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About Bookmark Kāpiti

Bookmark Kāpiti celebrates the people, stories and places of the Kāpiti region. We aim to showcase our rich creative diversity and include stories and writing for all kinds of readers, writers and storytellers.

We run a few bookish events every year alongside our major festival weekend every second year.

Our 2025 festival featured workshops, talks and performances for children, young people and adults – from sunny Ōtaki to wild Paekākāriki. From gardening to kōrero about the environment to workshops on writing songs or your life story, there were topics for everyone to explore or inspire.

Who are we?

See 2025 programme

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CycleStory is BACK, and this year we are exploring Paekākāriki! 🚲

Launching on Labour Weekend for the Wellington Heritage Festival, this self-guided cycle or walking tour is packed with unexpected stops, quirky history, and fascinating local stories. All you need is your bike (or walking shoes) and your phone!

Use the URL or scan the barcode, and start exploring. Listen to audio recorded by local broadcaster Mark Amery and read incredible tales uncovered by Kāpiti storyteller and Bookmark Trustee Keryn Mells.

Upcoming Events

2026 events

BookmarkBookish Book Market

23 May 2026

Last year's Author Alley with add-ons. Bigger and better. In collaboration with Kāpiti combined Lions secondhand book fair - there were be books, so many books. And Authors and Illustrators and Publishers and people selling book related merchandise.

Bookmark Kāpiti in collaboration with WEA Kāpiti

Kāpiti Readers and Writers Autumn Series

Five weeks of bookish conversation in April and May – from historical writing to film, medicine, crime and Kāpiti’s role in Te Tiriti.

The place of the past in writing history and historical fiction
Ink to Action: The people we love to watch onscreen
Why murder? Why not?!
Operation Writer: Crossing the medical/literary divide
Kāpiti, Te Rauparaha, and the women who signed the Treaty of Waitangi

Writing Retreat:
TOGETHER ALONE

An intimate residential weekend of writing and conversation surrounded by like-minded people in February.

The February weekend opened with a shared potluck dinner and a writing exercise with award-winning fiction writer and tutor, Pip Adam. Each day started and ended with a group check-in facilitated by Pip. Writers could get more support by registering for a 1:1 to discuss their work or review feedback on a piece of writing.

During the rest of the weekend, they could focus on their writing in one of the many writing spaces available onsite, walk to the nearby Waikanae river or beach and discuss all things writing with other writers.