Within These Walls: The Shadbolt House Series
A Conversation with Catherine Chidgey
We are thrilled to welcome Catherine Chidgey, ‘one of New Zealand’s greatest living writers’ (Radio New Zealand), to open Within These Walls — a series that brings together intimate late-afternoon conversations with writers and journalists, alongside a programme of creative writing workshops led by established practitioners. The series is hosted at Shadbolt House, 35 Arapito Rd, Titirangi, a place long shaped by creativity, ideas, and debate.
Date: Saturday 28 February 2026'
Time: 4.30pm – 6.30pm (approx.)
Ticket price: $35 / $30 (students, seniors, unwaged)
Tickets include light canapés and a welcome beverage (wine, beer, or non-alcoholic). Books will be available for purchase.
This is a small, in-person event. Numbers are strictly limited.
Bookings: Please email tracey@goingwestfest.co.nz
Catherine Chidgey. Photo: Ebony Laing
Catherine Chidgey is the author of nine award-winning, bestselling novels, including The Book of Guilt, Pet, The Axeman’s Carnival and Remote Sympathy. Her books are published internationally and are translated into several languages. She has been longlisted for the UK Women’s Prize for Fiction twice and shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award. Chidgey is the only writer to have won the top fiction prize at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards twice. Her most recent novel, The Book of Guilt — described by Kirkus Reviews as an “emotional and intellectual tour de force” — sparked international bidding wars and is longlisted for the 2026 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.
Catherine will read from The Book of Guilt, share new unpublished work, and reflect on her writing and the questions that continue to drive her fiction. She will be joined in conversation by Rosetta Allan, who will guide the discussion. There will be time to linger afterwards — for questions, conversation, and a glass of wine with light refreshments.
Rosetta Allan. Photo: James Allan
Rosetta Allan is the bestselling author of Crazy Love, The Unreliable People, and Purgatory, along with two books of poetry. Her work has been widely recognised through awards and residencies, and her essays and reviews have appeared widely in New Zealand literary publications. Rosetta brings a thoughtful, generous approach to conversation, shaped by her own engagement with questions of intimacy, power, and moral complexity in literature.
Within These Walls: The Shadbolt House Series forms part of the Going West Festival’s 30th anniversary celebrations, and marks a moment of arrival for Shadbolt House as it comes into its own as a writers’ residency and literary hub.
Upcoming conversations include Simon Wilson and Dominic Hoey, with workshops led by Dominic Hoey, scriptwriter Gary Henderson, and poet Anne Kennedy. Subscribe to our newsletter to be among the first to hear about upcoming events.
About Shadbolt House
Shadbolt House is the former home of one of Aotearoa’s most celebrated 20th-century writers, Maurice Shadbolt, whose novels and essays played a significant role in New Zealand’s literary culture. Alongside his writing, Shadbolt was an engaged political activist, attentive to questions of power, justice, and national identity.
Now being restored as a writers’ residence and literary hub, the house is becoming a place for writing, conversation, and the exchange of ideas. Within These Walls events range from discussions of creative practice to wider social and political questions, shaped by the belief that literature does not sit apart from the world it describes.
Please note that access to the house is via a short sloped driveway, and there are steps at the entrance. If you have any access requirements or would like to talk this through, please get in touch — we’re very happy to help.