• Nine to Noon Short Story competition opens

    Nine to Noon Short Story competition opens RNZ is looking for stories of 2000 words, submitted by Friday 29 September. The top five winners, chosen by Judges Harry Ricketts and Tina Makareti, will be adapted for radio and broadcast on Nine to Noon in November. They’ve had a terrific response the last couple of years […]

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  • 2024 Ngaio Marsh Awards Winners Revealed

    Our heartfelt congratulations go out to the recently announced winners of the 2024 Ngaio Marsh Awards. Now in its fifteenth year, the annual Ngaio Marsh awards celebrate excellence in Aotearoa crime, mystery and thriller novels. This year’s winners were: Rotorua author Claire Baylis, who won Best First Novel for her harrowing examination of jury beliefs […]

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  • University Book Shop Summer Writer in Residence In Association With Robert Lord Writers’ Cottage Trust

    INTRODUCTION The University Book Shop Summer Writer in Residence Award, in association with the Robert Lord Writers’ Cottage Trust, is open to emerging writers who are normally resident in New Zealand and write for adults, young adults or children. They may write in any genre including poetry, drama, fiction, narrative non-fiction, graphic novels, biography, autobiography, […]

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  • Success of Draft English Curriculum Requires Investment in School Libraries

    The School Library Association of New Zealand Aotearoa (SLANZA) is pleased to see reading remains a core component of the draft English curriculum released this week, but is concerned that the lack of resourcing for school libraries limits its potential success.  “The draft curriculum requires teachers to ‘choose texts that expose students to a wide […]

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  • 2025 Kaipukahu University of Waikato Writer in Residence Open for Applications

    Each year the University of Waikato invites applications for the position of Writer in Residence, tenable for twelve months from early January. The position is jointly funded by the University of Waikato and Creative New Zealand.  It is open to poets, novelists, short story writers, dramatists, and writers of serious non-fiction. The appointment is made on […]

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  • Poem exploring diasporic identity wins the 2024 National Schools Poetry Award

    Chantelle Xiong, a Year 13 student at St Andrew’s College in Christchurch, is the winner of the 2024 National Schools Poetry Award. Chantelle won the award with her poem ‘But i wish /.’, which explores diasporic identity. ”The poem highlights how those with differences have to overcome so much just to be comfortable with their […]

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  • Announcing the 2024 CLNZ | NZSA Research Grant Recipients

    Media Release August 21, 2024 Four cash grants awarded to support local writers The 2024 Copyright Licensing New Zealand (CLNZ) and New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa PEN NZ Inc (NZSA) Research Grants have been awarded to four writers in Aotearoa. The $5,000 grants support local writers who wish to undertake […]

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  • WORD Christchurch Festival opens next week!

    A dazzling array of words and performance take over Ōtautahi Christchurch   There’s just one week to go until more than 100 writers, thinkers and performers from New Zealand and around the world take to the streets, schools and theatres of Ōtautahi Christchurch offering a feast of fresh ideas, music, powerful stories and creative escapes […]

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  • Selina Tusitala Marsh Announced as 2024 Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellow

    Poet, author, and academic Selina Tusitala Marsh ONZM, FRSNZ has been awarded the 2024 Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship, becoming the first Pasifika writer to receive this honor and marking a significant moment in recognising Pacific voices in Aotearoa New Zealand’s literary landscape. The Fellowship will enable her to live and write in Menton, southern France, […]

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  • NZ’s biggest short story competition back for 40th year

    Entries are open for the $20,000 Sunday Star-Times Short Story Awards 2024 Aotearoa’s leading short story competition has launched, with its largest total prize pool ever. The Sunday Star-Times Short Story Awards is celebrating its 40th year of offering budding and established authors the opportunity to share their stories with the country. The generous sponsorship […]

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  • Aotearoa NZ School Library Week 2024: School Libraries Build Readers  

    Schools across the country are celebrating Aotearoa NZ School Library Week this week, embracing all the ways that school libraries enrich our students’ lives through bringing books to life, providing safe spaces, and allowing the freedom to choose books that are crucial to their literacy and learning success. The School Library Association of New Zealand […]

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  • Bestselling author Stacy Gregg wins Margaret Mahy Book of the Year Award for the first time

    A novel that masterfully weaves comedy, fantasy and history together in a profound exploration of identity was named the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year at the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults during an exuberant ceremony held this evening at Wellington’s Pipitea Marae. Nine Girls by Stacy Gregg (Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti […]

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