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Applications open for 2027 Randell Cottage Residency

Applications open for 2027 Randell Cottage Residency

Posted on by Randell Cottage

A small cottage with a red roof behind a picket fence with a plaque and letterbox attached.We’re delighted to announce that applications open on 1 September for our sought-after New Zealand residency at Randell Cottage. Apply to join us in the 25th anniversary year of our writing Fellowship or pass the news on to your contacts.

We offer a stay of six months from July to December 2027 in our two-bedroom, heritage cottage on the slopes of Te Ahumairangi, close to shops and cafes in Tinakori Road. The National Library, Archives NZ, and the Turnbull Library are a short walk away.  Bus routes will take you across the city, including to the new Central Library Te Matapihi.

Our Fellowship provides a living cost stipend of $32,000 for the six months, where you’ll stay with no charges for rent or council rates.  You’ll just cover your food, utilities and household costs. And there’s room for a partner and even a small family, though sadly no pets.

As our 2025 writer, Saraid de Silva, said, “Because I had never had six months to myself in this fashion, I arrived not really grasping how productive it would allow me to be. What I was able to send at the end of my residency was polished and honed.”

Does this opportunity sound like you?

Don’t hesitate if you think it may not be a good fit: over the years we’ve hosted a very diverse set of writers. We encourage mid-career NZ creatives from all writing genres to apply.

Have you got a few publications under your belt and a really well-developed project to put before our selectors? Then check out the details online and be sure to meet the deadline of 23 October.

Read more about the residency.

For any clarifications, please email us at applications@randellcottage.co.nz with QUERY in the header.

Twenty-fifth anniversary French laureate announced

Twenty-fifth anniversary French laureate announced

Posted on by Randell Cottage

We are delighted to announce, in conjunction with the French Embassy, that Lili Sohn will be the 2027 French writer-in-residence at Randell Cottage. She was chosen from among 28 applicants by a French and NZ selection panel.

Lili’s arrival will mark the beginning of our twenty-fifth anniversary year. She will be the fiftieth Randell Cottage resident, dating from the inaugural writers in 2002, Peter Wells from New Zealand and Nadine Ribault from France.

Lili is the first graphic novelist to be selected for the residency. Her works have appeared with leading French and Franco-Belgian publishers such as Casterman and Delcourt.

Her project is an exciting, challenging and sensitive one: centring on the complexities surrounding the restitution of a tattooed head or toi moko found in a Rouen museum. Lili proposes to deepen her research for the project by consulting with Te Papa specialists and university academics.

Lili and family will join us from early January for a five-month stay. Her visit will include presentations to Alliance Française groups throughout the country, as well as to functions hosted by the Randell Cottage Writers Trust.

Randell Cottage – Dates to hold

Randell Cottage – Dates to hold

Posted on by Randell Cottage

As we move past the shortest day of the year and look optimistically towards Spring and Summer, here are two dates for your calendars:

Annual Open Day

Sunday 25 October from 1 to 4 pm: Annual Open Day at Randell Cottage, 14 St Mary Street, as part of the Wellington Heritage Festival.

Come along on the Sunday of Labour Weekend to visit the Cottage, enjoy delicious home-made afternoon teas under the garden gazebo and listen to a full programme of readings by our current writer-in-residence and other authors and poets. Relax in our pretty garden and hope to win a parcel of books in our raffles.

You can also join the Creative and Historic Cottages Walk around Thorndon. Make a day of it and see the Katherine Mansfield House and Garden in the morning, stop in one of the local cafes for a snack and then make your way to Randell Cottage, Rita Angus Cottage and Lilburn House during the afternoon.

Randell Cottage Writers Evening

Wednesday 25 November 6-7 pm with light refreshments from 5.30: Randell Cottage Writers Evening in the Archives Library NZ auditorium

This is your chance to hear from our exciting new writer, essa may ranapiri, who is living in Randell Cottage with their family from July to December.

We’ll also share the two latest videos, made as permanent records of the style, aspirations and experiences of our recent French and New Zealand residents.

More to come closer to the time!

Saraid de Silva reflects on Randell Cottage residency

Saraid de Silva reflects on Randell Cottage residency

Posted on by Randell Cottage

Author of the celebrated novel Amma, Saraid de Silva has spent a six-month residency at Randell Cottage working on her much-anticipated second work. In this new video she reflects on her personal style, the working environment of the Cottage and the value of a dedicated, uninterrupted time for creative writing.

We acknowledge the many generous supporters whose contributions to our Boosted campaign made it possible to fund Saraid’s residency and help to maintain our heritage building.

Saraid’s video is one of a series commissioned by the Trust to provide a permanent oral history record of our writers towards the end of their residency, capturing their experiences and aspirations at that moment in time. They are available on our website and are also held by arrangement by the Turnbull Library.

Watch Saraid’s interview

Notice of the Annual General Meeting on 26 May 2026

Notice of the Annual General Meeting on 26 May 2026

Posted on by Randell Cottage

You are invited to the Annual General Meeting of Friends of the Randell Cottage Writers Trust to be held on:

Tuesday 26 May, 2026, at 11.00 am in Room 3 of the Alliance Française, Level 3, Dominion Building, Victoria St.

Please RSVP to info@randellcottage.co.nz or call Robyn on (04) 4764823 (evenings only) by 23 May, 2026, to indicate your attendance.

AGENDA

  1. Welcome
  2. Apologies
  3. Receive and approve the Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of Friends of the Randell Cottage Writers’ Trust, 20 May, 2025,
    Matters arising
  4. Receive and approve the Minutes of the Special General Meeting of Friends of the Randell Cottage Writers’ Trust, 3 December, 2025,
    Matters arising
  5. Receive and consider the President’s Annual Report
  6. Receive and consider the Annual Financial Statements
  7. Receive and consider the following recommendation regarding the annual subscriptions for the year 2027/28: that subscriptions for 2027/28 be set at $20.00 for seniors/students, $35.00 for individuals, $50.00 for families, $100.00 for businesses and free for students for a maximum of 3 years.
  8. Election of Officers
    • President: Ruth Jeffery is nominated as Acting President.
    • Treasurer: Tim Gruar is nominated as Treasurer.
    • Secretary: Robyn Skrzyńska is nominated as Secretary.
    • Election of at least three Ordinary Members of the Executive Committee.
    • Note: Any further nominations for President, Treasurer and Committee, with details of seconders and evidence of the willingness of the nominee to serve, should be emailed to the Secretary: info@randellcottage.co.nz in advance of the meeting.
  9. Any other business

The business part of the meeting will be followed by a conversation with the current Randell Cottage resident, French writer Katia Astafieff, who will talk about her work, with images from her research in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Please join us for refreshments at the end of the meeting.

Download the AGM agenda.

Applications open for French writer in residence

Applications open for French writer in residence

Posted on by Randell Cottage

Cottage with garden in frontThe French Embassy, in partnership with the Randell Cottage Writers Trust, invites applications for next year’s residency in Randell Cottage, due to run from January to June 2027.

It is open to published writers who are French nationals or those who have at least five years’ residence qualifications. The residency comes with a monthly stipend and reimbursement of airfare costs to and from Wellington up to a set limit.

The application form is available here and closes 17 May 2026:

Randell Cottage, résidence d’écriture – Appel à candidatures pour 2027

 

To see more about past writers who have enjoyed their time at Randell Cottage, see the articles from the French writers. You can also read more about Randell Cottage and its history here.