CLNZ | NZSA Writers’ Award
A $25,000 Award to a New Zealand Writer
The Writers’ Award is proudly brought to you by the New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa Pen NZ Inc (NZSA) and Copyright Licensing New Zealand (CLNZ).
The award was established to provide financial support for writers wishing to devote time to a specific project, and to cover reasonable research expenses relating to it. Writers with work in a broad range of non-fiction genres, including educational works, can apply. Applicants must be New Zealand citizens or permanent residents. It is the clear intention of the CLNZ | NZSA Writers’ Award that a book will be published as a result of winning the award; see examples of previous winning projects below. Applications can be submitted in English or te Reo Māori.
Read the Writers’ Award – Application Guide and Criteria
Dates for 2024:
Applications open Friday 31 May 2024 (9am)
Applications close Monday 1 July 2024 (4pm)
Please keep an eye on this page, our social media pages, and (if you are a member) on the Literary Bulletin for any updates about the award.
Past Winners
2023 – Tom Doig for his project with the working title ‘We Are All Preppers Now: Kiwis Making Plans for the End of the World’. – read the full media release
2022 – Iona Winter for her creative non-fiction project, ‘A counter of moons’ – read the full media release
2021 – Jade Kake (Ngāpuhi,Te Whakatōhea,Te Arawa) for her project on the legacy of Professor Rewi Thompson (1953-2017; Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Raukawa) – read the full media release here
2020 – Nick Bollinger for his project Revolutions Per Minute: The Counterculture in New Zealand 1960-1975 – read the full media release here
2019 – Rebecca Macfie her biography of Helen Kelly – read the full media release
2018 – Nic Low (Ngai Tahu) for his project, Uprising – read more on CLNZ website
2017 – Ben Schrader for his project, Won and Lost: Saving New Zealand’s Built Heritage 1885-2016 – read more on CLNZ website
2016 – Neville Peat for his project, The Invading Sea – read more on CLNZ website