-
‘Outrageously good’ debut takes top fiction honours at 2026 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards
Poet, memoirist and scholar Ingrid Horrocks has won the $65,000 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize at the 2026 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards for her fiction debut, All Her Lives, a story collection that follows nine different women across nine different life stages as they resist, nurture and transform. It is the first time in five […]
Continue reading -
Wellington Writers Walk – new sculpture in te reo Māori coming to Wellington waterfront
Wellington Writers Walk is excited to announce that a new sculpture with text in te reo Māori is to be installed on Wellington waterfront. The plan is to have the sculpture installed in time for Matariki 2026, and Wellington Writers Walk is running a Boosted Campaign to cover the final installation costs for this […]
Continue reading -
The Robert Burns Fellowship for 2027
The Robert Burns Fellowship is New Zealand’s premier literary residency. The Fellowship aims to encourage and promote imaginative New Zealand literature and to associate writers with the University. The annual, 12-month Fellowship provides an office in the English Department and not less than the minimum salary of a full-time university lecturer. It is open to […]
Continue reading -
Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship
The Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship is an annual award that enables an established creative writer to spend three months or more in Menton, Southern France. This Fellowship is proudly supported by Craigs Investment Partners Wellington. The primary aim of the residency is for the writer to work on a project in a new environment, and […]
Continue reading -
Siobhan Harvey winner of 2026 Caselberg Trust Margaret Egan UNESCO Cities of Literature Writers Residency
The Caselberg Trust is pleased to announce this year’s winner of the six week residency is Siobhan Harvey from Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. The 2026 residency is specifically for writers from Aotearoa and we were delighted to receive applications from across the motu. The 2026 judge commented, “the applications received were of an incredibly high standard, […]
Continue reading -
New Zealand children’s publisher wins prestigious prize in Italy.
Messy Press, the exciting new children’s publisher based in Auckland has been awarded the 2026 Bologna Prize for the Best Children’s Publisher of the Year for Oceania at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. This highly coveted international prize recognises children’s publishers who have most distinguished themselves for their professional and intellectual skill across each region. […]
Continue reading -
2026 longlist for the Libro.fm NZ Audiobook of the Year Award
The Aotearoa New Zealand Book Industry Awards is proud to announce the 2026 longlist for the Libro.fm NZ Audiobook of the Year Award, celebrating the continued rise of audiobooks as a powerful and accessible storytelling format. Now in its second year, the award—sponsored by Libro.fm—recognises excellence in narration, production and content, highlighting the unique artistry […]
Continue reading -
Irish Writers Centre 2026 International Debut Novel Competition
Irish Writers Centre, Dublin,has now opened their 2026 International Debut Novel Competition, which gives aspiring novelists from around the world the chance to skip the slush pile and pitch their books directly to industry-leading agents and editors (either in person here in Ireland, or online). Note: there is an entry fee for applications of €65 […]
Continue reading -
PEN International urges journalists be released on World Press Freedom Day
At least 26 Ukrainian journalists held in Russian captivity, PEN International urges release on World Press Freedom Day. “Journalists play a key role in providing the public with accurate and timely information, documenting events, and bearing witness where others cannot. When they are silenced, families are left waiting, stories remain untold, and truth itself is […]
Continue reading -
Wellington Writers Walk Fundraising for New Sculpture
Wellington Writers Walk is fundraising for its first sculpture in te reo Māori, and the first addition to the Walk since 2013. Wellington Writers Walk has launched a Boosted campaign via The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi, with the aim of raising funds to cover the final stage of the new sculpture – installation in […]
Continue reading -
Sir Julius Vogel Awards Finalists Announced
Congratulations to the finalists of the Sir Julius Vogel Awards for 2026, recognizing works from 2025. These will now be judged by the members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Association of NZ and the winners announced at their national convention. A special congratulations to NZSA members on the list, including Lee Murray for Services […]
Continue reading -
The Peter Wells Short Fiction Contest for Aotearoa LGBTQIA+ authors – currently open
closes on Friday June 5 First prize is $1,000 for the winning story, $500 for the runner-up $500 for the best writing by a promising young writer aged 16 to 25. The contest is designed to encourage local authors to write new material exploring their queer identity. The winners will be announced during the Same […]
Continue reading