Wellington’s road to the 2026 New Zealand Poetry Slam Championships begins here! Now in our 16th year of bringing poetry to the mic, we’re back with four heats this September. Across four heats, poets from across the region will take to the mic with three minutes, their own original words, and a room full of people ready to listen. Whether you’re a seasoned slam poet, trying it for the first time, or have only ever read your poems to your bedroom walls, we want to hear what you’ve got.

Each heat will feature up to three rounds of original poetry, judged by five randomly selected audience members. The top three poets from each heat will advance to the Wellington Regional Final, where two poets will be selected to represent the region at the 2026 New Zealand Poetry Slam Championships. Not performing? Come anyway! Bring your friends, back a poet, volunteer to judge, or just come along for a night of live poetry.

Dates:

• Heat 2: 10 September

• Heat 3: 17 September

• Heat 4: 24 September

Time:

• Doors open: 7:00pm | Slam starts: 7:30pm | Ends: approx. 9:30pm

Cost:

• $3-$5 (or more) at the door :)

Keen to compete? Click here to sign up to compete