Nelson Arts Festival Pukapuka Talks

A once-in-a-lifetime storytelling experience, featuring a star-studded line up of Aotearoa New Zealand's best writers, presenting in both English and te reo Māori.
Join former cage fighter-turned-writer Airana Ngarewa; award-winning journalist, broadcaster and survivor advocate Ali Mau; esteemed author Elizabeth Knox CNZM; renowned mental health advocate Dr Hinemoa Elder MNZM; Poetry Slam champion and filmmaker Matariki Bennett; academic and award-winning memoirist Ngāhuia te Awekōtuku MNZM; and artist and activist Tāme Iti, as they respond to the provocation, ‘Any Last Words?’ MCed by Johny O’Donnell.

Step inside the minds of three masterful storytellers  – Michael Bennett, Fiona Sussman and Rachel Paris – as they explore the social, psychological, cultural, and political contexts driving their page-turning stories: Carved in Blood (the third book in the Hana Westerman series), Hooked Up (the second book in the Bandara/Stark Novels series) and See How They Fall (the bestselling debut). . Facilitated by Sylvan Thomson.

Tiahuia: A Karanga to My Mother is artistic director and choreographer Merenia Gray’s tribute to her mother Tiahuia Te Puea Hērangi, the whāngai daughter of Princess Te Puea. This Pukapuka Talks session features a deep and insightful kōrero between Merenia and Donna McLeod about Tiahuia’s life.

In 2025, Damien Wilkins won the prestigious Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards for Delirious, a captivating tale about families and ageing, which follows ex-cop Mary and her husband Pete, a retired librarian, as they navigate life’s big transitions. In this intimate story, Wilkins blends astute observations about life’s biggest challenges, endearing characters, emotional depth and rueful humour.  He chats with Elizabeth Knox.

Iconic Māori activist, artist, and performer Tāme Iti shares his extraordinary life, defined by resistance, resilience, and rangatiratanga. From land marches to performance art, police raids to prison cells, his voice has challenged New Zealand to reckon with its colonial legacy. Once branded as a dangerous and extreme activist, now hailed as a national treasure, Tāme has lived the contradictions and realities of standing with mana motuhake in a modern world.
Hosted by Naomi Aporo and Hamuera Manihera.