We’re really sorry to share that due to Cyclone Vaianu, key members of A Big Night In with the New Zealand Poet Laureate are unable to travel to Hawke’s Bay. This is not the news any of us were hoping to send, and we know how disappointing this will be for those of you joining us on Saturday, April 11th at Toitoi.

The safety of our artists and community must come first, and the current conditions mean this performance can’t go ahead as planned. We’re incredibly grateful for your understanding and patience as we navigate this together.

Ticket refunds

All tickets will be automatically refunded via Eventfinda. You don’t need to do anything. Refunds will be processed to the original payment method.

In the meantime, our thoughts are with everyone impacted by the cyclone. Ngā mihi nui for your support and aroha.

 

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Join us for a wonderful evening of words with New Zealand’s Poet Laureate Robert Sullivan and his guests, poets Amber Esau, Kiri Piahana-Wong, and Ariana Tikao. An evening not to be missed!

A Big Night In is the evening event in the very special literary celebrations for the NZ Poet Laureate in Hawke's Bay. Robert will bring the handcrafted tokotoko he receives from the official ceremony at Matahiwi Marae earlier in the day, his favourite poems and extraordinary friends to this celebration of talent.

We’re thrilled to welcome 2026 Ockham finalist and local poet Nafanua Purcell Kersel (Satupa‘itea, Faleālupo, Aleipata, Tuaefu) as our MC.

Saturday 11 April 2026 7:30pm - 9:30pm

Toitoi - Assembly Ballroom

7.30 pm  |  Doors open at 7pm

Tickets are just $10 (plus fees) and available for purchase on Eventfinda.

Presented by Hawke's Bay Readers & Writers Trust and The National Library of New Zealand.

Robert Sullivan is Aotearoa New Zealand’s current Poet Laureate. He belongs to Ngāpuhi (Ngāti Manu, Ngāti Hau / Ngāti Kaharau) and Kāi Tahu (Kāti Huirapa ki Puketeraki) iwi and is also of Irish descent. His ninth book of poems, Hopurangi / Songcatcher (AUP) was shortlisted for the Mary and Peter Biggs Award at the 2025 Ockham NZ Book Awards. He has won many awards for his poetry, editing, and writing for children. His poetry speaks to an idealised, empowered New Zealand society for all and addresses the people who live there in the future. Robert is Associate Professor in Creative Writing at Massey University, and is current President of the NZ Poetry Society / Te Rōpū Toikupu o Aotearoa. He lives in Ōamaru.  

About the Poets

Ariana Tikao

Ariana Tikao writes waiata, poetry and creative non-fiction exploring themes relating to her Kāi Tahu identity and mana wahine, often drawing upon historical kōrero from her ancestors. She has an MA in Creative Writing from the IIML (2022) and has had poetry and creative nonfiction published in Turbine Kapohau, Landfall, SWAMP, Awa Wahine, Takahē, West Trestle Review, and Tupuranga. Her book Mokorua was published by AUP in 2022 (co-authored with photographer Matt Calman), and her book Te Rā: The Māori Sail was published by the Christchurch Art Gallery in 2023 (illustrated by Mat Tait). She was an Ursula Bethell Writer in Residence at the University of Canterbury in 2023, where she worked on her first collection of poetry Pepeha Portal, which is being published by Otago University Press this month.

Anna Jackson

Anna Jackson has published seven poetry collections and her latest, Terrier, Worrier (2025), is a beautiful, brainy meditation on thinking, family, seasons and yes, chickens. It’s currently shortlisted for the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards, which feels very deserved. Anna lives in Island Bay, Te Whanganui-a-Tara, and is associate professor in English literature at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington.

 

Amber Esau

Amber Esau is a SāMāoRish (Ngāpuhi / Manase) writer from Tāmaki Makaurau. She is a poet, storyteller, and professional bots. She has a BCA from Manukau Institute of Technology and an MA from the International Institute of Modern Letters, and in 2023 she co-edited the queer poetry anthology Spoiled Fruit. She is a past recipient of the Emerging Pasifika Writers Residency from the Michael King Writers Centre and the Ideas In Residence residency from the Basement Theatre. Always vibing at a languid pace, she has had work published in print and online journals. Her debut collection Hungus (Te Herenga Waka University Press, 2026) is out now.

Kiri Piahana-Wong

Kiri Piahana-Wong is a poet, editor and the publisher at Anahera Press. She is of Ngāti Ranginui, Chinese and Pākehā ancestry.

As a poet, Kiri’s writing has appeared in over forty journals and anthologies, including Essential NZ Poems, Landfall, Tātai Whetū: Seven Māori Women Poets in Translation, Ora Nui, Vā: Stories by Women of the Moana and more.

Kiri is the author of two full-length poetry collections of her own, Night Swimming (2013) and Tidelines (2024). She is co-editor of the Māori literature anthology Te Awa o Kupu (2023).

MC

Nafanua Purcell Kersel

Nafanua Purcell Kersel is a Samoan-born Aotearoa poet, performer, and academic whose debut collection, Black Sugarcane (Te Herenga Waka University Press, 2025), has been heralded as a landmark in Pasifika poetry. Rich in cultural memory, linguistic innovation, and expressive range, her work celebrates ancestry, language, resilience, and the vibrancy of Samoan life.

 

 

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