Steve Braunias edits Newsroom’s books section, ReadingRoom. His latest book is a true-crime collection, Missing Persons. He is a noted writer for the NZ Herald.
Mia Gaudin, the first-prize winner of the 2020 Surrey Hotel-Newsroom writers residency, hard at work.
READINGROOM
$5K Surrey-Newsroom writers residency open
Closes July 10
Announcing the 2021 Surrey Hotel-Newsroom writers residency
Calling all writers wanting the rare chance to sit down in privacy and comfort to work on their latest masterpiece. Applications open today, as of now, this very second, for the prestigious 2021 Surrey Hotel-Newsroom writers residency – with an added bonus of cold, hard, very good cash.
Thanks to the remarkable generosity of spirit and of wallet of painter and author Dick Frizzell, and author and living monument Sir Bob Harvey, the annual writers residency comes with $5000. Five large! Five grand! What the hell. Amazing, as if the award itself isn’t amazing enough.
The first-place winner will receive a week’s free accommodation at the singular Surrey Hotel in Grey Lynn, Auckland, with cooked breakfast thrown in plus the Surrey’s famous Sunday roast. Vegetarians can elect for extra parsnips I suppose. They will also receive $4000.
There are two runners-up. Second place will receive five nights accommodation a the Surrey, and $500; third place will receive four nights accommodation, and $500.
The Surrey Hotel is widely considered the grooviest writers residency in New Zealand arts and letters. It’s got ye olde Tudor stylings and the swimming pool has to be seen to be believed. The residency allows winners the comfort, glamour and honour of staying at the distinctly odd and certainly very striking Surrey to work on whatever literary project is dear to their heart.
