9 June 2026
New Zealand writer Hazel Phillips and Australian writer Nam Le have been announced as the recipients of the 2026 New Zealand-Australia residency exchange, an international residency programme held by Varuna, the Australian National Writers House in collaboration with the Michael King Writers Centre in Auckland.
The three-week residency exchange will take place during October and November 2026. Hazel will work on her debut novel at Varuna and will appear at the Blue Mountains Writers Festival. Nam will spend his time at Michael King Writers Centre working on his next book, a poetic geography of Melbourne/Naarm. Nam will appear at WORD Christchurch Festival.
Both writers’ centres said ‘We received some truly wonderful applications. The standard of applications for this exchange program was very competitive’.
Hazel lives in Ohakune next to the Mangawhero River, at the foot of Ruapehu and is the the author of five books: Great- Hearts: First ladies of Aoraki Mt Cook (MUP, 2026) Fire and Ice: Secrets, histories, treasures and mysteries of Tongariro National Park (MUP, 2025), Solo: Backcountry adventuring in Aotearoa New Zealand (MUP, 2022); Wild Westie (Penguin, 2014), a biography of Sir Bob Harvey; and Sell! (Penguin, 2013), a history of the advertising industry. She holds an MA in Media Studies and a Masters in Creative Writing with first-class honours.
Nam is the author of The Boat, On David Malouf, and 36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem. His writing has won numerous honours, been republished in modern classics series, and is widely translated, anthologised and taught.
Chair of the MKWC Board of Trustees, Melanee Winder says, ‘The ongoing partnership between the Michael King Writers Centre Trust and Varuna, Australia’s National Writers’ House in the Blue Mountains remains a key highlight in the calendars of both organisations. We’re so excited to see what Hazel Phillips achieves during her stay at Varuna and we look forward to welcoming Australian writer Nam Le to the Signalman’s Cottage on Takarunga Mt Victoria later this year’.
For more information on the exchange see Michael King Writers Centre Website.
