Dunedin Fringe Arts Trust chairman Aaron Hawkins was ''incredibly proud'' of the festival programme, which features about 15 free events over the next four days.
Young writers and their readers would have the opportunity to bond over performances, readings, panel discussions, workshops and a pub quiz, he said.
''We've got a great mix of poets, novelists, comedians and journalists tackling some pretty big issues.''
The line-up includes 2017 Canon Awards columnist of the year and blog site of the year winner Lizzie Marvelly, 2016 Ockham Award winner Chris Tse and Snapchat comedian Tom Sainsbury.
''What started as an intimate gathering of like minds in 2015 grew considerably last year, and we're expecting this to grow as it cements its place in the literary calendar of Aotearoa New Zealand.''
The festival would be launched at the festival hub, nicknamed ''writers block'', in Princes St tonight.
Trust director Gareth McMillan said the festival line-up was ''exciting''.
''We've got a really good mix of people coming along.''
Sainsbury was at present the ''flavour of the month'' with his ''hilarious'' Snapchat skits lampooning politicians.
Although the events were free, he recommended registering for the quiz and workshops.
