Featherston Booktown

Wairarapa

The Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival 2024 is a wonderful event filled with books, ideas, conversations, workshops, stories, and inspiration for all ages from Thursday 9 to Sunday 12 May 2024.

This year's festival, the ninth, boasts 39 events featuring 77 presenters and literary provocateurs (check them all out here) as well as 25 booksellers.

See the full programme here, download a mini programme here and get your tickets here now!

The centrepiece events of this year's Festival include the famous Fish'n'Chip Supper featuring guest speaker Dame Susan Devoy, the Saturday Night Gala with Moana Maniopoto and the always popular Mother's Day Afternoon Tea. The rest of the programme boasts a wide array of topics and fantastic presenters such as John Campbell, Joy Cowley, Kirsty Johnson, Tāme Iti, Pip Adam, Lee Murray, Steve Braunias, Catherine Robertson, Carl Hayman, Delaney Davidson, Barry Saunders among many more.

The long list of fabulous events include honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi, politics with John Campbell, murder mysteries, Missing Persons with Steve Braunias and Linda Clark, musical storytelling, workshops with Joy Cowley, the Young Readers Programme and much more.

Check out ALL their fabulous events here. 

What is a Booktown?

Featherston is one of only 22 accredited Booktowns in the world, and the only one in New Zealand. Criteria for international Booktown status include having a certain number of book shops in the local community, (Featherston has seven and counting) and hold a regular book festival.

Booklover's Trail Te Ara Kai Pukapuka

Check out Booklover's Trail Te Ara Kai Pukapuka App, a self guided audio tour where you can listen to stories from the booksellers before you visit their stores and check out their shelves. You can get the app by clicking on the app image below, and scanning the QR code, or visiting these links:

  • Download it from Google Play here
  • Watch it online here

Top book stores throughout Featherston:

Towns: 
Featherston