NEXT PAGE AOTEAROA – NZSA’s Youth network

formerly known as Pens and PJs

Are you a young (age 16-35) author keen to share your work and connect with other young writers in a low-pressure environment? We welcome writers of any background, experience, and genre, but we ask that you respect the kaupapa of Next Page Aotearoa. Be kind, be respectful and follow the age limit of 16—35.

NZSA Next Page Aotearoa offers online meets and speakers, and ‘Write Night In’ for online connection.

Don’t forget to tell all your friends about us. They can sign up to our newsletter list HERE to join the NZSA next page youth writers network – and access to the FREE workshops and the toolkit. See you online at the workshop!

NEXT PAGE NEWSLETTERS:

Next Page Aotearoa #1: September 2025

Next Page Aotearoa #2: October 2025

Next Page Aotearoa: April 2026

Next Page Aotearoa: MAY 2026

Kia ora, my name is Lauren Middleton, and I am so excited to meet and represent you all as the new NZSA Youth Board Representative!

A little bit about me: I am a children’s book author and Creative Strategist for DIY embroidery kit business, Clever Poppy. My debut book ‘Pippa and the Sheep Snatchers’ came out last year and is a Whitcoull’s Top 50 Kids book as of 2026.

I am interested to hear more about our members, as well as what FREE/affordable workshops you are interested in us providing. I would love to showcase members and their achievements in our newsletters, so I encourage you to get in touch with any achievements or events you have coming up including (but not limited to): Any awards or honourable mentions in competitions, any residencies and funding achievements, and any upcoming book launches or book releases (self-published, hybrid, or traditionally published).

I have also written a short survey –  linked below – (6 questions) so we can get a better idea of what FREE/affordable workshops you would be interested in attending. If you have a couple of spare minutes then I’d really appreciate your help filling out the survey.

2026 Next Page events and opportunities

Wednesday 27th of May, 6PM     Preparing Your Manuscript for Submission:  Chat with a Professional Manuscript Assessor
with JESSICA THOMAS    FREE ONLINE WEB WORKSHOP exclusively for Next Page members

Jessica Thomas is a manuscript assessor for HighSpot Literary, with over ten years of experience providing feedback and developmental assessment for writers working across fiction and creative nonfiction. She also works independently as an editor of fiction, memoir, and children’s picture books.

In this workshop, we chat to Jessica about her role as a manuscript assessor and what she looks for in manuscript submissions.

JOIN THE CALL HERE

FREE NZSA WRITER TOOLKIT for Next Page members –  MANDY HAGER ON STORY BUILDING

NZSA Writer Toolkits are module courses on various topics you can do at home, and work through at your own pace. We are making Mandy Hager‘s excellent module on the essentials of Storybuilding available to Next Page network members – you will need to enter the code below to access.

In this module, Mandy, who is an award-winning writer and teacher, will guide you through the foundations of story building to help you kickstart your novel, memoir or other long-form project. The session covers: Understanding the story’s power  – Structure of story – Psychology of story – Refining story – Building character

To access, click this link and add the code NEXTPAGE26A to access your FREE toolkit.

NZ Poetry Society’s ‘A Fine Line’ – Student Edition:

This upcoming unthemed student edition of the society’s quarterly magazine is welcoming submissions now. There are opportunities for writers 18+ in the open category and writers 17 years and younger in 3 different categories.

They are on the lookout for a featured student poet and welcome high schoolers to submit. For the featured student slot, there is a discount of $5 for two poems – just mark on your submission that you are going for the featured slot. Submissions are free for NZPS members.

CLNZ Announce New Scholarship for Young Writers:

 
Designed to nurture the next generation of New Zealand writers, this inaugural scholarship offers five grants of $2,000 each, split   between the successful student and their school. The scholarship aims to provide a foundation for students transitioning from secondary school to a tertiary arts degree.

• Applications must be submitted through the student’s school; each school is invited to nominate up to two candidates
• The nominated students will submit an original short story or work of fiction (500-2000 words)
• Year 12 and 13 students planning to leave school at the end of 2026 and enrol in a Level 5 or above arts degree can be nominated.
• Applications open 1 May 2026 and close 1 July 2026
• The CLNZ | NZSA Secondary School Leavers Scholarship is available to students attending schools holding a current copyright licence with CLNZ. Check if your school is enrolled or needs to renew licence at this link: Get Licensed | Copyright Licensing

FREE workshop for Next Page:   Romance Writing and promotion with Author Enni Amanda 

ONLINE Youth Meeting and workshop  February 13, 7.00pm

This session is aimed at youth members of the NZSA writers 16 to 35.

Enni Amanda Author: I write sweet & sexy romantic comedies set in New Zealand and beyond. I love complex characters, fascinating locations, high tension, and wanderlust-inducing adventure. Each of my books is its own little universe and explores a unique theme. Please join me on my author journey!

Join this Galentines Day for the first digital Youth Meeting organised by NZSA Waikato/BOP branch. Romance Author Enni Amanda will discuss what it takes to be a romance author in Aotearoa from TikToks to Dust Jackets.

NEXT PAGE Aotearoa (ex-PENS and PJ’s) thank Sky City for a seeding grant for 2025 to support NZSA’s youth writing network.