Review

Loop Tracks by Sue Orr

Reviewed by Stephanie Johnson

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Review

Devil’s Trumpet by Tracey Slaughter

Reviewed by Rachel O’Connor

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Review

Ghosts by Siobhan Harvey

Reviewed by Michael Steven

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Extract

The Shape We’re In: Stephanie Johnson

‘In rude health’: Stephanie Johnson on NZ writing, publishing, and genres that refuse to die.

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Review

A Clear Dawn: New Asian Voices from Aotearoa New Zealand edited by Paula Morris and Alison Wong

Reviewed by Saradha Koirala

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Review

Felt by Johanna Emeney

Reviewed by Lynley Edmeades

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Feature

Fiction Writers’ Round Table 2021

‘NZ literature is such a vast and varied thing’ : the Ockhams 2021 Fiction Round Table.

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Review

Things OK with you? by Vincent O’Sullivan

Reviewed by Sophie van Waardenberg

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Review

Missing Persons by Steve Braunias

Reviewed by Angelique Kasmara

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Review

Magnolia 木蘭 by Nina Mingya Powles

Reviewed by Saradha Koirala

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Feature

Ockham NZ Book Awards Finalists

Who’s in – and how you can read extracts.

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Review

National Anthem by Mohamed Hassan

Reviewed by Alison Wong

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Feature

The Interview: Vincent O’Sullivan

‘I’m sceptical about any group who want others to regard them as special.’

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Feature

Listen, Memory

David Howard learns how to appear in Ulyanovsk, City of Literature.

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Conversation/Kōrero

Tracey Slaughter and Sarah Strickley

Go dark or go home: Tracey Slaughter and Sarah Strickley dive deep.

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Feature

Our Many Pasts: Historical Fiction

Thom Conroy asks: is historical fiction New Zealand’s defining genre?

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Feature

Display It Like You Stole It: Letter from London

‘If Oceania is a continent, then it is a continent as complex as Europe’. David Eggleton in London for the Royal Academy of Art’s ‘blockbuster’ show.

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Feature

Fiction and Factions: the Political Novel in New Zealand

What makes a work of the imagination ‘political’?

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Feature

Why Aren’t You Reading Brown?

Not enough diversity in your reading diet? Here are 21 reasons to buy/borrow/read books by Maori and Pasifika writers right away.

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Feature

Poutokomanawa – The Heartpost

What kind of house does our literature inhabit?

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The ANZL

The ANZL is a community of writers from New Zealand – authors of fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction.

On our site you’ll find current biographical information for over 100 writers – our ANZL Fellows and Members – and a range of in-depth features about the diverse strands of contemporary New Zealand literature, as well as extended interviews, book reviews, round-table discussions, essays and a series of conversations/ kōrero that crosses oceans.

The site also features creative work by ANZL writers, including extracts from finalists in the annual Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.

If you’d like an alert when we post new features to the site, please sign up for our mailing list at the bottom of this page. Festival directors and industry representatives can view our Author Showcase E-books here.

Fellows Members

Reviews

Loop Tracks by Sue Orr

The Wednesday Review

07/07/2021

Devil’s Trumpet by Tracey Slaughter

The Wednesday Review

16/06/2021

‘There’s some kind of jigsaw lurking in the subconscious that has to be reeled up, brought to the surface.’ – Lloyd Jones

View the comics archive

Conversation/Kōrero: Tracey Slaughter and Sarah Strickley

Go dark or go home: Tracey Slaughter and Sarah Strickley dive deep.

Explore more: Features & Interviews//The Conversation/Kōrero//News//Extracts//Reviews

The Interview: Vincent O’Sullivan

Majella Cullinane interviews Vincent O'Sullivan - December 2019

Vincent O'Sullivan on the drive to write, the contradictions of fiction, and the dangers of lingering in the poetry hot-house.

‘I’m sceptical about any group who want others to regard them as special.’

