Featherston Booktown is a year-round literature development organisation whose largest individual project is the annual Karukatea Festival, held in May. The Karukatea Festival is a significant regional/national cultural event involving collaborations with Mana Whenua – and regional and national literary festivals and organisations, as well as strong community involvement through the Young Readers Programme in schools and Festival volunteers. Other initiatives include the popular Book Voucher scheme, the Booklover’s Trail Te Ara Kai Pukapuka Audio App, the Featherston Booktown Podcast, YouTube channel and the Rural Readers Outreach Programme. Featherston Booktown aims to grow great communities by inspiring the diverse populations of Featherston/Paetūmōkai, the wider Wairarapa and Aotearoa New Zealand to read more, write more, engage in dialogue, and share ideas.