Since 2002, the historic Randell Cottage in Thorndon, Wellington, has been home to twenty writers in residence – ten from France and ten from New Zealand. Each writer has spent six months living and writing in the Cottage supported by the Trust which works in partnership with Creative New Zealand, the Embassy of France, and the New Zealand-France Friendship Fund.
The Trust hopes as many of the writers as possible will be able to join in the tenth anniversary events. Trustee Fiona Kidman says, ‘We want to celebrate what each writer has brought to the cottage and what they’ve taken away, including their books – a number in translation – and their literary successes. And we want to celebrate the residency, and the cottage itself – all those words it played host to, all those writers it held in its hands.’
Historic Randell Cottage in Wellington, New Zealand, has been a writers’ residency since 2001. In partnership with the Embassy of France, New Zealand-France Friendship Fund and Creative New Zealand, the Randell Cottage Writers Trust provides a six-month residency each year to a French and NZ writer respectively.