Explore more: Features & Interviews//The Conversation/Kōrero//News//Extracts//Reviews

New releases

$5K Surrey-Newsroom Writers Residency Open

The 2021 Surrey Hotel-Newsroom writers residency provides a rare chance to sit down in privacy and comfort to work on your latest masterpiece – with an added bonus of some cash. The first-place winner will receive a week’s free accommodation at the singular Surrey Hotel in Grey Lynn, Auckland, with cooked breakfast thrown in plus the Surrey’s famous Sunday roast. They will also receive $4000. There are two runners-up. Second place will receive five nights accommodation a the Surrey, and $500; third place will receive four nights accommodation, and $500. Nominations for the 2021 Surrey Hotel Writer’s Residency Award in association with Newsroom close on Friday, July 10.

Email stephen11@xtra.co.nz with the subject line in screaming caps THE SURREY HOTEL RESIDENCY IN ASSOCIATION WITH NEWSROOM. Send in a brief covering letter outlining the project you have in mind, and it wouldn’t hurt to maybe attach a few pages of the work in progress. Established authors and complete nobodies will be assessed on the merit of their application so long as they have had something published somewhere. This is for authors only; no screenplay writers, playwrights, or whatever online thing. It’s all about a book.

A shortlist for the 2021 prize will be published on around about Wednesday July 15, and the winners will be announced a few days later, live on Radio New Zealand by good old Jesse Mulligan, a long-time supporter of the Surrey residency. More info here.

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Verb Wellington Writers Residency – apply now

Verb Wellington and Katherine Mansfield House & Garden, with support from the Mātātuhi Foundation, have come together to offer an opportunity to spend time in one of the world’s most vibrant literary cities to focus on your writing. Professor John Ormiston ONZM is a patron of this residency in memory of his wife, the late Professor Diana (Dinny) Lennon ONZM (1949-2018).
When: The residency period is Sunday 17 October (arrive this day to settle in) until Monday 8 November (check out of accommodation).
What: You will receive a $3,000NZD stipend to cover food and other incidental expenses over your three-week stay. From Monday to Friday during each of the three weeks, you will have use of a small, private office space with access to Wifi and basic kitchen facilities at Katherine Mansfield House & Garden. You will have warm, sunny, self-catering Airbnb accommodation located close to the Botanic Gardens and within walking distance to Katherine Mansfield House & Garden and the CBD.
Required: two public events while in Wellington for the residency (one event may be within the Verb Writers Festival which is 3 – 7 November) and to attend one welcome dinner and farewell event.
Travel: Aotearoa authors will need to cover the cost of domestic travel to Wellington.
Application requirements: a 10-page sample of work with 1.5 line spaces and in 12-point font. You will also need to attach a maximum 2-page CV.
Application fee: $10NZD per application to cover the costs of administration for the residency.

Deadlines: applications open on Friday 11 June and close Friday 9 July. The successful applicant will be notified by Monday 26 July. Full details here

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IIML Writer in Residence: Money! Room! Write!

Applications are now open for the IIML 2022 Writer in Residence. This is a position for a creative writer in any genre with a publishing track record, though it’s not necessary to have an extensive list of publications or productions.

The successful applicant will need to be in Wellington for the residency.

The value of the award is $56,000, with an office at the IIML. Apply before 30 September.

The current Writer in Residence is novelist Pip Adam, and former residents include Briar Grace-Smith, Anne Kennedy, Dylan Horrocks, Jenny Bornholdt and Victor Rodger.

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Voices From Burma: Poets of No Name

From New York on June 14th Asia Society, in association with the Iowa International Writing Program, hosted an evening of invited readings in support of the Burmese writers killed or arrested following the military coup earlier this year.

New Zealand’s David Howard read alongside US Poet Laureates Joy Harjo and Robert Hass, Nobel Prize winner Elfriede Jelinek, Mayyu Ali, Esther Dischereit, Rafael Jesús González, Brenda Hillman, Khet Mar, Christopher Merrill, Meridel Rubenstein, David St. John, Preti Taneja, Chaw Ei Thein, Ko Ko Thett, and Kinga Tóth.

Moderated by Kenneth Wong, the participants were asked ‘to say a few words about the plight of the poets in this conflict and the power of poetry, and then to read a poem or two by these Poets of No Name — a moniker chosen to safeguard their identity.’

