The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc) congratulates Lawrence Patchett on winning the NZSA Peter and Dianne Beatson Fellowship 2026 to work on his novel.This annual award is made possible by the generosity of the Beatsons. In establishing this fellowship, they have given NZ authors a valuable opportunity to be economically secure while they bring a project to completion. It’s a commitment to and affirmation for New Zealand Aotearoa writers. The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc) offers its sincere thanks to the Beatson’s.
Lawrence Patchett has this to say about his win: ‘It was such a wonderful surprise to receive the NZSA Peter and Dianne Beatson Fellowship. I’m extremely grateful to the judges for selecting the project and for their comments, and to Peter Beatson and the NZ Society of Authors for their generous support.
This fellowship will allow me to dedicate time to the hard work of writing a novel that has new technical challenges for me. Using a mix of comic and darker tones, the novel explores the struggle of a Waitaha Canterbury man to save his community newspaper, his sports club, and his family from collapse. In doing so it asks questions about how we make community and how it can sustain us. The fellowship will also enable me to complete some remaining background research.
The fellowship is an enormous boost to my confidence in the project and to my determination to complete it to a high standard. I’m very excited to get stuck into this work.‘
The judging panel of James Norcliffe and Dame Fiona Kidman commented: ‘Given the extremely high standard of the applications for this year’s Beatson Award, choosing an ultimate winner was a daunting and difficult task. Each of the longlisted candidates made a compelling case, and choosing among them was made even more difficult because there was such a variety of genre on offer: poetry, memoir, biography, fiction, non-fiction, essay, and in more than one case a fusion of these.
Ultimately Lawrence Patchett’s submission for his novel with working title After the Eviction shone through. We found his outline with its contemporary themes of community and ecology most persuasive. The writing sample with its provincial newsroom setting was convincing with pitch-perfect dialogue that was at once witty and revealing.
We felt that Lawrence’s project was ambitious and entertaining and had considerable potential.
Our shortlisted submissions came from Airini Beautrais who submitted a creative non-fiction project on a theme of loneliness. The writing was closely observed and evocative.
Matt Vance was also shortlisted for his creative non-fiction proposal, a meditation on our fascination with the sea with an engaging, anecdotal writing sample.’
The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc) congratulates winner Lawrence Patchett, along with shortlisted writers: Airini Beautrais and Matt Vance. Congratulations also to the longlisted writers: Lee Murray, Philippa Werry, Majella Cullinane, Elizabeth Smither, Mere Whaanga, and Deborah Shepard. We share the recognition of Majella Cullinane’s application and join with her whanau and friends mourning her loss.
In 2025 the fellowship was awarded to Breton Dukes work on a collection of connected short stories. In previous years, recipients have included: Jacqueline Leckie, Laurence Fearnley, Whiti Hereaka, Siobhan Harvey, Frankie McMillan, Sue Wooton, Paddy Richardson, Tina Makereti, Tim Jones, Emma Neale, Mandy Hager, Carl Nixon, Glenn Colquhoun, Sue McCauley and Marilyn Duckworth.
The NZSA Peter & Dianne Beatson Fellowship is an annual award open to any NZSA member working on a new fiction, non-fiction, poetry or drama project. Find out more about the fellowship.
