RESOURCES

Venues for Book Launches, Huis and Workshops

(Listed July 2026)

At times our committee is asked to suggest suitable venues for book events, so we decided to compile a list. Once we got started, we were amazed by the number of possibilities. Please note that these are suggestions, not recommendations. To date we have only listed Whangārei venues. We are seeking suggestions from areas throughout the north. If you’d like to have a conversation with a committee member about venue hire, or to make a suggestion please contact: northlandauthors@gmail.com

Whangārei:

  • The Judge in Walton Street – free and helpful
  • Dickens Inn, Cameron Street – upstairs room, charges for hiring. No toilets upstairs
  • Kiwi North/Whangarei Museum – range of venues https://www.kiwinorth.co.nz/venue-hire/venuehire
  • Barge Park: Small and large rooms, Kitchen facilities. https://bargeshowgrounds.co.nz/meeting-room-hire/
  • McKay stadium – two large lounges, one small meeting room – reasonable rates – not after 5pm. https://www.sportnorthland.co.nz/wahi-hauora-l-facilities/mckay-stadiumlounges-1
  • May Bain Room, Whangarei library – free to library groups, small charge for others. Need to book well in advance. No Sunday events because the library is no longer open on Sundays. email: whglibrary@wdc.govt.nz
  • The Roost (formerly The Killer Prawn) Upstairs room but open to downstairs and tends to be noisy.
  • 116 Bank St – versatile, community-operated spaces. https://oneonesix.nz/venue/
  • NorthTec:
    • Conference centre (two rooms, one a lecture theatre, one a very large space with chairs; plus tiny kitchenette, toilets, and open lobby area for doing food. Good for disabled access.
    • Apprentice Restaurant – great kitchen facilities; smaller space but nicer and can accommodate 60-80; toilets. Good for disabled access.
  • The Orchard Business and Event Hub https://www.theorchard.co.nz/bookings/search?portal=
  • Pohe Island Rugby Club rooms
  • RSA –conference room with large table
  • Semenoff Stadium https://www.northlandeventscentre.co.nz/venue-hire
  • Tikipunga Football Club is available for bookings during Monday-Friday 8-5.
  • Riverbank Theatre – https://www.whangareitheatrecompany.org.nz/hiring
  • The Octagon Theatre, Aubrey Street. https://octagontheatre.nz/contact-us
  • Quarry Arts Centre
  • Railway station (too small for meetings or very big launches) Community hub managed by Creative Northland
  • The Kamo Club https://kamoclub.co.nz/functions/
  • Forum North https://www.wdc.govt.nz/Events/Forum-North/Hire-Forum-North
  • For children’s books, children’s section of the library
  • Craniums Bookshop
  • The Piggery Bookshop
  • Kamo bookshop, BookInn, now also known as Books, Bikes and Beyond
  • The little room off Milk and Honey Café, Te Kamo
  • Local schools are a possibility, especially if you have a contact. Comment: We’ve had regular meetings at one school when a committee member was on the school board, and we also ran a NorthWrite event at another school, with no charge because of personal contacts with the principal. That event used several parts of the school for breakout workshops.
  • School libraries
  • Daycare centres/kindergartens

A list of helpful resources for a Northland writer