The event is online here. David’s reading begins at 1:28:40

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Applications open for NZSA Peter & Dianne Beatson Fellowship 2021

Calling for applications from writers of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and drama with a literary track record, who are currently working on a new project. This annual $10,000 Fellowship is awarded each year to a mid-career or senior writer to work on a project that shows a high level of literary merit and national significance and is donated by Peter Beatson.

In 2020 the fellowship was awarded to Auckland writer Siobhan Harvey, who used the fellowship to allow time to work on her poetry collection Ghosts which has now been published by Otago University Press. In addition, her essay, ‘Living in the Haunted House of the Past’ engaged with the themes of the poetry collection and was awarded 3rd place in the Landfall Essay Competition. Previous recipients have also included: Emma Neale, Michael Harlow, Tina Makereti, Jillian Sullivan, Sue Wootton, and Frankie McMillan.

Deadline for applications: midnight Friday 20 August 2021 To apply for the fellowship you need to be a member of the NZ Society of Authors (PEN NZ Inc). Membership is open to all developing and established writers. NZSA provides: literary sector news and opportunities, a mentorship programme, manuscript assessment, manuscript services, contract advice, advocacy and representation for writers, information on the publishing industry, grants and other opportunities, along with affiliation to international PEN.

For further information contact Claire Hill 027 274 9373 claireh@nzauthors.org.nz
To find out more and to access application forms

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CLNZ/NZSA Writers’ Award open for entries

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.
Dates for 2021: The CLNZ / NZSA Writers’ Award will open for applications on Thursday 3 June 2021, and will close at 4pm Friday 2 July.
First: Read the CLNZ / NZSA Writers’ Award Guidelines
Next: Consider reading this ‘Award Alchemy’ article from our NZ Author Magazine (pdf) or listening to Tracey Farr in the NZSA Live! podcast episode ‘Panel Discussion on the Business of Being a Writer’ (starting minute 1.50) on putting together the best application you can.
Then: Fill in the CLNZ / NZSA Writers’ Award Application Form

For more information see the NZSA website.

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Call for judges of the 2022 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards

The organisers of the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are calling for expressions of interest from readers with a deep knowledge of New Zealand literature who would like to be considered as judges of the 2022 awards.

The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards offer four principal prizes each year: the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction; the Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry; the Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction; and the General Non-Fiction Award. The judging of each of the four subject categories is undertaken by a panel of three judges with the relevant expertise and experience in that subject. One of the three will be appointed as convenor. The judges begin their reading in mid-September 2021.

Expressions of interest forms and background information on the judging process and judges’ responsibilities can be downloaded from the New Zealand Book Awards Trust website or by emailing manager@nzbookawards.org.nz. Applications must be submitted by 5pm on Wednesday 30 June.

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All updates

'...we were there as faith-based writers, as believers in the mana of Oceania...' - David Eggleton

Loop Tracks by Sue Orr

Devil’s Trumpet by Tracey Slaughter

Ghosts by Siobhan Harvey

The Shape We’re In: Stephanie Johnson

A Clear Dawn: New Asian Voices from Aotearoa New Zealand edited by Paula Morris and Alison Wong

Felt by Johanna Emeney

Fiction Writers’ Round Table 2021

Things OK with you? by Vincent O’Sullivan

Missing Persons by Steve Braunias

Magnolia 木蘭 by Nina Mingya Powles

Ockham NZ Book Awards Finalists

National Anthem by Mohamed Hassan

The Interview: Vincent O’Sullivan

Listen, Memory

Tracey Slaughter and Sarah Strickley

Our Many Pasts: Historical Fiction

Display It Like You Stole It: Letter from London

Fiction and Factions: the Political Novel in New Zealand

Why Aren’t You Reading Brown?

Poutokomanawa – The Heartpost

The ANZL

Reviews

Loop Tracks by Sue Orr

Devil’s Trumpet by Tracey Slaughter

Conversation/Kōrero: Tracey Slaughter and Sarah Strickley

New releases