Writers in Residence

  • The Michael King Writers Centre is proud to support 18 New Zealand writers through its 2026 residency programme, hosted at the historic Signalman's House in Devonport, Auckland. Selected from over 150 applicants across fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama and writing for children, this year's recipients are:

    Anne Kayes, Cassie Hart, Cello Forrester, Chris Tse, Claire Baylis, Connie Buchanan, Emma Hislop, Gina Butson, Jordan Hamel, Josie Shapiro, Kirsten McDougall, Kirsty Powell, Liv Sisson, Rebecca Hawkes, Sarah Ell, Sue Wootton, Trina Elkington-Ball, and Vincent O'Malley.

    For eligibility, stipend and accommodation details, see About our Residency Programme.

  • For a list of our alumni from 2005 to 2026, by first name see here.

    Since the Centre opened in 2005, over 200 New Zealand writers have held supported residencies, with international residencies added from 2013 in association with the NZ China Friendship Society and Varuna House, NSW.

    Alumni include Eleanor Catton (final draft of The Luminaries, 2012), Whiti Hereaka (Kurangaituku, 2017) and biographer Rachel Barrowman, alongside Poet Laureates Vincent O'Sullivan, David Eggleton and Ian Wedde, and writers Gina Cole, Roger Horrocks, Ashleigh Young, Josh Pomare, Jane Arthur and Pip Adam.

Use the filter to select by year.

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Tania Stewart Tania Stewart

Gina Butson: 2026 Early Spring Residency

Gina lives in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland. She completed an MA in Creative Writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters in 2023.

Her debut novel, The Stars are a Million Glittering Worlds, was published in 2025. During her residency, our 14th for the year, Gina is working on her second novel.

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