News

• NZ loses writer Kelly Ana Morey

  03-09-2025

  We are devastated at the passing of Kelly Ana Morey after a brief illness. An award-winning writer of both fiction and non-fiction, she published four novels, poems, numerous short stories, a childhood memoir, three social histories and was in the process of finishing a new work. We will mourn her straight-up character, intellect and acerbic wit, along with the loss of her future literary contributions. Farewell KAM. Kia Tau te Rangimarie ki runga i a koutou.

• Emma Neale awarded 2025 Janet Frame Prize

  02-09-2025

  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 that Janet Frame established in 1999 to support and encourage her fellow New Zealand writers.
  Emma Neale is the author of fourteen works of fiction and poetry, the most recent of which, ‘Liar, Liar, Lick, Spit’ (Otago University Press) won the Peter and Mary Biggs Prize for Poetry at the 2025 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.
  For more information see here.

• New Zealand Poet Laureate 2025 announced!

  22-08-2025

  Congratulations to ANZL member Robert Sullivan, our New Zealand Poet Laureate for 2025-2028!

  The National Library celebrates National Poetry Day by announcing Robert Sullivan (Ngāpuhi, Kāi Tahu) of Ōamaru as Poet Laureate. His appointment follows poets Bill Manhire, Hone Tuwhare, Elizabeth Smither, Brian Turner, Jenny Bornholdt, Michele Leggott, Cilla McQueen, Ian Wedde, Vincent O’Sullivan, CK Stead, Selina Tusitala Marsh, David Eggleton and Chris Tse.

  The value of the New Zealand Poet Laureate Award is $150,000 over the three-year period. The Laureate receives $40,000 per year, with the balance held by the National Library to cover the cost of the Laureate’s tokotoko, and to support their travel and participation in literary.

  For the full announcement, see here.

• Kaipukahu University of Waikato Writer in Residence- applications open

  21-08-2025

  Have you published two or more books? Applications are open for the 2026 Kaipukahu Writer in Residence, jointly funded by Creative New Zealand and the University of Waikato. The award is tenable for 12 months from early January to end December 2026. The stipend for the year is $57,408. Applications close 24 October 2025. For more information see here.

• Submissions open for 2026 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards

  07-08-2025

  Governed by the New Zealand Book Awards Trust Te Ohu Tiaki i Te Rau Hiringa, these prestigious awards provide recognition of, and promote excellence in, the best books for adult readers published annually in Aotearoa. Books with release dates between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2025 will be considered for the 2026 awards. Publishers are asked to observe the guidelines for sending entries in two tranches, which are in place for ease of sending to judges.

  Submitters are encouraged to read the conditions of entry in the Call for Entries pack in full before completing entries, as some criteria signalled last year have now been changed and some clauses added, including restrictions on the use of AI. For both first and second tranches, click here for eligibility criteria and the Call for Entries information pack, then enter online here.

  The twelve judges for the 2026 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards will be revealed next month, and their longlists for the four awards categories (fiction, poetry, general non-fiction and illustrated non-fiction) will be announced on 29 January 2026. The shortlist will be announced on 4 March and the 2026 awards ceremony will be held in Tāmaki Makaurau on Wednesday 13 May, in collaboration with the Auckland Writers Festival. There is a total of $125,000 in prize money available for the winners. 

  All entries must be submitted online at www.nzbookawards.nz and fees paid by credit card via the online submission form. For any further enquiries, please email Awards Administrator Chris Chan at awards@nzbookawards.org.nz.

• 2025 Prime Minister’s Awards for Literary Achievement – nominations open

  11-07-2025

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  Help celebrate our writers! The annual Creative New Zealand awards for literary achievement recognise New Zealand writers who have made a notable contribution to NZ literature in the genres of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. There are three awards of $60,000 available. Nominations are open until 1pm Wednesday 2 July 2025. For more information or to nominate a writer see here.
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• Call for judges of the 2026 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards

  18-06-2025

  Hot on the heels of last month’s culmination of a hugely successful Ockham New Zealand Book Awards campaign, the awards’ organisers are on the search for judges for the 2026 awards.

  Suitable judges must have a deep appreciation and knowledge of New Zealand literature. Applications are welcome from the literature community and from members of the public with relevant experience. Writers, former publishers, editors, festival organisers, academics, curators, teachers, reviewers, critics, booksellers and librarians all have the expertise the Trust is looking for.

  Expressions of interest are particularly welcomed from Māori applicants.

  The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards offer prizes in four subject categories each year: Fiction, Poetry, Illustrated Non-Fiction, and General Non-Fiction. There are also four awards for first-time authors (the Mātātuhi Foundation Best First Book awards) and, at the discretion of a specially appointed judge, Te Mūrau o te Tuhi, a Māori Language Award.

