• Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2023 Winners’ Announcement

       Novel that New Zealanders have ‘clasped to their hearts’ wins country’s richest writing prize. Celebrated New Zealand writer Catherine Chidgey has won the $64,000 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the 2023 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards for The Axeman’s Carnival – a page-turning novel of depth, pathos and humanity that skilfully infuses […]

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  • Danny Keenan receives the 2023 Michael King Writer’s Fellowship

    03 APR 2023 It was announced on Friday that Dr Danny Keenan (Ngāti Te Whiti ki Te Ātiawa) is the 2023 recipient of Michael King Writer’s Fellowship. Congratulations Danny! Danny will use the fellowship to support the writing of his new work is called In Sickness and In Health: A Cultural History of Three Māori Pandemics 1895-2021. It’s an […]

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  • Books without barriers: a practical guide to inclusive publishing

    27 April 2023 | resources-for-editors Books without barriers is written and designed by members of IPEd’s Accessibility Initiative Working Party. It outlines the barriers to reading that people with print disability may experience if their needs are not supported, and describes how to avoid creating these barriers at each stage of the publishing process.   The guide is […]

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  • NZSA stands with the Writers Guild of America

      The Writers Guild of America has called a strike with effect from 2 May, after talks broke down with a group representing major studios and streaming services.   The strike action began after the expiration of a Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA) with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). According to the Writers […]

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  • Kete and Storylines spotlight New Zealand junior and young adult fiction with new bestseller list

    Kete Books and Storylines have launched a new monthly bestseller list to help showcase and promote the excellent junior and young adult fiction books written and published in Aotearoa New Zealand. View the Aotearoa Children’s Junior Fiction and Young Adult Bestseller List, sponsored by Storylines. Created with data collected by Nielsen BookScan, the new list focuses on […]

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  • The Michael King Writers Centre announces recipients of International Exchange with Australia

    3 May 2023 New Zealand writer Emma Hislop and Australian writer Fiona Kelly McGregor have been announced as the recipients of the 2023 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 four-week residency exchange will take […]

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  • On World Press Freedom Day, PEN International mobilizes in support of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai

    PEN INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE 03 May 2023 (London, UK) –To mark the 30th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day (3 May 2023), PEN International, the literary and free expression organisation, mobilizes its Centres in support of imprisoned journalist, media publisher, activist and writer, Jimmy Lai, who is currently facing a potential life sentence for his […]

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  • Mātātuhi Foundation increase in grants

      Mātātuhi Foundation’s 10th funding round will be accompanied by a substantial increase in grant amounts. In the upcoming rounds in May and October, applicants can now apply for between $5,000 and $20,000 in funding for a literary project. In previous years, the maximum was $5,000. Since its launch in 2018, the Foundation has funded close […]

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  • Freedom to Write Index 2022

    Introduction In May of 2022, at the PEN America emergency writers congress, Salman Rushdie spoke about global threats to human rights and democracy, including Vladimir Putin’s assault on Ukraine, and said: “It has been said, I have said it myself, that the powerful may own the present but writers own the future, for it is […]

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  • NZ Booklovers Awards 2024 now open for entries

    https://www.nzbooklovers.co.nz/2024-awards 13 April 2023  What do Simon Lendrum, Lauren Keenan, Brianne Te Paa, Jane Ussher, John Walsh, D.V. Bishop, Lucy Corry, Stacey Morrison, Jeremy Sherlock, Fiona Sussman, Dr Hinemoa Elder, Vasanti Unka, Kirsty Powell, Catherine Foster, Gavin Bishop, Fiona Kidman, Kimberly Andrews and Jo Seagar have in common? They are all talented authors and previous […]

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  • National Library submits draft Collections Disposal Policy for consultation

    FROM Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa National Library Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa National Library is developing a new policy for removing and disposing of collection items. This will sit alongside other policies that guide collection management activities. This new policy will make recommendations to the Minister of Internal Affairs about items to be removed from […]

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  • Alan Dingley named new national Reading Ambassador

    29 March 2023 Alan Dingley, Librarian at Palmerston North Intermediate School, has been named as the next Te Awhi Rito Reading Ambassador for children and young people. Alan is a passionate advocate and school librarian who communicates the joy and transformation reading can bring to a young person’s world. He brings impressive experience, skills and […]

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