FREE
8 AUG, 12PM
Samesame But Different - Literary Festival
- Date 8 AUG, 12PM
- Venue THEATRE
- Price FREE
- Runtime 6 Hours
Show info
Samesame But Different is Tāmaki Makaurau's queer literary festival and in 2026 we're bringing you a winter festival for the first time!
We're thrilled to be hosting our Saturday events at Basement Theatre, which as always are free to attend and do not require any registration. Details of the programme are below, and we hope you'll join us for a drink at the end of the day to celebrate the close of the festival.
Making Space for Queer Writing
12:30-1:30pm
Our first panel of the day is a kōrero about what it takes physically, mentally and metaphorically to make space for the creation of queer writing in Aotearoa right now. Chaired by Jo Randerson, with panelists Emma Barnes, Fuimaono-Tuimafuiva Falesātaua Joshua Iosefo (Mush), and Hinemoana Baker.
He Whānau Kotahi Tātou: We Are All Family
2:00-3:15pm
The second panel has been convened by Alison Green, who will facilitate a conversation which draws on the notion that we are bound together through shared whakapapa, or through a common kaupapa, or both. As whānau we celebrate our collective strengths and resist all efforts to separate and divide us. Alison is joined by Rosa Hibbert-Schooner, Tangaroa Paul, and Tāwhanga Nopera.
Monsters, Robots, and the Fascist State: Queer Writing in a Scary Future
4:00-5:00pm
How can we build queer existence into ideas of a dystopian future? For the third panel of the day our speakers are exploring the intersection between horror tropes, queer resistance, and how AI fits into writing practices in the future. Chaired by Josiah Morgan, with panelists Jiaqiao Liu, Sloane Hong, and Toni Spencer.
Peter Wells Keynote
5:30-6:30pm
Each year we invite a keynote speaker to reflect in their own way on queer life and queer writing in Aotearoa. In 2026, we are honoured to welcome Laura Vincent, author of Hoods Landing, as our keynote speaker to close out the festival.
Other info
