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Lee Child’s Exit Strategy is the New Zealand Christmas Number One, NielsenIQ BookData reveals
Auckland, 18 December 2025 — New Zealand’s most beloved author Lee Child, alongside brother and co-author Andrew Child, has topped the Christmas charts for the 4th year in a row, with their latest thriller, Exit Strategy, to make it the official New Zealand BookScan Christmas Number One, selling just over 2,300 copies in the week […]
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Te Tupu Hauroa Development Grants 2026 open for applications now
Te Waka Taki Kōrero – Māori Literature Trust invites submissions from mid-career Māori writers seeking to undertake development opportunities between February – May 2026. There are two grants available to the value of $6,000 each. Established with the support of Creative New Zealand, Te Tupu Hauroa is the third step in the Trust’s Poutama Programme. The Pikihuia […]
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2026 Landfall Tauraka Essay & Young Writers’ Essay Prize
Writers from Aotearoa New Zealand are invited to submit essays that engage with and reflect on our culture. Join a tradition of bold, thought-provoking writing. Prize: NZ$3000 + 1-year Landfall Tauraka subscription. Entries: close 31 July 2026. The Landfall Tauraka Young Writers’ Essay Prize is an annual award open to writers aged 16 to 25. […]
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Creative writing prizes award “hilarious and terrifying” memoir plus “deeply humane” poetry work
Niamh Vaughan is this year’s winner of the prestigious Adam Foundation Prize in Creative Writing at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. The winner of the Biggs Family Prize for Poetry is Will Salmon. Niamh’s memoir, The World Reversed, was written as part of her Master of Arts in Creative Writing folio at the University’s International Institute of […]
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Friendship feature film script wins top prize
A feature film exploring female friendship has been awarded the 2025 David Carson-Parker Embassy Prize in Scriptwriting at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. Written by Eva Brunel as part of her 2025 Master of Arts folio at the University’s International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML), the feature film Peephole is described by its examiners as “powerful, […]
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Announcing The Storylines Children’s Writers And Illustrators’ National Hui October 2026
Acclaimed illustrator Donovan Bixley and the Te Awhi Rito Reading Ambassador Kate De Goldi are to be the keynote speakers at the Storylines Children’s Writers and Illustrators’ National Hui to be held in Auckland the weekend of 3-4 October 2026 at Dilworth School in Auckland. The Hui is being run by the Storylines Children’s Literature […]
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Hamilton Arts Festival Toi Ora ki Kirikiriroa Announces ‘Joyful’ 2026 Programme
20 February – 1 March 2026 The Hamilton Arts Festival Toi Ora ki Kirikiriroa will return in 2026 with an eclectic programme shaped by the theme of joy. The Festival brings together international performers, Aotearoa favourites, an expanded literary weekend and an eclectic mix of theatre, music, dance, comedy and whaanau-friendly events. Festival Director Geoff […]
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Oxbelly Retreat 2026 Fiction Writers Program
I am reaching out to share our open call for the Fiction Writers program of the 2026 Oxbelly Retreat, a gathering for international writers working in film and literature, to be held July 1 to 9 in Costa Navarino, Greece. The Fiction Writers program, led by Program Director Chigozie Obioma, supports ten emerging fictional prose writers committed […]
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Judges announced for 2026 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults
Teachers, librarians, authors, reviewers, former booksellers and passionate advocates for reading and te reo Māori make up the two experienced panels announced today by the New Zealand Book Awards Trust Te Ohu Tiaki i Te Rau Hiringa as judges of the 2026 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. The English and bilingual […]
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Winners of the Second Mercedes Webb-Pullman Poetry Award (2025) announced
The Webb-Pullman Family take great pleasure in announcing the honours for the second Mercedes Webb-Pullman Poetry Award, on the topic of RESISTANCE. The award was blind-judged by two poets: Fiona Bolger of Dublin, Ireland, and Piet Nieuwland of Whangarei, New Zealand. The winners, their country, and the title of their poem, are as follows: Winner: Ceridwyn Parr – […]
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Apply now for Toloa Scholarships
The Toloa Scholarships support Pacific students to pursue study in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Scholarships are available at both secondary and tertiary levels. There are 400 secondary scholarships and 10 tertiary scholarships on offer for the 2026 academic year. Secondary scholarship applications close at 5pm on Friday 23 January 2026. Tertiary scholarship applications close […]
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Dr Frances Hancock appointed as 2026 JD Stout Fellow
Newly appointed 2026 JD Stout Fellow Dr Frances Hancock will use her fellowship to complete a co-authored book highlighting the campaign against a housing development on confiscated Māori land at Ihumātao, South Auckland, which gained national attention in 2019. Weaving archival, documentary and interview material, the book examines the collaboration forged in the Indigenous-led and […]
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