28th Annual Meeting (2025)
Dates: 1–2 December 2025
Host: Laidlaw College, Christchurch Campus
70 Condell Avenue, Christchurch 8053, NZ
Dual mode (in-person and via Zoom)
Call for Papers 2025
Papers are invited for either of the following two streams:
General Paper Stream
20 min presentations + 10 min of discussion. There is no conference theme, so we welcome any topic and method related to biblical literature and its reception.
NB: A 20-minute paper is roughly 2,000 words.
Hui-Talanoa Stream: A First Step in Indigenizing the Bible
In order to develop any “alter-native” approach to biblical interpretation, Nāsili Vaka’uta (“Moana Hermeneutics”, 2024) has prompted us to begin with an emphasis on contextualization: knowing where we stand, who we are, the pertinent distinctives in our Indigenous categories of thought, our Indigenous cultures and local contexts, in short, “the key issues on the ground” (whenua, fonua, fenua, vanua, fanua…). Our positions of reading are even more critical in this day and age of neo-colonialism, with the global climate crisis, geopolitics in the Pasifika region, religious fundamentalism, the influence of AI and technological advancements, the capitalist machine, rising authoritarianism, and the global ramifications of genocide and ethnic cleansing happening in Gaza. Knowing our position on the whenua/fonua/fenua/vanua/fanua entails an understanding that we occupy a position of humility and respect, appreciating the value of human life but also that of non-human animal life, and the created order, where a failure to acknowledge our fellow beings in creation perpetuates the colonial shitstems that continue to oppress and marginalise. To this end, we invite 20- to 25-minute papers centred on analysis of some aspect of our local contexts throughout Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa: Indigenous stories, worldviews, concepts, and lived experiences that should be included in te tumu (the foundations) of a distinctively Māori or Pasifika form of biblical interpretation.
Submission of Proposals – Both Streams
Please include:
- Your preferred stream: paper or hui–talanoa.
- A title.
- An abstract (100–150 words).
- Name(s) of presenter(s) and (if applicable) institutional affiliation(s).
- Whether you will attend in-person or via Zoom.
- Please indicate if you would like to be considered for a scholarship.
Send to Katie Marcar: katie.marcar at otago.ac.nz
Proposals should be received by 27 September 2025 – though early proposals are most welcome.
Conference Registration
- Further details on registration and conference arrangements will be sent out in early October.
- Registration fees (including morning and afternoon teas):
o $50 waged
o $25 online only and/or unwaged - An optional conference dinner will be held on the Monday evening, venue to be announced, pay individually for what you order.
Please share this call for papers widely, and do especially encourage graduate students to consider offering a paper. We look forward to seeing you at Laidlaw College in Christchurch.
2025 Conference Features
ANZABS Postgraduate Scholarships
2 x $200 scholarships for postgraduate students to attend the conference in person and present their research. These will be paid to the recipients upon confirmation of attendance at the conference.
Scholarship Eligibility
Applicants for the scholarships must be enrolled in or a recent (within 1 year) graduate of a New Zealand postgraduate degree, i.e., Masters, PhD, or equivalent. An applicant may apply for both a scholarship and the essay prize. Only postgraduates who are presenting at the conference in person may apply for a scholarship. Indicate that you are applying for a scholarship when you submit your paper proposal and provide eligibility information in the same email.
Judith E. McKinlay Memorial Essay Prize
The inaugural Judith E. McKinlay Memorial Essay Prize of $400 will be awarded to a postgraduate student essay as determined by the ANZABS Executive Committee. It will be awarded at the conference.
Prize Eligibility
Applicants for the essay prize must be enrolled in, or a recent (within 1 year) graduate of, a New Zealand postgraduate degree, i.e., Masters, PhD, or equivalent. An applicant may apply for both a scholarship and the essay prize.
Essay Criteria
The essay should be 5,000–8,500 words, inclusive of footnotes. The essays will be judged on significance of research and clarity of communication. All essays will receive constructive written feedback from the judges. The essay topic or an aspect of it should be presented at the conference as either a general paper or a hui/talanoa.
Essay Submission
Send to Jonathan Robinson: jonathan.robinson at carey.ac.nz by 27th September 2025. Please
give eligibility information in the covering email.
Address:
70 Condell Avenue
Papanui
Christchurch 8053
New Zealand
Previous Annual Meetings
27 (3–4 December 2024) Carey Baptist College, Auckland
26 (4–5 December 2023) Te Kupenga Catholic Theological College, Auckland
25 (5–6 December 2022) University of Otago, Dunedin
24 (6–7 December 2021) Virtual Conference (Laidlaw College, Auckland)
23 (30 November–1 December 2020) Laidlaw College, Christchurch
22 (1–3 July 2019) Carey Baptist College, Auckland
21 (6–7 December 2018) Trinity Methodist Theological College and St John’s College, Auckland
20 (4–5 December 2017) University of Otago, Dunedin
19 (27–28 June 2016) Carey Baptist College, Auckland
18 (7–8 December 2015) Laidlaw College, Auckland
17 (8–9 December 2014) University of Otago, Dunedin
16 (1–2 July 2013) Laidlaw College, Auckland
15 (10–11 December 2012) Laidlaw College, Auckland
14 (5–6 December 2011) Laidlaw College, Christchurch
13 (6–7 December 2010) Good Shepherd College, Auckland
12 (7–8 December 2009) University of Otago, Dunedin
11 (6–11 July 2008) University of Auckland, Auckland (in conjunction with the International SBL Annual Meeting)