here → And the New Zealand and South Pacific list here → We were pleased to note among the New Zealand and South Pacific 25, is Maurice Shadbolt’s The Lovelock Version. But then we started looking at the other names and noticed how many have appeared at Going West over the years: Maurice Gee, Albert Wendt, Keri Hulme, C.K. Stead, Patricia Grace, Witi Ihimaera, Owen Marshall, Elizabeth Knox, Lloyd Jones, Paula Morris, Fiona Kidman, Catherine Chidgey... What a roll call! More than half the writers on the list! Seeing those names together is a reminder of just what an extraordinary literary legacy Going West has accumulated over thirty years. And, luckily, much of it is still there. Hundreds of conversations, readings, performances and unexpected moments from Going West’s history are now preserved in the Going West archive on Kura, Auckland Libraries’ Heritage Collections. It’s quite a rabbit hole. You can hear writers at different points in their lives and careers, revisit conversations that still feel startlingly current, or simply fossick around and see who turns up. But literary heritage isn’t only about keeping the old stuff safe. It’s about speaking it alive, keeping the conversation going: remembering the voices that brought us here, and making space for what’s being written now. Which, when you think about it, is pretty much what Going West has always done. That conversation is continuing at Shadbolt House, where Within These Walls has brought writers and readers together again this year, with more conversations, workshops and, before too long, writers in residence to come. Going West as it was, as it is – and as it keeps becoming. |
Dominic Hoey and Mark Easterbrook | Within These Walls - Shadbolt House Series | April 2026 | Image: Popular |
Dominic Hoey and Mark Easterbrook | Within These Walls - Shadbolt House Series | April 2026 | Image: Popular |
Meanwhile, at Shadbolt House...We hesitate to say this after everything the old house has put us through, but: We are nearly there. A handrail. Some drainage. That’s it. After years of restoration work, engineers, reports, consents and rather more discussion of beams and drains than any literary organisation might reasonably expect, Shadbolt House is tantalisingly close to the finish line. So: Poems in August, thirty years to celebrate in October, an archive full of voices behind us, surprise events ahead of us and an almost-finished literary house ahead. Always Going West, in other words. Ngā mihi nui, Tracey and the Going West team |
Meanwhile, at Shadbolt House...We hesitate to say this after everything the old house has put us through, but: We are nearly there. A handrail. Some drainage. That’s it. After years of restoration work, engineers, reports, consents and rather more discussion of beams and drains than any literary organisation might reasonably expect, Shadbolt House is tantalisingly close to the finish line. So: Poems in August, thirty years to celebrate in October, an archive full of voices behind us, surprise events ahead of us and an almost-finished literary house ahead. Always Going West, in other words. Ngā mihi nui, Tracey and the Going West team |
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goingwestfest.co.nz | Going West Trust PO Box 60413 Titirangi Auckland 0642 New Zealand |
goingwestfest.co.nz | Going West Trust PO Box 60413 Titirangi Auckland 0642 New Zealand |
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