hey gang, a far-right party is using this election to gauge whether locking trans people out of civil society has a public mandate, and they've proven they can twist the coalition's arm to get whatever they want. We are in danger. Can you fucking do something.

It was a real treat chairing Ingrid Horrocks and Lawrence Patchett today, for the @modernletters.bsky.social Writers on Mondays programme. My favourite insight was the importance of challenging ourselves to see characters more deeply. The act of compassion is essential to the art of fiction 📚💚

Our 2026 Emerging Pasifika Writer in Residence is Kasi Valu - Kasi will use the residency to develop a collection of poems, spoken-word pieces, and short stories with the working title Frangipani Thorns.

Kasi Valu named as 2026 Emerging Pasifika Writer in Residence | Te Pūtahi Tuhi Auaha o Te Ao / International Institute of Modern Letters | Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington’s International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML) is delighted to announce the appointment of Kasi Valu as the Emerging Pasifika Writer in Residence ...

wgtn.ac.nz

Heads up Māori writers - applications are now open for the 2027 Emerging Māori Writer in Residence hosted by the IIML — apply by 31 October 2026! (Picture shows 2026 EMWR, Terri Te Tau) www.wgtn.ac.nz/modernletter...

Emerging Māori Writer in Residence | Te Pūtahi Tuhi Auaha o Te Ao / International Institute of Modern Letters | Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Apply for the Emerging Māori Writer in Residence—$15,000 stipend, mentorship, and writing space.

wgtn.ac.nz

Students, don’t miss the opportunity to vote for your future - enrol now

A generation being disenfranchised in plain sight

Enrolment of 18-24 year olds for Nov 7 election collapses to 53% from 70%; Over 200,000 young people not enrolled = more than voted NZ First in 2023; Auckland Council vote turnout under 20% for young

open.substack.com

1. The EC ethos has always been, count every vote possible, make it as easy to vote as possible. 2. If staff had to say to someone's face, No, you're not on the roll, you can't vote, they were going to get abused. I'm not working this election, and I really feel for the people who are.

Let me take a minute to tell you how bonkers this is. The first election I worked was (I think) 2008, before there was really any advance voting. At every election, if you weren't on the roll, we let you cast a special vote and then worked out if you were eligible afterwards. Two reasons: 1/2

Marc Daalder@marcdaalder.bsky.social · 2d ago

The Electoral Commission has told staff to turn away voters who aren't on the printed roll and who say they're unenrolled, but has no plans to count how many people will be affected. newsroom.co.nz/2026/08/03/t...

What an amazing list. Incredibly broad and diverse and interesting. Humbled to be on it but that’s not why I say this! Thanks @christchurchlib.bsky.social

Christchurch City Libraries Ngā Kete Wānanga o Ōtautahi@christchurchlib.bsky.social · 6d ago

WORD Christchurch Festival writers recommend their favourite wave-making reads. 🌊📘 The Bone People by Keri Hulme and This compulsion in us by Tina Makereti @tinamakereti.bsky.social are popular picks, so are Ursula Le Guin and bell hooks. christchurch.bibliocommons.com/v2/list/disp... ^DR #WORDChch

It's hard to overstate just how damaging the last 3 years have been for NZ. On top of the callous treatment of the disadvantaged and wages not keeping pace with inflation, much of the country, already exhausted by the Covid years, has been subjected to endless cycles of insecurity and uncertainty.

How NZ punishes our stressed & jobless youth

Just as the RBNZ's rate hike deepens the scars of youth joblessness, the Govt will remove benefits of 4,700 jobless teenagers, including 1,885 with mental health issues & some being treated for cancer

thekaka.substack.com

The world needs more bookish gargoyles and grotesques

“I think the international publishers who choose to publish NZ books are self-sabotaging their own market by keeping their books offshore.'

Stephen Clarke@stephenclarkenz.bsky.social · 2w ago

Wellington Unity's new expansion looks flashy. newsroom.co.nz/2026/07/20/p...

Missing *ALL* our targets,thats some achievement Wasnt by accident #nzpol www.rnz.co.nz/news/environ...

