The Samesame but Different LGBTQIA+ Writers and Readers Festival celebrates the creativity of LGBTQIA+ writers. We do this at our festival during Auckland Pride every February, and host a whole range of thoughtful LGBTQIA+ content all year round on this site. You can use the navigator on the top right hand side of our website to explore our Festival, including the 2022 Programme page.
Our mission is to amplify the voices of a diverse range of LGBTQIA+ writers and the issues they’re passionate about. That’s why we record our chat sessions and keep an archive of them here.
Get involved
Are you interested in being a part of our next festival? Whether you are a writer, if you want to run a workshop, if you’re into zine making, have an idea for a session, want to help out in small ways behind the scenes, please drop us a line here: [email protected]
History
Our festival is staged in February each year during Auckland Pride. In 2020 we began recording our events so we can build a rich archive of the LGBTQIA+ talent we’ve showcased. We’ve listed our events chronologically, starting with our most recent festival, and including the winners of our annual writing prize, the Peter Wells Short Fiction Award. You’ll find video recordings of our most recent events, and we’re building an archive for audio for events prior to that.
February 2021
STORIES FROM HOME
The 2021 Samesame but Different festival was a time for us to shake off the upheaval of 2020 and celebrate some of the creative richness that resulted from it. Our festival platformed a rich diversity of LGBTQIA+ writers who tackled topics that form the foundations of our identities.
The programme was anchored by the theme of home – a concept that took on new importance during the lockdowns of 2020. What does the idea of home mean to our LGBTQIA+ communities? Some people see home as a place of refuge and relief; for others, it may be a place from which they need to escape.
2020 Mid-winter Festival
TWO TO THE POWER OF FIVE: THE POWER OF QUEER WORDS
In winter 2020, Samesame but Different created a special online winter talk series.
Two to the Power of Five: The Power of Queer Words paired up fascinating queer writers for five fantastic online conversations. The sessions were put together as part of our COVID-19 response, and were held thanks to the support of Creative NZ.
February 2020
SAMESAME BUT DIFFERENT
The writers in 2020’s festival push boundaries, explore new territories and create queer and fantastical worlds. Their literary orbit includes fantasy, science fiction, sex, romance and robots. They even traverse those weird and terrifying realms from childhood to adolescence. Ranging from acclaimed New Zealand playwright Victor Rodger to Australian writer Kelly Gardiner, our programme for 2020 celebrated the writers who are unafraid to change the literary landscape and boldly go where no Queer has gone before.
February 2019
SAMESAME BUT DIFFERENT
Our fourth Samesame but Different festival featured events at both the Auckland Art Gallery and the Basement Theatre, as well as AUT University. We included a queer film screening and the only LGBTQIA+ writing contest in Aotearoa. One of the pleasing aspects of this festival was the number of younger writers coming through, as seen in the ‘Break-out new talent’ session.