Siobhan Harvey, Recipient of the NZSA Peter & Dianne Beatson Fellowship 2020
Auckland-based writer, academic and arts advocate Siobhan Harvey will use the fellowship to support the writing of her latest poetry project.
Siobhan says: ‘I’m humbled and honoured to be awarded the 2020 NZSA Peter & Dianne Beatson Fellowship.This is an important award, as evidenced from the prestigious list of previous recipients. As a mid-career author, I’ve often found it difficult to apply for awards which specifically include writers such as me.’
So I honour Peter and Dianne Beatson and the NZSA, its Board and National Office staff, for the vision to support mid-career writers with this much-needed fellowship.
The stipend will allow me to write new poems and finalise the editing process for my next collection, Ghosts which is scheduled for publication next year.’
The judging panel of Anna Mackenzie and James Norcliffe commented: ‘It was a pleasure and a challenge to be on the selection panel for this year’s Peter & Dianne Beatson Fellowship.
The applications were wide-ranging, including novels, history, poetry, plays, contemporary non-fiction, memoir, speculative fiction, short stories and writing for children. It is a sure sign of the health of New Zealand’s literary sector that the applications were so varied in genre, subject matter and style. The panel went through a rigorous process of reading, discussing and honing down to a longlist, a shortlist, a shorter short list.
The successful applicant presented a cohesive and compelling proposal that is both topical and intriguing; her sample of work promises a haunting, inciteful investigation of migration, outcasts and the search for home. Congratulations also to the short-listed projects, all strong contenders.’
The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc) congratulates Siobhan Harvey along with the five outstanding applicants who were shortlisted:- Maxine Alterio, Trevor Bentley, Barbara Else, Lee Murray, Vivienne Plumb, Elizabeth Smither.
This annual award is made possible with thanks to the generosity of the Beatson’s. In establishing this fellowship, they have given NZ authors a valuable opportunity to be economically secure while they bring a project to completion. It’s a commitment and affirmation for New Zealand writers. The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc) is most grateful.
In 2019 the fellowship was awarded to Frankie McMillan who used the time to work towards the completion of a novella set in 1950s New Zealand.
Previous recipients have included Frankie McMillan, Sue Wooton, Jillian Sullivan, Tina Makereti, Michael Harlow, Emma Neale, Mandy Hager, Carl Nixon, Glenn Colquhoun, Sue McCauley and Marilyn Duckworth.
The NZSA Peter & Dianne Beatson Fellowship is an annual award open to any NZSA members working on a new fiction, non-fiction, poetry or drama project. Find out more about the fellowship.
