Time Frame

The 2026 New Zealand Writer residency runs from July to December 2026 and has been awarded to essa may ranapiri. Applications for 2027 are now open.

Download the application form

What does the Residency offer?

Rent-free accommodation in the two-bedroom central city cottage, and a stipend in the order of $32,000.

What are the eligibility requirements?

We’re looking for writers whose work has already been published or performed and well received. We particularly want to hear from mid-career and Māori and Pasifika writers.

Your proposal may be in any genre, including:

• Fiction
• Poetry
• Children’s writing
• Drama
• Biography
• Other literary non-fiction
• Writing on arts topics

The following persons are not eligible for selection:

• Members of the Arts Council, The Arts Board, Te Waka Toi and the Pacific Arts Committee
• Students of tertiary institutions working towards the completion of a tertiary qualification
• Current trustees of the Randell Cottage.

Applicants must be New Zealand citizens by birth, registration, or residency.

Do I have to be a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident?

Yes. The residency is designed to assist mid-career New Zealand writers achieve their potential.

What will the selection panel consider when awarding the residency?

Major factors in making the selection will be the literary achievement of the applicant to date, and the ability to produce a work of substantial literary quality.

The Trustees and their advisers will make the final selection.

What do you mean by mid-career?

We know that mid-career is a broad and elastic term. For us, it covers writers who may have published one or two or even three books, writers who may have had a significant body of well-received work (such as essays, poems and short stories) published on websites, in journals or anthologies or performed either locally or internationally, and who may have appeared at international literary festivals. We’re looking for a writer who is no longer “emerging” but isn’t quite yet “established” and to whose career this residency would represent a significant boost.

Are families or couples welcome at the Cottage?

Oh yes! Despite the space constraints of the cottage, several writers have been accompanied by their partners and/or children. They include Kirsty Gunn, Tina Makereti, Amélie Lucas-Gary, Michalia Arathimos, Julien Blanc-Gras and essa may ranapiri.

Publicity

The writer will be expected to participate in any associated social activities and be prepared to promote the Trust and the residency at every opportunity.

The writer may be required to make the Cottage available to the public for a day during the tenancy, generally in late October for the Open Day that is part of the Wellington Heritage Festival. Any associated costs, within reason, will be met by the Randell Cottage Writers Trust.

The Trust will make every effort to promote the resident writer and his or her work during the residency, including on the Randell Cottage Writers Trust website.

A printed acknowledgement and the logo of the Randell Cottage Writers Trust are expected in any published work that results from holding the residency. Logo provided.

Report by writer

Within two months of completing the residency, the writer will provide a report on progress with their project, including any comments on the residency itself.

NB: The cottage is furnished, non-smoking and pet-free.

The residency was tremendous. It is extremely rare for a writer to have a period in his or her life free from financial insecurity. – Peter Wells, inaugural New Zealand Writer 2002.

Media

The Randell Cottage Writers Trust logo for publicity and media purposes, and for writers to use in their published work following the residency