Jordan Hamel Appointed Director: Featherston Booktown

 SEPTEMBER 2025

Jordan Hamel - Photo Credit Ebony Lamb.

The Featherston Booktown Trustees have appointed acclaimed Aotearoa New Zealand writer, teacher and performer, Jordan Hamel, to the role of Director: Featherston Booktown.

He takes up the role on September 3.

The Director position is an expansion of the current Operations Manager role currently held by Mary Biggs who will take up a part-time support role within the Featherston Booktown team.

According to the Chair of the Featherston Booktown Trust, Peter Biggs: “Since Mary signalled her intention to step back some months ago, the Featherston Booktown Trustees have given careful and extensive thought as to how they would fill the large gap that Mary would leave.

“After considering a range of options, the Trustees chose Jordan – whom we believe is the perfect person to continue Featherston Booktown’s positive trajectory as a significant contributor to the Featherston Paetūmōkai community and the wider region – and to the literary and cultural life of Aotearoa New Zealand.”

Originally from Timaru and a former lawyer and policy advisor, Joran Hamel is one this country’s celebrated and awarded writers and performers, and he has extensive connections to the literary/book sector both nationally and internationally.

He is a Board member of Read NZ Te Pou Muramura, an organisation responsible for administering reading programmes nationwide, including Writers in Schools and Writers in Youth Justice.

“Not only does Jordan have a high profile in the literary/books world, but he also knows Featherston Booktown well, having been a featured presenter at Featherston Booktown’s annual Karukatea Festival as well as a valued member of the Festival’s programming sub-committee for the last four years, “ Peter Biggs said.

 “Jordan will undertake a handover process with Mary. Having been at the forefront of the stellar growth and success of Featherston Booktown over the last seven years, she will then take-up a part-time role supporting Jordan.

“Mary is looking forward to continuing to help Featherston Booktown flourish as well having more time to enjoy her grandchildren and beautiful garden – and contribute more widely to the Featherston Paetūmōkai community.

“The Featherston Booktown whānau is deeply grateful for all she has done for Featherston Booktown.

“We are thrilled to not only have secured someone of Jordan’s calibre to lead Featherston Booktown into the future – but also that Mary will still be very much part of the Featherston Booktown adventure.”

Jordan Hamel has just returned home after three years away at the University of Michigan on a Fulbright Scholarship where he studied and taught creative writing. He has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB)  and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Otago.

Jordan Hamel said: “Sitting on the Festival’s programming sub-committee for the past few years has been an incredibly valuable and rewarding experience for me. Nothing excites me more than putting together engaging and visionary events and lineups featuring Aotearoa New Zealand’s finest established and emerging writers and thinkers.

“As a Timaru boy, I understand the complexity and issues that come with putting on a festival as ambitious as Featherston Booktown’s in a small town. I also recognise that, despite the challenges, it is vital to do so. Aotearoa New Zealand is defined by its diversity and while the arts are stronger than ever in the city centres (despite funding fragility), it’s the regions that are constantly at risk of missing out.

“I love Featherston Booktown, not only because it continually delivers an incredible festival to the Featherston Paetūmōkai community, but also because it uses its platform to showcase and uplift writers, storytellers and creatives from the region to deliver a uniquely Featherston experience to the nation.

It goes without saying that Mary is superwoman and irreplaceable, but I believe I can bring something to the table and serve both Featherston Booktown and the Featherston Paetūmōkai community well. I’m ready to get stuck in.”

Now in its tenth year, the annual Featherston Booktown Festival over the second weekend in May attracts over 10,000 booklovers and is recognised as one of this country’s most significant cultural events and a driving force behind growing regional and national engagement with books, reading and storytelling.