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Meet your favourite authors and fellow booklovers
Upcoming book and author events
We host a range of events in our Masterton bookshop as well as other event venues around the Wairarapa. Author talks, book launches, our monthly Book Club and other special one-off events. We also host the Wairarapa’s original writer’s festival, Yarns in Barns: Wairarapa Festival of Reading and are the ‘Official Bookseller’ for Featherston Booktown.
Everyone is welcome at our events – see what’s on below or sign up for our newsletter here.
An Inspiring Evening with Resilience Expert, Dr Lucy Hone
A fundraiser for Autism Wairarapa
Join us for a very special evening with Dr Lucy Hone, internationally acclaimed author, TED Speaker with over 9 million views and one of NZ’s leading voices on resilience and navigating life’s toughest moments.
Lucy will share insights from her powerful new book How Will I Ever Get Through This? – a practical and deeply compassionate guide to surviving living loss – the kind that follows life changing diagnoses, illness, redundancy, divorce, infertility, or any other life upheaval. Because grief is not confined to bereavement.
Honest, wise, and ultimately hopeful, Lucy’s inspirational message of resilience will leave you, your family and your colleagues, better equipped to face the challenges of this world.
The talk will be followed by a book signing, where you can meet Dr Lucy, purchase books and have your copy signed.
5.30–7.30pm, Thursday 4th June 2026
Copthorne Solway Park, High St, Masterton
Tickets $55 per person
$500 for group of 10
Ticket proceeds in support of Autism Wairarapa Charitable Trust and include your first drink and canapes.
Hedley’s Book Club
Booklovers unite! Be welcomed into a community of readers, experience the cosy magic of the bookshop after hours and be inspired by the latest book recommendations from Sue Reid.
What to expect
Arrive for a 5.30pm start. Grab a drink and a nibble as Sue shares updates from the world of books. Then she’ll dive in with her review of that month’s Book Club selections to kick off a wider bookish korero. Read the selections in advance OR simply come along for some ‘To be Read’ pile inspiration.
See the full list of books we’ve been reading here.
Afterwards, the store will be open for you to chat, browse and buy books.
Next Book Club:
Wednesday 13th May 2026
Wednesday 10th June 2026
Hedley’s Books, 150 Queen St, Masterton
Tickets $10. Includes refreshments and 10% off purchases
Featherston Booktown Karukatea
The programme for Featherston Booktown Karukatea 2026 is live! Bold conversations, fresh ideas and an extraordinary line-up of national and international talent across 46 events. From inspiring discussions to creative workshops exploring the craft of writing, the programme promises another vibrant weekend of stories and ideas in the beautiful Wairarapa.
Hedley’s Books is proud to be Featherston Booktown’s Official Festival Bookseller.
Visit us in the Booksellers Marquee and at select events around the festival, to browse every available book from the attending authors – then meet the author at the signing table to have your copy personally autographed!
Featherston Booktown Karukatea
8–10 May 2026
Featherston, Wairarapa
Wairarapa Film Festival / Te Waiwhakaata
The Wairarapa Film Festival celebrates local film and filmmakers. The programming includes filmmaking workshops, cinema screenings, film talks, and podcasts.
This year the Wairarapa Film Festival is on from 20 April – 10 May 2026. Take a look at the programme here.
Hedley’s Books is working on an exciting collaboration with the Wairarapa Film Festival team, bringing the magic of books and film together! Stay tuned for details.
Wairarapa Film Festival
20 April –10 May 2026
Kiwi Christmas Books
We’ve been supporting the charity, Kiwi Christmas Books as a donation point since 2020. Together, we collect brand new books for children of all ages to gift to Kiwi kids doing it tough at Christmas.
Support this amazing cause by dropping new books into our Masterton store, purchasing them in-store or online using the ‘Add to the Kiwi Christmas Kids donation box’ shipping option.
A huge thank you to everyone who donated in 2025! The books were delivered to the Wairarapa Women’s Refuge on 18th December
Wairarapa Bookshop Hop
The ultimate book-lovers weekend out! Grab a Passport and hop around the Wairarapa’s 13 bookshops to discover their treasures.
Collect a stamp from each store you visit and make a purchase from. Each stamp is an entry into the prize draw to win a share of $1000 of Book Vouchers! Plus there will be a $200 prize for the best photo taken on the day. Use #nzbookshopday and #wairarapabookshophop to enter your photos.
The Wairarapa Bookshop Hop will back on NZ Bookshop Day October 2026
Yarns in Barns: Wairarapa Festival of Reading
A celebration of stories and the joy of printed books. Running every two years, Yarns in Barns features author talks on subjects from farming to fiction, art to cooking, true crime to children’s stories.
With each event hosted in a unique venue from Masterton to Martinborough, it is also a celebration of our region’s diverse community – old historic courthouses, woolsheds, libraries, a bookstore and of course a barn!
Thanks for joining us in 2024. The next festival will be in October 2026.
The Booklover’s Trail Te Ara Kai Pukapuka Audio App
This free, self-guided tour offers a comprehensive journey through 13 of Wairarapa’s delightful bookstores, from Featherston to Martinborough, Greytown, Carterton, and Masterton. Whether you’re exploring by car or bicycle, the app allows you to immerse yourself in the fascinating tales of these unique booksellers as you traverse the picturesque Wairarapa region.
The diverse booksellers in our region are as captivating as the books they stock, and we invite you to visit each store on the Booklover’s Trail and discover the stories behind these literary havens.
Download the app by visiting these links:
Apple Appstore
Google Playstore
Web app version on your browser
