Residency Alumni

Born in Whanganui and raised on farms around the North Island, Bren MacDibble incorporates her love of the land into her environmentally themed children’s books.…

Miro is a filmmaker, filmmaking teacher and a poet whose memoir of a counterculture New Zealand adolescence, In the Time of the Manaroans (Victoria Univeristy…

Jordan Hamel is a Pōneke-based writer, poet and performer. He grew up in Timaru on a healthy diet of Catholicism and toxic masculinity. He was…

Zarah is a writer from Auckland. She is the author of Nostalgia Has Ruined My Life (Giramondo Publishing, 2021) and Autobiography of a Marguerite (Hue…

Helen is a widely published children’s and young adult author, spoken word poet and award-winning playwright. She has written an impressive collection of work for…

Pip is a Wellington writer, editor and oral historian who specialises in creative non-fiction. Her memoir Song for Rosaleen, about caring for her mother when…

The first writer to have the timing of her residency affected by the pandemic; Kiran reviews books regularly on RNZ and her writing has appeared…

Tracy is a Wellington writer who used to be a scientist. Her debut novel, The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt, was long- and shortlisted…

We have welcomed our 13th writer-in-residence. Octavia  is a Cambridge based writer with a PhD in science communication. She likes using speculative fiction to talk…

Kyle is one of New Zealand’s most eclectic and prolific writers. From multi-layered picture books (Old-Hu-hu; Hill & Hole) to laugh-out-loud junior fiction series (Dinosaur…

Kate graduated with an MA in Creative Writing from VUW in 2000.  Her MA project was her first novel, Breakwater.  Kate has also published short…

Our tenth writer-in-residence for the year, Ingrid, is working on a collection of interconnected short stories from women’s lives over a two-hundred-year period. Some of…

Jared is an archivist, historian and writer based in Wellington. His work has appeared in The Guardian, Overland, History Workshop Journal, The Spinoff, Newsroom and…

Nathan is an award-winning writer, theatre-maker and performance poet based in Ōtautahi. His work largely focuses on the slipperiness of identity and the politics of…

Steph is an award-winning writer from Taranaki, New Zealand (Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Tama, Te Ati Awa). She spent fifteen years writing radio advertising before deciding…

Our sixth writer-in-residence for the year; Gina, is of Fijian, Scottish and Welsh descent.  She is the author of Black Ice Matter, which won Best…

We welcomed Rachael not only as our final writer-in-residence for 2020 but also, by wonderful coincidence as the 100th writer to take up a residency…

From Queenstown, Jane is the author of the Lily Max children’s trilogy, published by Luncheon Sausage books. “Lily Max: Satin, Scissors, Frock” (2015) was a…

We have welcomed Lana as our fourth writer-in-residence for the year. Lana is an editor, critic and author based in Tāmaki Makaurau. Since 2012 she…

Anna has written several books of poetry, most recently Pasture and Flock: New and Selected Poems, and also writes occasional fiction and academic books.  She…

Our second writer-in-residence for the year Emma (Kāi Tahu), is a Taranaki based writer whose work has previously appeared in Sport, Newsroom, Hue and Cry,…

We have welcomed our first writer in residence for 2021! Kerrin has published four collections of poetry: Three Days In a Wishing Well (2012); There’s…

Amy is a New Zealand writer of Rarotongan descent. She has a Master of Creative Writing from the University of Auckland with first class honours,…

Our 18th writer-in-residence, Maria is a published writer of stories for adults and children. Born in Wellington and of Cook Islands descent, her stories offer…

Our 17th writer-in-residence; Tom is an author, academic and journalist. He has written two books about the 2014 Hazelwood mine fire disaster, Hazelwood (Penguin Random…

Pip has published a collection of short stories, Everything We Hoped For (VUP, 2010) and two novels, I’m Working on a Building (VUP, 2013) and…

Jane is a poet, writer and editor who lives in Wellington with her family. She has a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from the…

Ko Māori me Airihi me Kōtarina ngā iwi o ōku tīpuna. I whakahautia ahau e ngā ngahere o Houtū I amoamohia ahau e ngā wai…

We welcome our 12th resident for the year – Tina writes essays, novels and short fiction. Her latest novel is The Imaginary Lives of James…

Aroha is the first resident since the interruption of Covid-19, to be able to enjoy his full residency with us – he is our 11th…

Because of the Level 3 Covid-19 restrictions, Albert started his residency from home and was able to take up residence as we moved to Level…

Fifi is our ninth resident for the year and the first to be affected by Aotearoa’s Level 4 Alert status for Covid-19. This means Fifi…

