Behind the Scenes: New Voices Authors Training Day

As the Auckland Writers Festival schools day bustled on the Aotea Centre, away to one side in the Herald Theatre lobby a group of apprehensive new authors gathered with coffees.They were the eight authors chosen to be the 2026 New Voices of Aotearoa, ready to school up before they were launched into the world in a cloud of publicity pink. They were there to learn to manage media, how to be a successful festival speaker, how to do quality social media, and how to understand what the New Zealand Society of Authors offers, all in one afternoon.

Kete went behind the scenes to see how it all worked. We met the NVA authors, enjoyed the speeches and questions from some amazing people, and sat back and watched everyone get to know each other.

Josie Shapiro, author of the bestsellers Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts and Good Things Come and Go, started the day by speaking about the relationships between author and publisher, and between author and fans. As an inaugural New Voices author from 2025, she let this year’s finalists know what to expect, along with a top tip on creating short promo videos: use an autocue video app!

The New Voices of Aotearoa authors with Josie Shapiro and Coalition manager Libby Kirkby-McLeod

Event photographer Lyndon then arrived and each of the finalists was photographed individually for an author headshot, before they were organised into a group picture for NVA publicity purposes. Kete hid in the corner and jumped online to upload the week’s bestsellers - it was a Thursday after all!

It was a special session after lunch when Auckland Writers Festival co-director Lyndsey Fineran arrived with three visiting international festival directors, to speak about the process of putting together a book festival. As future festival speakers, the NVA authors took the opportunity to ask about what makes an ideal festival author (hint: be very nice to festival volunteers). 

Industry specialists Melanie Laville-Moore (Managing Director, Allen & Unwin, and Board Chair, Coalition for Books) introduced the second part of the afternoon. She was followed by Jenny Nagle (Chief Executive, NZ Society of Authors) giving the lowdown on the Society of Authors’ remit and responsibilities, including a stern adjudication for them all to ensure they were registered for Public Lending Right. ‘The NZSA is older than both the National Party and Federated Farmers,’ she added. 

Publicity expert Penny Hartill gives advice

The last expert for the afternoon was publicist extraordinaire Penny Hartill, whose advice on how to manage one’s story as an author was invaluable. ‘You need to own your story and platform,’ she advised. ‘Practice and learn your elevator pitch, hone it to perfection.’  Good advice for every author.