A creationist plans to give away 1000 copies of his version of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species after Richard Dawkins' appearance in Christchurch on Thursday.

New Zealand-born author Ray Comfort, who is now based in the United States, has written his own introduction to Darwin's groundbreaking work on evolution, where he argues for intelligent design.

Melissa Day, of Comfort's New Zealand Living Waters Ministry, said the group planned to give away about 10,000 copies of the book today on university campuses in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

Canterbury volunteers also plan to give out 1000 copies of the book, with Comfort's foreword, after Dawkins' appearance at the Christchurch Town Hall.

Dawkins, an atheist and evolutionary biologist, will be speaking at The Press Literary Liaison about his new book, The Greatest Show on Earth, in which he outlines the case for evolution.

Day said Comfort wanted the books handed out after the Literary Liaison because "Richard Dawkins is giving one side of the argument and trying to censor the other".

"The 54-page introduction has information on Darwin himself, his life and what his theories led to in quite a few instances. It talks about his views on black people and women and it argues for intelligent design," Day said.

Dawkins was unavailable for comment.