World’s most global literature prize shortlists 23 writers from 13 countries 3 New Zealanders feature on a Pacific shortlist of four: 31-year-old Anna Woods from Auckland, 46-year-old Pip Robertson from Christ Church and 31-year-old M Donato a New Zealander of Filipino heritage, from Wellington Judges hail ‘a dream list’ which will leave readers ‘startled and shocked, heartbroken and humbled in equal measure’ Stories range from romances and speculative fiction, to family dramas and coming of age tales, and address a range of topics from motherhood and bereavement to mental illness and ..read more

 Byline: Paul Goldsmith is the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage I was initially resistant to the idea often suggested to me that the Government should deliver an arts strategy. The whole point of the arts and creativity is that people should do whatever the hell they want, unbound by the dictates of politicians in Wellington. Peter Jackson, Kiri Te Kanawa, Eleanor Catton and others who have made a global impact didn’t wait around for a glossy strategy; they just went for it. That said, we must recognise that government, on behalf of all New Zealanders, pulls many levers that can he ..read more

International Writers’ Workshop NZ Inc 12 April 2024 Anne Kennedy is the judge of The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems 2024 with a first prize of $1000 for the winner. Anne is a Tāmaki Makaurau poet, novelist and teacher. Awards include the Prime Minister’s Award for Poetry, the NZ Post Book Award for Poetry and the Montana Book Award for Poetry. Recent books are The Sea Walks into a Wall, The Ice Shelf and, as editor, Remember Me: Poems to Learn by Heart from Aotearoa New Zealand. She is the current editor of AUP’s New Poets series. The Prize, which has been made possible by a b ..read more

10 April 2024   Books+Publishing Huia Publishers, based in Aotearoa New Zealand, is the 2024 Oceania winner of the Bologna Prize (BOP) for the Best Children’s Publisher of the Year. The Māori-owned independent publisher has been operating since 1991, with a mission to ‘share stories that resonate with our people, that reflect our experiences and that value our culture and language’. The publisher was last shortlisted for the prize in 2022. New Zealand’s leading indigenous publishers have been recognised for their excellence on the world stage at this y ..read more

Congratulations to all of the 2024 Storylines Award winners who were presented with their awards on Sunday 7 April at an event held at the National Library of NZ in Parnell, Auckland. The 2024 winners are; Storylines Gaelyn Gordon Award: The Dragon Hunters written by James Russell, illustrated by Link Choi Storylines Janice Marriott Mentoring Award: Jonathan Poff, Ashburton for manuscript titled Pan-Pan! Storylines Gavin Bishop Award: Kaye Julian, Wellington Storylines Joy Cowley Award: Annelies Judson, Tāmaki Makaurau for manuscript titled Turkey Hurly-Burly Storylines Tessa Duder Award: Kiri ..read more

The PEN International Case List 2023/2024, has been released, highlighting challenges for writers in global conflicts and emphasizing the need to safeguard freedom of expression, especially in war-torn regions. War, Censorship, and Persecution documents 122 cases of writers facing harassment, arrest, violence and even death worldwide. These include 26 people imprisoned, 23 detained, 22 harassed, 14 on trial, 8 killed, and 6 facing judicial harassment and death threats, among others. The breakdown by region shows Africa with 14 cases, the Americas with 36, Asia/Pacific with 24, Europe and ..read more

Entries for New Zealand’s richest short-story competition, the Sargeson Prize, are open and last year’s winner is encouraging others to “go for it”.   Fiction and poetry writer Anna Woods won $10,000 in the 2023 Open Division and a two-week summer writing residency at the Sargeson Centre in Auckland with her story ‘Pig Hunting’. “The residency was instrumental in finishing my book, Tomahawk Beach, which I’ve been working on since 2022,” Anna says. “At the end of a project, most of the research is complete, and it’s the time to focus on copy editing and line editing. It’s very focused, so ..read more

  The latest edition of the online anthology Ōrongohau | Best New Zealand Poems is now live, featuring 25 poems chosen by Poet Laureate Chris Tse from nearly 4000 published in 2023. “These are the poems that surprised and delighted me the most, that made me pause to sit in my own discomfort or revel in another poet’s joy. Above all, they’re the poems I thought other people need to read.” His chosen selections, he says, are the “poems that stood out to me for the way in which they navigated inner and outer worlds, or gave life to the poets’ hopes for themselves and their communities.” The ..read more

The date for this year’s Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day is Friday 23 August. Event registrations and seed funding applications are now OPEN. Head over to www.poetryday.co.nz for registration forms, resources and more. Let’s come together to make poetry shine! #NZPoetryDay ..read more

  Dedicating the year to writing his first novel isn’t the only positive thing about being named the Kaipukahu University of Waikato Writer in Residence for 2024. Award-winning children’s author, poet and writer, Ben Brown (Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Korokī Kahukura, Ngāti Paoa), says this year is not only about writing a novel that’s been on his mind for years, but about reconnecting with his people, te reo Māori and whakapapa. “The project I proposed to come here, I was almost hesitant to put it down. It sounds like some clever guy sat down and tried to think up a project that is purpose-built ..read more