NZSA Writers' Award 2025 Opens
He $25,000 te nui o te Karāti Kaituhi o te CLNZ me te NZSA, te karāti mātua mo ngā pakimaero-pono o ngā momo-tuhinga o Aotearoa. Ka taea e ngā Kaituhi te tuku tono mō tēnei karāti.
Awards $25,000 cash grant to a New Zealand writer
Assists with research and associated costs
Is one of the highest value prizes awarded for non-fiction in New Zealand
Is open now for entries
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.
The Copyright Licensing New Zealand (CLNZ) and the New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (NZSA) Writers' Award has supported the creation of Rebecca Macfie's book Helen Kelly: Her Life (Awa Press), a biography of one of New Zealand's political legends; Nic Low's book Uprising: Walking the Southern Alps of New Zealand (Text); the creation of Nick Bollinger's Ockham award-winning book Jumping Sundays: The Rise and Fall of the Counterculture in Aotearoa / New Zealand (AUP), Iona Winter's creative non-fiction project, A counter of moons (Steele Roberts Aotearoa, releasing in 2025) and the publication of Jade Kake's book, Rewi: Āta haere, kia tere (MUP), a tribute to the late architect Rewi Thompson.
Last year, writer and historian Mark Derby won for his project with the working title Outlaw Prophet – Hakaraia Māhika and the Tauranga Wars. He says, 'The northeast Bay of Plenty, where my new book is set, is a long way from my home in Wellington, and not cheap to get to. I've been researching this book on and off for years in my own time, but the CLNZ | NZSA Writers' Award gave me the boost to really commit to writing it. I'd done a few books already, but I've never written fulltime until I received this financial support. Then, a few months later, I got a call from Hakaraia's descendants, inviting me to take part in a wānanga to share their knowledge of him. Because I had a travel budget, I could agree without hesitation. I think this book will be very much better for the support I've had from the CLNZ / NZSA fund.'
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13-06-2025
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NZSA Writers' Award 2025 Opens
The CLNZ | NZSA Writers' Award of $25,000 is one of the highest value non-fiction prizes in New Zealand literature and it is now open for applications. He $25,000 te nui o te Karāti Kaituhi o te CLNZ me te NZSA, te karāti mātua mo ngā pakimaero-pono o ngā momo-tuhinga o Aotearoa. Ka taea e ngā Kaituhi te tuku tono mō tēnei karāti. Awards $25,000 cash grant to a New Zealand writer Assists with research and associated costs Is one of the highest value prizes awarded for non-fiction in New Zealand Is open now for entries 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. The Copyright Licensing New Zealand (CLNZ) and the New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (NZSA) Writers' Award has supported the creation of Rebecca Macfie's book Helen Kelly: Her Life (Awa Press), a biography of one of New Zealand's political legends; Nic Low's book Uprising: Walking the Southern Alps of New Zealand (Text); the creation of Nick Bollinger's Ockham award-winning book Jumping Sundays: The Rise and Fall of the Counterculture in Aotearoa / New Zealand (AUP), Iona Winter's creative non-fiction project, A counter of moons (Steele Roberts Aotearoa, releasing in 2025) and the publication of Jade Kake's book, Rewi: Āta haere, kia tere (MUP), a tribute to the late architect Rewi Thompson. Last year, writer and historian Mark Derby won for his project with the working title Outlaw Prophet – Hakaraia Māhika and the Tauranga Wars. He says, 'The northeast Bay of Plenty, where my new book is set, is a long way from my home in Wellington, and not cheap to get to. I've been researching this book on and off for years in my own time, but the CLNZ | NZSA Writers' Award gave me the boost to really commit to writing it. I'd done a few books already, but I've never written fulltime until I received this financial support. Then, a few months later, I got a call from Hakaraia's descendants, inviting me to take part in a wānanga to share their knowledge of him. Because I had a travel budget, I could agree without hesitation. I think this book will be very much better for the support I've had from the CLNZ / NZSA fund.'
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Applications Open For Cash Grants To Support NZ Writers
Applications are now open for the CLNZ | NZSA Research Grants to help writers research a fiction or non-fiction writing project. Kua tuwhera ināianei ngā tono mō ngā Karāti Rangahau o te CLNZ | NZSA hei āwhina atu māu e rangahau tō hinonga, tō kōrero paki, tō kōrero pono rānei. Four grants valued at $5,000 each are available to New Zealand writers. One of the grants targets diverse writers and topics, including writers from, and writing about, parts of Aotearoa that are not broadly represented in writing and publishing, and projects on issues or subjects that are topical in present day Aotearoa. E whā ngā karāti, e $5,000 te wāriu o ia karāti, ā, e wātea ana aua mea ki ngā kaituhi o Aotearoa. E aro pū ana tētahi o ngā karāti ki ngā kaituhi kanorau me ngā kaupapa kanorau, tae ana ki ngā kaituhi i ahu mai ai i, e tuhi nei hoki mō ngā wāhi o Aotearoa me uaua ka kitea i roto i ngā tuhinga, i roto hoki i te ao tā pukapuka, ā, tae ana ki ngā hinonga e pā ana ki ngā take o te wā, ki ngā kaupapa o te wā rānei nō roto mai o Aotearoa onāianei. These are brought to you by Copyright Licensing New Zealand (CLNZ) and the New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc) as part of the CLNZ Cultural Fund. Previous recipients comment on how the grant has helped them Kerry Sunderland received a recent grant for her book project: Deathwalker's Guide to Life: how exploring death can help you live life more fully. "The CLNZ|NZSA Research Grant has proved to be invaluable in the writing of a book inspired by my radio show and podcast, Deathwalker's Guide to Life. The grant has not only enabled me to dive back into the 31 episodes I've already produced (by generating transcripts from my audio files), it's also helped me identify where there are gaps, so I can conduct more interviews. In the book, I am weaving together the stories, wisdom, and practical advice my interviewees have shared, while reckoning with the repercussions of my own death denial in the past. Part memoir, part personal essay and part people profiles, readers will be encouraged to face their fears, empowered to embrace their own mortality, and supported to communicate more openly and honestly with their loved ones." Lauren Keenan (Te Ātiawa ki Taranaki) was a recent grant recipient for her project Rākau: The Lost Tree. "This Grant enabled me to spend more time visiting the historical sites I write about in my book and do high-quality research. This has, in turn, greatly enriched my manuscript." Rākau: The Lost Tree is a middle-grade novel about the New Zealand wars and will be the sequel to Lauren's children's book Amorangi and Millie's Trip Through Time, about Taranaki's history. Want to Apply? While a broad range of fiction and non-fiction writing projects are eligible for these grants, some works and projects are excluded so please check the guidelines carefully. The CLNZ | NZSA Research Grants open for applications 9am Friday 23 May 2025, and will close at 4pm Friday 20 June 2025. Submissions must be made online. Unsuccessful applicants will be advised before recipients are announced. Successful recipients will be contacted directly, and we will also publish the announcement on the CLNZ and NZSA websites and social media platforms. NZSA is proud to be administering the awards in 2025.
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Announcing The New Zealand Screen Awards: A Celebration Of The Best TV & Film In Aotearoa
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