Small Press Fest is a three-day literary festival, backed by the Dunedin City Council and Unesco City of Literature, dedicated to celebrating small presses and independent publishers and archives.
The festival — hosted between Yours Otepoti, the Pioneer Women’s Hall, Athenaeum Library and the Dunedin Public Art Gallery (DPAG) — includes readings, workshops, panel discussions and a chance to meet authors and publishers from across the country.
Festival curator Frances Pavletich said
the reception to last year’s festival was "really heart-warming".
It was nice to have a festival that was dedicated to the small and emerging, rather than the well-established, she said.
"The literary world can sometimes feel a bit gate-kept, so I really wanted to provide space for all the people who have imposter-syndrome and are not sure whether or not to call themselves writers, editors, publishers just yet, but are actually putting out some of the most interesting and genre-bending publications."
This year’s festival placed more of a focus on digital platforms and spaces dedicated to art publishing, and featured a special collaboration with the exhibition "Stars, lands" by Nicola Farquhar, on display at DPAG, Ms Pavletich said.
Writers were invited to take part in a hands-on workshop responding to the artwork, led by Dunedin poet Emma Neale, guiding writers to create ekphrastic poems — poetry written about works of art.
Small presses took more risks, publishing creatives who felt left out or suspicious of traditional publishing methods and expectations, and she hoped the festival would stimulate more collaboration, Ms Pavletich said.
The art scene in New Zealand was "horrifically underfunded" and a lot of people she knew worked for free.
"By pooling together, we can hopefully avoid burnout and keep putting out the things we love."
The festival begins today and will run until Sunday.