  Expressions of interest forms and background information on the judging process and judges’ responsibilities can be downloaded from the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards website or supplied on request by emailing manager@nzbookawards.org.nz. Applications must be submitted by 5pm on Friday 4 July, and should include a brief resumé demonstrating the applicant’s experience relevant to the judging role.

• Pip Adam receives Michael King Writer’s Fellowship

  13-06-2025

  

  Congratulations Pip Adam, the latest recipient of the biennial $100,000 Creative New Zealand Michael King Writer’s Fellowship.

  Pip is an award-winning novelist and short story writer. Her first book, Everything We Hoped For (2010), won the NZ Post Best First Book Award. Her third book, The New Animals (2018), won the Acorn Foundation Fiction Prize at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. Pip’s latest novel, Audition (2023), was shortlisted for the Ockham New Zealand Book Award for Fiction. Her project for the Fellowship is to write three works for performance, starting with an adaptation of her latest novel, Audition. This is new territory for Pip, whose works to date have been produced as books for readers.

  Read more on Pip and the award here.

• NZ Poet Laureate – nominations open

  05-06-2025

  Celebrate New Zealand’s poetic talent! Nominate a Poet Laureate!

  The New Zealand Poet Laureate Award celebrates outstanding contributions to New Zealand poetry. For a three-year period, the Laureate is supported by the National Library of New Zealand to create new work and promote poetry throughout the country. The Laureate is an accomplished and highly regarded poet who can speak on behalf of New Zealand poetry, and to its readers. The New Zealand Poet Laureate for 2022–2025 is Chris Tse.

  Nominate a poet using the online form. You only need to nominate someone once for them to be considered. Nominations close on 30 July 2025.

  The next New Zealand Poet Laureate will be announced on Friday 22 August 2025.

  For more information see this link.

• $5,000 NZSA Shaw Writer’s Award – applications open

  23-05-2025

  The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc) announce the 2025 opening of this award, which supports the completion and/or publication of new fiction by a mid-career fiction writer from New Zealand.

  Want to apply? This grant is aimed at mid-career fiction writers who have published at least two standalone novels. While a broad range of fiction and publication models will be considered, please check the guidelines carefully before applying here. NZSA Shaw Writer’s Award applications are open from 16 May to 13 July in 2025.

• 2025 Ockham New Zealand Winners Announced!

  15-05-2025

   

  Wellington author and professor Damien Wilkins has won the $65,000 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction for his novel Delirious (Te Herenga Waka University Press).

  Wilkins, the author of 14 books, also won the Fiction Award in 1994 for The Miserables, and he was runner-up for the prize twice – for Nineteen Widows Under Ash in 2001 and for The Fainter in 2007.

  Fiction category convenor of judges Thom Conroy says Delirious is an unforgettable work of fiction that navigates momentous themes with elegance and honesty.

  Editor, novelist and poet Emma Neale has won the $12,000 Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry for her collection Liar, Liar, Lick, Spit (Otago University Press).

  Poetry category convenor  of judges David Eggleton says Liar, Liar, Lick, Spit displays an exceptional ability to turn confessional anecdotes into quicksilvery flashes of insight.

  ‘It’s a book about fibs and fables; and telling true stories which are perceived by others as tall stories; and the knock-on or flow-on effects of distrust, the scales dropping from one’s eyes. It’s about power and a sense of powerlessness; it’s about belief and the loss of belief, it’s about trust and disillusion; it’s about disenchantment with fairytales. It’s about compassion. 

  ‘Emma Neale is a writer fantastically sensitive to figurative language and its possibilities,’ says Mr Eggleton.

  ‘Visual tour de force of enduring significance’ wins at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2025 

  Art historians Deidre Brown (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu) and Ngarino Ellis (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou) have won the $12,000 BookHub Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction at the 2025 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards for Toi Te Mana: An Indigenous History of Māori Art – a landmark title 12 years in the making.

  Published by Auckland University Press, Toi Te Mana is a six-hundred-page comprehensive survey of Māori art, from Polynesian voyaging waka to contemporary Māori artists.

  Illustrated Non-Fiction category convenor of judges Chris Szekely says Toi Te Mana is a book of enduring significance with international reach.

  Curator, critic, activist, and the first female Māori Emeritus Professor from a university Ngāhuia te Awekōtuku (Te Arawa, Ngāpuhi, Waikato) has won the $12,000 General Non-Fiction Award for her memoir Hine Toa: A Story of Bravery (HarperCollins Publishers Aotearoa New Zealand).

  General Non-Fiction convenor of judges Holly Walker says Hine Toa is a rich, stunningly evocative memoir that defies easy categorisation.

  ‘From its extraordinary opening sentence, it weaves Māori and English storytelling traditions: “Once upon a time there was a pet tuatara named Kiriwhetū; her reptile skin was marked with stars.” Hine Toa is both a personal testimony and a taonga,’ says Ms Walker.

  Four Best First Book Awards, sponsored by the Mātātuhi Foundation, were also presented at the 14 May Ockham New Zealand Book Awards ceremony, which marked 10 years of association with principal sponsor Ockham Residential.

