Listen: Kiran Dass previews WORD

30 August 2026 First published RNZ

WORD Christchurch runs from 1 to 6 September, with more than 60 events, 100 writers, artists and thinkers, and an expected 13,000 attendees flooding the CBD.

Programme director Kiran Dass joined RNZ's Culture 101 to preview this year's lineup, which spans Dave Dobbyn and Jon Toogood, romantasy, crime, politics and art, and to make the case that you don't need to have read the books to get something out of it.