• Calling all writers! Applications are now open for the 2026 Ireland Wilson Sargeson Fellowships

    Posted on 4 September 2025

    4 September 2025 The Frank Sargeson Trust is calling for applications from published New Zealand writers for the 2026 Ireland Wilson Sargeson Fellowships. These prestigious Fellowships, named in memory of New Zealand writers Frank Sargeson, Kevin Ireland and Phillip Wilson, are offering in 2026 an increased stipend of $30,000, shared between two fellows, for the […]

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  • 2025 ARA Historical Novel Prize: Longlists Announced

    Posted on 3 September 2025

    The Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA), in conjunction with its generous sponsor ARA Group, is delighted to announce the longlists for the richest individual literary prize in Australasia with prize monies of $150,000 across the Adult and the Children & Young Adult categories. HNSA Chair, Elisabeth Storrs, says, ‘This year’s longlists once again showcase the […]

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  • Whiria Te Mahara New Zealand History Grants opens for applications 

    Posted on 2 September 2025

    Whiria Te Mahara New Zealand History Grants is open for applications. The grants support historians, researchers and writers who are working on non-fiction projects that will significantly enhance our understanding of New Zealand’s past.  We expect to award eight to 12 projects funding up to $12,000 each for research and writing costs. Applications are open […]

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  • Ngaio Marsh Awards finalists 2025

    Posted on 2 September 2025

    From a young Māori chef to a grieving family torn asunder by internet disinformation, wartime spies to comical Northland drug runners, the finalists for the 2025 Ngaio Marsh Awards offer readers a kaleidoscopic array of unforgettable characters, fictional and real, among compelling tales full of mystery and thrills, touching on vital issues of modern times […]

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  • Dan Davin Literary Awards 2025

    Posted on 2 September 2025

    The Awards Ceremony will take place on Friday, 12 September 2025, at the Kelvin Hotel, Level 6. We warmly invite our community members interested in literature to join us for this special occasion. This year’s awards are judged by acclaimed author and editor Michelle Elvy. During the evening, Michelle will deliver a lecture and announce […]

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  • BREAKING: Amplify Announced

    Posted on 28 August 2025

    NZ’s Creative & Cultural Sector Strategy Confirmed   Amplify: A Creative and Cultural Strategy for New Zealand is a national strategy that outlines how the government will prioritise support for our creative and cultural sectors to 2030.   Amplify is a national strategy that shows how government will help create an environment in which New Zealand’s creative […]

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  • 🖋 WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY POETRY COMPETITION 2025 🖋

    Posted on 28 August 2025

    Theme: “The Mind Unmasked” Mental health is layered — messy, complex, invisible, loud, silent, and deeply human. This October, we’re inviting poets from around the world to share their truth through poetry. Whether you’ve lived it or you’re holding space for someone else’s journey, your voice matters. There’s no need for perfect metaphors — just […]

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  • 2025 Moth Short Story Prize winners

    Posted on 28 August 2025

    We’re delighted to reveal this year’s Moth Short Story Prize winners, as chosen by Evie Wyld! Wyld chose (Un)Tethered by Australian author Clare Roche as her first prize winner. “It took me right back to the loneliness of having a small baby,” she says, “the specific physical horror of it – a really beautiful rendering […]

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  • Emma Neale wins the Janet Frame Prize 2025

    Posted on 28 August 2025

    IN MEMORY OF JANET FRAME WHO WAS BORN 101 YEARS AGO ON THIS DAY. The Trustees of the Janet Frame Literary Trust are delighted to announce that the 2025 recipient of the Janet Frame Prize is acclaimed Ōtepoti Dunedin novelist and poet Emma Neale, who will receive a gift of $10,000 from an endowment fund […]

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  • Sheikh Zayed Book Award

    Posted on 28 August 2025

    The Sheikh Zayed Book Award commemorates the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Founding President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, and his pioneering role in promoting national unity and development. The Award, and its associated accolades, are presented annually to outstanding writers, intellectuals, and publishers, as well as young talent whose […]

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  • Write Room Screenwriter Residency 2026 – Call for Applications

    Posted on 28 August 2025

    *FOR FILM & TELEVISION SCREENWRITERS ** Application deadline: 5pm, Mon 20 October 2025 Programme Dates: 26 January – 15 August 2026 This opportunity is for a Wellington-based screenwriter hailing from film, television, web-series, theatre, radio, journalism or other literary backgrounds; with a feature film or TV series at a stage that will benefit from focused […]

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  • ‘Vibrant, quirky, deliciously Kiwi’ winner of 2025 Margaret Mahy Illustration Prize announced

    Posted on 28 August 2025

    Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand, Little Moa, and the Margaret Mahy Estate are thrilled to announce Emma Collicott as the winner of the Margaret Mahy Illustration Prize for 2025. This year, entrants were tasked with reimagining the swashbuckling classic The Man Whose Mother Was a Pirate.     The judges praised Emma’s choice to use watercolours […]

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