The Randell Cottage Trust is delighted to advise that author essa may ranapiri has now taken up their writer-in-residence position at Wellington’s historic Randell Cottage, where they will be working on their first novel, Te Rama Tuna | Eeling by Torchlight, a coming of age story about two young trans Maaori friends/lovers.

essa may ranapiri (Ngaati Raukawa, Ngaati Puukeko, Te Arawa and Clan Gunn) is a poet, writer and academic living in Kirikiriroa Hamilton. They have published a large amount of poetry, reviews and essays over the past eight years of working as a writer, most notably their two poetry collections, ransack (2019) and ECHIDNA (2022), and a forthcoming third collection, Puke, to be published in 2026.

essa will be in residence with their whānau at Randell Cottage through to mid-December 2026. They will be reading and speaking at a number of events with the cottage over the course of the residency, including:

• A reading, alongside other poets and authors, at the Randell Cottage Open Day (part of Wellington Heritage Festival) on 25 October 2026;
• A reading and panel discussion with other other queer Māori writers at Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui | Wellington Central Library on 14 November 2026;
• A talk at the Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa | National Library on 25 November 2026.