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 (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.

Read the Writers’ Award – Application Guide and Criteria

Then apply – Application form for the CLNZ | NZSA Writers’ Award

Dates for 2023:

Applications open 1 June 2023 (9am) 
Applications close 29 June 2023 (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 

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