  Hubert Church Prize for Fiction

  Poorhara by Michelle Rahurahu (Ngāti Rahurahu, Ngāti Tahu–Ngāti Whaoa) (Te Herenga Waka University Press).

  Jessie Mackay Prize for Poetry

  Manuali’I by Rex Letoa Paget (Samoan/Danish) (Saufo’i Press)

  Judith Binney Prize for Illustrated Non-Fiction

  Sight Lines: Women and Art in Aotearoa by Kirsty Baker (Auckland University Press)

  E.H. McCormick Prize for General Non-Fiction

  The Chthonic Cycle by Una Cruickshank (Te Herenga Waka University Press)

  Each Mātātuhi Foundation Best First Book Award winner received $3,000 and a 12-month membership subscription to the New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa.

  The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are supported by Ockham Residential, Creative New Zealand, the late Jann Medlicott and the Acorn Foundation, Mary and Peter Biggs CNZM, BookHub presented by Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand, The Mātātuhi Foundation, and the Auckland Writers Festival.

  The awards ceremony, emceed by Miriama Kamo and attended by politicians, publishers, writers, and the book-loving public, was hosted at the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre in Aotea Centre as part of the 2025 Auckland Writers Festival programme.

  To find out more about the winners’ titles follow this link.

• 2026 Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship – applications open

  30-04-2025

  Calling all creative writers! Applications are now open for the 2026 Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship!
  This prestigious opportunity gives one established New Zealand writer the chance to live and write for three months in the stunning Menton, France. The lucky Fellow will enjoy access to a private study beneath the terrace of Villa Isola Bella, where Katherine Mansfield crafted some of her most iconic works. The Fellowship includes a $50,000 grant to cover all costs, including travel, insurance, living expenses and accommodation.

  Since 1970, this life-changing opportunity has been awarded to some of our country’s literary legends – think Witi Ihimaera, Janet Frame, Bill Manhire, Charlotte Grimshaw, Paula Morris, and Dame Fiona Kidman, to name just a few. Applications close 30 May. Head to this link to find out more – and apply.

• 2025 Sargeson Prize – entries open

  01-04-2025

  Entries are now open for the 2025 Sargeson Prize, New Zealand’s most prestigious short story competition, with a newly increased first prize of $15,000. Now in its seventh year, the Sargeson Prize, named in honour of iconic New Zealand writer Frank Sargeson, was established by award-winning author and University of Waikato Associate Professor Catherine Chidgey.
  
  This year’s judge, Elizabeth Knox CNZM, DLitt (Hons) is one of New Zealand’s most celebrated and imaginative writers. She is the author of thirteen novels, including The Vintner’s Luck, Dreamhunter, and The Absolute Book. Her latest novel, Kings of this World, will be released in September.
  
  The competition features two divisions, Open and Secondary Schools, with all entries judged blind. The winner of the Secondary Schools Division will receive $2,000 and a one-week summer writing residency at the University of Waikato. This includes mentoring, accommodation, and meals.

  The competition attracted a record 1,306 entries across both divisions in 2024. The winning stories are published by ReadingRoom, Newsroom’s literary platform edited by Steve Braunias.

  Entries for the 2025 Sargeson Prize close 30 June 2025. Submission criteria and entry details are available on the University of Waikato website.

• Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day – apply now for funding

  20-03-2025

  Friday 22 August 2025 is set to be a day where words take flight and poetry pulses through the streets, libraries, parks, bookshops, and unexpected corners of Aotearoa. Now in its 28th year, Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day invites communities nationwide to create, share, and celebrate the power of poetry. Registrations and seed funding applications are now officially open.
  With over 100 events expected to take place nationwide, Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day 2025 promises another extraordinary showcase of creativity, diversity, and community spirit.

  Organisers wishing to apply for seed funding are encouraged to do so early, with applications closing at 5pm on Tuesday 3 June 2025. All the resources needed to plan and promote an event – including registration forms, funding guidelines, and helpful templates – are available now on the National Poetry Day website.

  The official 2025 event calendar will be published on Thursday 31 July, building excitement for a nationwide celebration where poetry takes centre stage.

  For more information, visit www.poetryday.co.nz or contact poetryday@nzbookawards.org.nz.

• China Residency for NZ Writers – applications open

  12-03-2025

  New Zealand’s national writer-residency organisation announces its 2025 International Residency with China.

  The Michael King Writers Centre in association with the Shanghai Writers’ Association is pleased to announce the call for applications for a New Zealand writer to hold a residency in Shanghai.

  The successful writer will receive accommodation in an inner-city apartment, a stipend towards living expenses and return economy class air travel. Writers will take part in discussions and literary events as part of the programme. The residency is from 1 September to 31 October 2025 and is open to mid-career or established writers.

  Applications close on Monday 31 March. For the application form and more details see here. 

  For more information on the exchange see Michael King Writers Centre Website.