The Auckland Writers Festival is delighted to deliver its eighth Schools Programme in May in central Auckland, with the generous support of the Freemasons Foundation. Through this programme we hope to inspire young writers and readers and celebrate the wonderful world of story with them. In 2016 we are excited to announce expansion of the programme.

New initiatives include:

• The introduction of two dedicated sessions for Year 5-6 students ($7 to attend both)
• A full additional day for Year 9-13 students
• Increased transport subsidy funds to assist with schools travel costs
• A pilot programme, supported by donors Josephine & Ross Green, enabling three lower decile schools to attend at no cost. In addition, three students from each sponsored school will embark on a creative writing mentoring programme delivered in partnership with the Manukau Institute of Technology and supported by The University of Auckland. (NB. Involvement in this pilot is by invitation.)

The 2016 Programme features: Tusiata Avia, Julian Baggini, Donovan Bixley, John Boyne, Edward Carey, Maxine Beneba Clarke, Kate De Goldi, Michael Grant, Jonathan Gil Harris, Jane Higgins, Bob Kerr, Omar Musa, Liz Pichon, Jacob Rajan, David Riley, Ella West, Helene Wong, Denis Wright and Tami Neilson.

All the information you need about the timetable, ticket prices, booking and how to apply for financial support towards transport is available in the programme, which you can download by clicking on the cover image above, or by visiting our Schools Programme section.