Easter Weekend Writers’ Workshop

Going West Trust are delighted to welcome participants to the very first workshop to be held at Shadbolt House as we begin our journey toward establishing a dedicated writers’ residency. 

Creative Non Fiction with Richard Pamatatau 

Date and Time: 19 April 2025, 10:30 am to 2:00 pm
Venue: Shadbolt House & Studio, 35 Arapito Road, South Titirangi
Cost: $40 ($30 concession for student/senior)
Coffee, tea and a light lunch will be provided.

The workshop:

Creative Non Fiction is a catch-all for the many ways a writer can capture facts (of any kind) and present them in a text.  Memoir is a good example where the writer takes material about their life and shapes it into a narrative that employs a range of literary devices to elevate the text from an and then and then and then to explore the richness below the surface,  With that the writer brings insight, intimacy, reflection, humour to the page while being as true to the facts as they deem pertinent.  Writers have the freedom to play with point of view, language, times, dates to beckon and engage with the reader.  We say Creative Non Fiction because we want you to experiment, be intriguing, have fun, shock and delight yourself and the audience.  

We will start with a couple of warm up exercises and then aim to write a piece or two across the time we are together. 

To register, or for more information, contact: Tracey Sharp at tracey@goingwestfest.co.nz

Photo: Louise Bockett

About your tutor:

Richard Pamatatau is a poet, essayist, lecturer, and the programme leader for Creative Writing at AUT University.  He is fascinated by the intersection of class, silence, history and identity.  He is a former journalist who is rethinking the who what why how when into tools that can be mobilised for the production of fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry in a world where everything is up for interrogation and art-making.