New Zealand now at risk of missing all its climate targets, Climate Commission warns

New Zealand is at risk of missing all of its climate targets, and time to get back on track is running out, the Climate Change Commission says.

rnz.co.nz

I'm terrible at marketing my own books but it's posting here or dancing on tiktok and I can't dance to save myself

Sascha Stronach🏳️‍⚧️, The Sunforge out now@understatesmen.bsky.social · last yr.

yo you should read my books, if The Locked Tomb is a goth girl they're her punk friend who reeks of tobacco www.simonandschuster.com/series/The-E...

Speaking today at 12 noon at UC about new rules that will stop up to 200,000 people voting & won’t speed up vote counts. National & Act & NZF blocked, actually blocked enrolment by NZers within 13 days before elections The ability of parties to block voters from voting like this must be stopped

I love how Mamdani is throwing around the phrase Democratic Socialist while also instituting successful socialist policies in NYC and people are getting to see everything can be better. I mean, stating the obvious but it’s so rare and seemed completely impossible under Trump. Psst WE CAN DO THIS

Canterbury. Water is undrinkable due to nitrates. Where is the massive awareness campaign to warn people?

The Press@thepress.co.nz · 3w ago

The study compared birth records with the home address of the mother and historic nitrate levels in the area.

Another international headline about a public research system being harmed by the government. Possibly harmed in a brutal way. #NZPOL

Research Professional News@resprofnews.bsky.social · last mo.

UK research at risk of ‘irreversible’ harm, says British Academy head. Susan Smith urges next prime minister to commission review of higher education and research. Free to read. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...

Aotearoa's govt is a death cult when it comes to climate change. Climate minister Watts this week wrote to councils demanding they not take climate adaptation too seriously. He did so as Europe saw deaths spike, France up ~30%, due to climate change. #nzpol www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

Deaths in France surged 30% during hottest week of record June heatwave

Public health authority says 2,025 excess deaths probably an underestimate and that it expects toll to rise further

theguardian.com

every single nz political party should be hammered to give an answer to whether they would allow this we should never vote for any politician that wants this to happen

US Ambassador wants warships in NZ waters, jokes about using time machine to 'fix nuclear thing'

'I’d really like the opportunity to work with New Zealand on that exact topic'.

nzherald.co.nz

#nzpol

Reuters@reuters.com · last mo.

US envoy says Cook Islands minerals are a top priority reut.rs/4vJzeyJ

I've just made a submission against the anti trans bill. This stuff makes me so tired, and so bloody cross. Submissions close at midnight tomorrow if you've yet to make one and think you'd like to. #nzpol

Hey - in better news, I get to speak to these stunning humans about their debut books on Monday at Te Papa 12.15pm. How lucky am I? How lucky are you cos it’s free! (Joseph Trinidad above & Shariff Burke below).

I just submitted on a bunch of offensive and dehumanising bills. If you want to tell this govt what you think of their crap, this is an easy way to do it (and do it today - timing is crucial). Grateful to whoever put this together & made it so easy. DO IT! DOOOO IIIITTT!!! yeahnahbills.org#top

Beside myself to see my book in this company. Thank you so much to everyone who nominated it. Thank you @coffeehousepress.bsky.social

Ursula K. Le Guin@ursulakleguin.com · last mo.

We're thrilled to present the shortlist for the 2026 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction:

I don’t actually think the lines quoted by Chidgey at the end of this are proven AI at all. Students do this sort of thing all the time, and giving human attributes to nonhuman entities isn’t so strange to non-Westerners - or speculative writers. newsroom.co.nz/2026/06/29/a...

AI threat to major NZ fiction prize

As the deadline looms to enter NZ's richest short story prize, convenor Catherine Chidgey is 'horrified' at the prospect of a winning story created with AI

newsroom.co.nz

I think we just passed oops.

Makes legislation knowing zero things.

RNZ News Feeds@rnzrss.bsky.social · last mo.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon admits he didn't know there was no night shelter for rough sleepers in Auckland

Meanwhile, in the US. It just takes your breath away. *50 years* in prison for protesting. Don't imagine for one moment that we are immune to this. Already, the legislative framework is in place in the UK to enable such convictions - before we get a Trumplike PM. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Alarm over ‘extreme’ sentences for anti-ICE protesters convicted of terrorism

First amendment groups call 50-to-100-year prison terms chilling as legal experts say sentences unusually long

theguardian.com