Bad Diaries Salon

Bad Diaries Salon returns in 2026 for another intimate evening of literary revelations. Four brave writers - Airini Beautrais, Tusiata Avia, Jordan Hamel and Jack Remiel Cottrell - open up their unpublished diaries, journals and notebooks to share candid, surprising and sometimes deeply personal glimpses into their lives. Hosted by writer Tracy Farr, this ninth salon celebrates the number THREE, with three threes marking the occasion. After all, three’s company, three’s a crowd and three’s a charm! Come along to witness the unexpected, celebrate the power of the personal and enjoy an evening of stories that are usually kept under wraps. What happens in the salon stays in the salon! About the writers and host Airini Beautrais - An award-winning poet, short-story writer, essayist and educator who grew up in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland and Whanganui. Her collection Bug Week & Other Stories won the 2021 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction, and her writing often explores nature, community and the complexities of everyday life. Tusiata Avia - An internationally recognised Samoan New Zealand poet, performer and children's author based in Ōtautahi Christchurch. Her bold, powerful work explores identity, racism, colonisation and the Pacific experience. Her collection The Savage Coloniser Book won the 2021 Ockham New Zealand Book Award for Poetry. Jordan Hamel - An Aotearoa New Zealand poet and performer whose work explores contemporary life, politics and the climate crisis. His debut poetry collection, Everyone Is Everyone Except You, was published in 2022, and he co-edited the climate poetry anthology No Other Place to Stand. Jack Remiel Cottrell - A Ngāti Rangi writer specialising in flash fiction and microfiction, telling inventive stories in very few words. His debut collection, Ten Acceptable Acts of Arson and Other Very Short Stories, won the 2020 Wallace Foundation Prize. His work blends the strange, the funny and the unsettling, often finding unexpected stories in ordinary situations. Tracy Farr (Host) - A Wellington-based novelist and short-story writer who previously worked as a research scientist. Her novels include The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt, The Hope Fault and Wonderland. She curates and hosts Bad Diaries Salon, a literary series inviting writers to share readings from their diaries and unpublished notebooks. This event is part of VerbCrawl, a one-night literary festival that brings the streets of central Pōneke alive with writers, readings and literary happenings. For the full programme and more information, visit verbwellington.nz.