Penny joins us for our eighth residency – she is an Art Historian having held roles in public art galleries in New Zealand. The author…

Megan is co-editor of The Spinoff art section. She has a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia, where she graduated with…

We have welcomed Hera to the centre as our sixth resident for the year. She has published two books, ‘Hera Lindsay Bird’ with Victoria University…

Jeff is our fifth resident for the year and is the author of five books. His interest in Māori and Polynesian cultures has produced the…

David edited Landfall  and Landfall Review Online between 2010 and 2018. He is a recent recipient of a Janet Frame Literary Trust Award, an Ockham…

Josh (JP Pomare), (Ngā Puhi), grew up the youngest child of four, on a farm outside of Rotorua. After high school, he studied politics, media…

Tru, (Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Te Tarawa, Ngāti Kahu o Torongāre)  is a choreographer, curator, and poet working across performance and writing disciplines. She is a…

We have welcomed Rose as our first writer in residence for the New Year.  Rose says her aim as a writer ‘is to produce books…

Makereta holds the last residency for 2019. She is I-Taukei-born Fijian, from the Noco District of Rewa in Viti Levu. She was adopted by kaivulagi…

Mariana is a writer, artist, and forager. Born in Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa, she has ancestral roots in Sāmoa, Scotland, England, Ireland, and France. She is…

Fiona has joined us for her four week residency, the 19th for the year. She is a writer and director, playwright, actor and Arts Laureate,…

Jo is an acclaimed New Zealand author whose output has been globally recognised. Her book The Search for Anne Perry was numbered in the top…

Murray takes up our 17th residency to work on an essay that takes a small section of Auckland and reads its monuments for their historical,…

A writer and theatre-maker Jo is the founder and artistic director of Barbarian Productions (theatre company). Recent theatre works include Sing It To My Face,…

Kirsten is our 15th writer-in-residence for the year and is the author of two books of fiction, Tess (2017) and The Invisible Rider (2012). In…

Our 14th residency for the year is held by Rijula who lives and works in Wellington.  Rijula holds a PhD in Creative Writing and was…

Jade is an architectural design, writer, and housing advocate. Of Māori and Dutch descent, her tribal affiliations are Ngāpuhi (Ngāti Hau me Te Parawhau), Te…

Author of six novels and five collections of poetry, Emma works as an editor and occasional creative writing tutor. She was raised in New Zealand,…

Phillipa is our eleventh resident for the year – she lives in Wellington and writes fiction, non-fiction and plays for children and young adults. Her…

Gigi’s first book, The Intentions Book was shortlisted for the 2013 New Zealand Post Book Awards and long-listed for the IMPAC Dublin Award. Her second…

Our ninth resident for the year – Dominic is an author, playwright and poet based in Tamaki Makaurau. His debut novel, Iceland was a New…

Meagan is an Auckland based writer of European and Māori descent born and raised in Perth, Western Australia. She moved permanently to New Zealand in…

We have welcomed Gary as our seventh resident for the year, he is a playwright, director and writing teacher whose work is produced locally and…

Diane is a novelist, memoirist, and poet who runs an online and face to face creative writing school, Creative Writing Dunedin. During her residency –…

Ivy has been awarded a late summer residency, our fifth for the year and is working on a multi-volume collection, Diaspora. Ivy says ‘Diaspora is my…

Colleen is of Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi and Irish descent. After returning to New Zealand in 2016 after fifteen years in Tokyo and one in New…

Steve is working on his third full-length collection of poetry that explores the climate of reproach and apology that pervades our public discourse today and…

Yvette, our second resident for the year is a LGBTQIA writer who was born in Australia and is now a New Zealand resident living in…

We have welcomed Rachel as our first writer-in-residence for the year. Rachel is a filmmaker, writer and artist based in Te Whanganui-ā-Tara, Aotearoa. Her debut…

We have welcomed Serie as our fourteenth and last resident for the year. Serie was born in Aotearoa to a migrant German-Samoan mother and a Palagi…

Pala Molisa is a Ni-Vanuatu academic who has recently finished teaching at Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Accounting and Commercial Law. His PhD looked…

Mark Broatch is the author of several non-fiction books, short fiction and poetry. He was deputy editor at the NZ Listener and culture editor at…

We are delighted to welcome Tracy back to the centre for a residency – she was a visiting writer in 2009 and worked on her…

Jacquie McCrae (Tainui) is working on a project that is a fictional novel based on facts about the colourful history of the campaigns for the…