NZSA Awards | Grants | Fellowships |
When submitting to any of the following awards or fellowships, please format your manuscripts along these guidelines.
Manuscripts should be:
- Printed on one side of an A4 sheet.
- Either 1.5 or double spaced with either double space between paragraphs, or indented paragraphs.
- A wide margin (3cm) at the sides and top (5-6cm).
- In a legible typeface such as Times New Roman.
- Pages should be numbered.
- The title should be included in a footer/header on each page.
Michael Gifkins Prize for an Unpublished Novel
The Michael Gifkins Prize for an Unpublished Novel is an exciting award for writers holding New Zealand citizenship or who are permanent residents of New Zealand. The prize, which celebrates the life and work of the writer and agent Michael Gifkins, is open to published and unpublished authors who are invited to enter manuscripts of adult fiction. The manuscript must be unpublished and not on submission to another publisher.
The winner will receive a contract for world rights with Text Publishing and an advance to the value of NZ$10,000.
Open for applications July to October in any given year.
NZSA Peter and Dianne Beatson Fellowship
Annual fellowship offering a stipend of $10,000.
Open for applications June to August in any given year
CLNZ|NZSA Research Grants
Four research grants valued at $5,000 each.
Open for applications June to July in any given year
NZSA Lilian Ida Smith Award
Offered quadrennially for writers over the age of 35 years and valued at $3,000.
This award will next open for applications in 2024
NZSA Laura Solomon Cuba Press Prize
The NZSA Laura Solomon Cuba Press Prize is an exciting new prize, which celebrates the life and work of the writer Laura Solomon. This prize will be judged within the criteria set by Laura Solomon, for new writing with a ‘unique and original vision’. Both published and unpublished writers are invited to enter completed manuscripts written across genres ie fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, drama or children’s writing.
Open for applications from October to January
Past Awards and Prizes
NZSA Janet Frame Memorial Award for Literature
The final Janet Frame Memorial Award for Literature was given out in 2016.
This was a biennial award for mid-career fiction writers valued at $3,000.
In August 2007 The Janet Frame Literary Trust generously gave the Society a gift to enable New Zealand Society of Authors (PEN NZ Inc) to give a biennial award in Janet Frame’s name to be given to an author of literary or imaginative fiction, or poetry. The gift enabled five awards over 10 years and this is the last in the series.
This came about because Janet Frame, who died in 2004, directed that her ongoing royalty income be used to support New Zealand writers of poetry and imaginative fiction.
Janet Frame herself had benefited from the boost given by similar often timely financial assistance and professional recognition throughout her long career. Janet Frame was a member of the Society and the recipient of many awards, prizes, grants, fellowships and scholarships, none more well-timed than the New Zealand Society of Authors’ (then the NZ PEN Centre) Hubert Church award in 1951 for her first book, The Lagoon and other stories. The publicity for this honour convinced her doctors not to carry out a planned lobotomy, which would in all likelihood have ended her literary aspirations.
Recipients of the NZSA Janet Frame Memorial Award for Literature were 2008: Emma Neale. 2010: Tim Jones. 2012: Diane Brown. 2014: Elizabeth Smither. 2016: Laurence Fearnley.
Hachette Mentorship
Proudly presented by Hachette Australia and New Zealand in partnership with the New Zealand Society of Authors (PEN NZ Inc.)
The Hachette Mentoring Program gives one writer an opportunity to work on a new draft of their completed manuscript under the mentorship of Hachette Publishing Australia.
This program is not currently running
Ashton Wylie Charitable Trust Book and Manuscript Awards
The Trust’s Mind Body Spirit Literary Awards were established in 2004. They have been unique in the country for their encouragement of writing in the mind body spirit genre.
The Awards have been offered annually, in two categories. During 2018 and 2019 the application process for these awards was administered by the New Zealand Society of Authors (PEN NZ Inc).