The Academy
The Academy of New Zealand Literature / Te Whare Mātātuhi o Aotearoa is a writer-led initiative developed to help our active practitioners sustain themselves – creatively, intellectually, psychically, practically – through a writer’s life. Behind the scenes, we’re working to connect our community of writers with residencies, festivals, academic networks and other opportunities.
This initiative is made possible by seed funding from the University of Auckland, but our reach is national – international, in fact, as some of us live overseas. During the seed-money period, our community will remain relatively small: we begin with fifteen Fellows and around 100 Members, all invited – an impressive, though not exhaustive, list.
Our web site reflects the other part of our kaupapa: to explore and promote the diverse strands and vibrant voices of our contemporary fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction. Here you’ll find in-depth features and conversations, windows opening on new books and writers. You’ll find contexts for and insights into our stories and songs – our celebrations, laments, investigations, imaginative leaps. You’ll find different points of view, and frank discussions of our challenges and concerns here deep in the South Pacific. Please explore, and keep returning – as we keep talking and dreaming and writing.
Paula Morris
May 2016
Fellows
The ANZL has fifteen Fellows, all with substantial bodies of work. Each month one Fellow will feature in a long interview, and you’ll find other news and contexts for them throughout the site.
Members
Our invited Members are active practitioners of fiction, poetry or creative nonfiction for adults. All have published at least two full-length books with an established publisher; the most recent book must have been published within the last ten years. Each month one Member will write for our Conversation/Kōrero feature, and many will be interviewed for or cited in another feature. Some of our Members will contribute to the site in other guises – like Sarah Laing, the artist responsible for our comic strips, and Kelly Ana Morey, who’s provided much of the photography.
E-book
From time to time we produce an e-book showcasing recently published members who are interested in participating in literary festivals. The latest downloadable e-book is available here: Author Showcase E-book
'The thirty-five of us were in the country of dream-merchants, and strange things were bound to happen.' - Anne Kennedy