2026 programme

About the August 2026 Festival

In 2026 we are hosting our very first winter festival! It is our 11th year and we are so excited to be presenting events over three days in August, following our spotlight events at Auckland Pride Festival in February.

The theme for 2026 is The Fire is So Delightful. We are investigating the overlapping and conflicting ideas of rest vs resistance. Fire serves a dual purpose as both a hearth for our community to gather around and the spark needed for our continued fight in an ever shifting climate. 

2026’s festival was a collaborative effort, put together by a volunteer board comprised of the following talented and passionate people: Izzy Robinson, Michael Giacon, Hiraani Himona, Chye-Ling Huang, and Sophie Dowsett.

6 – 9pm, Thursday 6th August

Grey Lynn Community Centre, 510 Richmond Road

The 2026 opening night gala will begin with the announcement of the winners of the Peter Wells Short Fiction Contest. 

Presented in collaboration with Wheke Fortress, an ever changing artist run space for Māori Pasifika queer artists to create and connect in. A selection of writers from their widespread DIY community of artists read new work and share their whakaaro with the festival. 

7 – 9pm, Friday 7th August

Ellen Melville Centre, 2 Freyberg Place

Please note: This event is fully booked! However, tickets are occassionally returned so check back here if you’re hoping to grab one.

What is Queer food to you? Drawing on John Birdsall’s ‘What is Queer Food?’, author and food storyteller, Sam Low invites us to gather for an exploration of the stories we carry through food. Through shared kai, conversation, and reflection, we’ll trace the connections between appetite, identity, memory and belonging, asking how queer lives are written into the meals we make, share and remember. Supported by theatre-maker Chye-Ling Huang.

12 – 1pm, Saturday 8th August

Basement Theatre, Lower Greys Avenue

A discussion about what it takes physically, mentally and metaphorically to make space for the creation of queer writing in Aotearoa right now. Chaired by Jo Randerson, with panelists Emma Barnes, Fuimaono-Tuimafuiva Falesātaua Joshua Iosefo (Mush), and Hinemoana Baker.

We Are All Family

1:30 – 2:45pm, Saturday 8th August

Basement Theatre, Lower Greys Avenue

A kōrero facilitated by Alison Green, drawing on the notion that we are all bound together through shared whakapapa, or through a common kaupapa, or both. As whānau we celebrate our collective strengths and resist all efforts to separate and divide us. Alison is joined by Tangaroa Paul, and Tāwhanga Nopera. 

Queer Writing in a Scary Future 

3:30 – 4:30pm, Saturday 8th August

Basement Theatre, Lower Greys Avenue

How can we build queer existence into ideas of a dystopian future? Josiah Morgan chairs this panel, joined by Sloane Hong, Jiaqiao Liu, and Toni Spencer. Together they will explore the intersection between horror tropes, queer resistance, and how AI fits into writing practices in the future.

5 – 6pm, Saturday 8th August

Basement Theatre, Lower Greys Avenue

Each year, we invite an author to deliver a lecture and provocation. In 2026, this keynote address will be delivered by Laura Vincent.

Laura’s keynote is titled How are we doing for time? It will be a concentration on the way we as queer and Takatāpui writers construct, recontextualise, fight with, and own time.

A staged reading of the chosen playwright.

6:30 – 8pm, Saturday 7th February

The kick off event for the Praise the Lord Playwright Residency, produced in partnerships with Auckland Pride and Auckland Theatre Company. A reading of excerpts of Connor Amor-Bendall’s new work, Close Female Friends. 

Pride Poetry Speakeasy and Open Mic

5 – 7pm, Wednesday 11th February

Studio One – Toi Tū, 1 Ponsonby Road, Grey Lynn

The 11th annual Poetry Speakeasy, held in collaboration with Auckland Libraries. Hosted by SSBD Board Member Michael Giacon, the evening included an open mic and a guest feature from Hebe Kearney.