Verb Festival returns in September

Verb Wellington, the capital’s dedicated organisation for literary festivals, events and residencies, is thrilled to announce the appointment of Gabrielle Vincent and Kate McDonald to the roles of co-directors.

Vincent and McDonald will steer Verb Readers & Writers Festival which will take place between 11–13 September 2026; and will deliver LitCrawl Wellington on November 14. Verb will be delivering special one-off events with international writers, and residencies in 2026, too.

Vincent is a highly experienced festival director, literary programmer and producer of live performance from Tāmaki Makaurau. As well as taking on the role of co-director at Verb, she is also the Family and Schools Programmer at Auckland Writers Festival. Vincent was the Programming Director for Basement Theatre from 2015 – 2019 and says she “still feels inspired by the determination and creativity of all the independent artists I got to work alongside within this role.”

After her time at Basement Theatre, Gabrielle became a māmā and then was welcomed back to the arts as Senior Producer of Tempo Dance Festival. From 2020 to January 2023, she was the Artistic Director of the Tauranga Arts Festival, where she had the privilege of programming multidisciplinary arts experiences and literature events for Tauranga Moana.

Kate McDonald has had a long association with Verb Wellington, initially as a volunteer and then in paid roles managing venues and coordinating the volunteers for LitCrawl. Most recently McDonald spent four years managing the events at Unity Books Wellington and is beloved among the book community. “I am passionate about nurturing creativity, supporting new writers and building inclusive, welcoming spaces for artists and audiences,” she says.

After a one-year festival hiatus, Verb Wellington is delighted to return with a refreshed festival footprint. Past festivals have always been held in November, however for 2026 a ticketed festival programme will take place in September, while LitCrawl will remain in November as a one-night-only lit party celebrating emerging writers, experimentation and the power of conversation and performance.

The Wellington Treasure Trust, which governs Verb, is delighted that former Verb director Melanie Hamilton, is joining the Trust and look forward to her valuable insights in a governance capacity.