The one-night literary crawl will put books, performance and discussion in unexpected places, from Drapers Fabrics on Cuba Street to Meow on Edward Street and St Peter’s on Willis Street.

Verb Wellington’s latest online programme lists 26 events across 13 venues. The main programme runs in three rounds between 6pm and 9.15pm, with tickets costing $10 per event. Free book and art launches begin earlier in the evening, and a free after-party follows.

At Meow, metal band FVKVSHIMA will perform with poets Haro Lee, Jordan Hamel and Gregory Kan. Their Metal and Poetry collaboration will pair new writing with live music, responding to the band’s theme of an imperfect future.

The same venue will host Political Afterthoughts at 7.15pm. James Nokise will lead a discussion of the election results with journalists Māni Dunlop, Lillian Hanly and Lyric Waiwiri-Smith, looking at what the result could mean for New Zealand.

St Peter’s on Willis Street will provide a setting for An Ode to the Gothic, with Noelle McCarthy hosting readings by Joy Holley and Lucy Black. Earlier, the church will host Crip the Lit writers marking 10 years of work by Wellington’s disabled literary community.

At Drapers Fabrics, poets Chris Tse and Haro Lee will explore their favourite songs, television shows and pop-culture influences alongside Melissa Oliver in Cult Icons. The event includes readings and a quiz.

Audiences will be asked to separate fact from invention at Little Beer Quarter in Stories You Can’t Trust. Joseph Trinidad, Una Cruickshank, Nick Ascroft, Kiri Lightfoot and Jem Yoshioka will tell stories that might be true or entirely made up, with Jo Randerson hosting.

At Bicycle Junction, illustrator Daniel Vernon, also known as YeeHawTheBoys, will introduce Local Legends, his new comic reimagining three Māori pūrākau through action, horror and romance.

Crime writers Molly Crighton and Anthony Lapwood will discuss their approaches to the genre at Aurelia Books, including stories that centre queer characters. At XO Book Co., romance and fantasy writers will offer advice to the fictional characters they have created.

Other sessions include Late Night Fairytales at Peg Gallery, where Hugo Grrrl will host adult reinterpretations of familiar tales, and the return of Tracy Farr’s Bad Diaries Salon, featuring writers reading from their unpublished diaries.

The early programme includes a free City Gallery Wellington launch at 5.15pm for artist Todd Atticus’s Alas 360, a city-wide visual poem planned to unfold over a year.

Verb co-directors Kate McDonald and Gabrielle Vincent said: “Shaping this year’s VerbCrawl programme has been a real joy.”

The crawl follows September’s Verb Readers & Writers Festival. Its organisers have placed a particular emphasis on grassroots literary collectives, independent journals and emerging writers, alongside established authors and performers.

Each $10 ticket covers one selected event, rather than admission to the entire programme. Seating is limited at some venues, and the festival website gives access information for individual locations. People needing a seat for accessibility reasons or a companion ticket can contact the organisers.

The full programme and ticket information are available at verbwellington.nz. A free after-party begins at Meow at 9.15pm.