Writers in Residence
-
example in here
-
The Centre's selection process is overseen by an independent panel, guided by its commitment to honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi and celebrating diverse voices.
"Reading and assessing this year's applications was an enormous privilege for the selection panel," says Melanee Winder, selection panellist and Chair of the MKWC Trust. "We were energised and impressed by the quality of writing across a wide variety of projects."
Emma Neale, a 2025 recipient, reflects: "I am enormously grateful for the way my time at the centre encouraged and catalysed my new project. The centre should be treasured by all Aotearoa writers and lovers of literature."
-
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.
William (Bill) Direen: 2010 University of Auckland Writers Residency
William (Bill) Direen is a writer and a well-known figure in New Zealand music circles. Originally from Christchurch and Dunedin, Direen has recently been living in Paris and previously spent several years in Berlin. He is best known as a poet and musician, but he has also written theatre scripts, l
Michelanne Forster: 2011 University of Auckland Writers Residency
Michelanne Forster is a playwright, scriptwriter, fiction writer and editor who moved to New Zealand in 1972 from her native California. She is a graduate of Auckland University and the Auckland Secondary Teachers College.She was the Michael King/University of Auckland Writing Fellow in 2011. Duri
Sarah Laing: 2013 University of Auckland Writers Residency
The Michael King Writers’ Centre is delighted to welcome back novelist and graphic artist Sarah Laing for her second residency at the centre.This year she holds the six-month The University of Auckland Residency at the Michael King Writers’ Centre. In 2008, she held one of the short residencies fo
Rochelle Bright: 2015 University of Auckland Writers Residency
Rochelle Bright is an exciting voice in New Zealand theatre. She works in crossover drama, which blurs the boundaries between plays, music, cabaret and opera. She has written lyrics, librettos, play and film scripts, music and even circus with Gothenburg band Next Stop: Horizon.Rochelle wrote play
Anne Kennedy: 2014 University of Auckland Writers Residency
Anne Kennedy, who holds the 2014 University of Auckland residency at the Michael King Writers’ Centre, is a poet, fiction writer and scriptwriter. She holds the residency to work on a new novel.Her previous novel The Last Days of the National Costume, published by Allen & Unwin in 2013, reached nu
Eleanor Catton: 2012 University of Auckland Writers Residency
Eleanor Catton, winner of the 2013 Man Booker Prize for Literature, held the 2012 University of Auckland Residency at the Michael King Writers’ Centre. She worked on the final draft of her winning novel The Luminaries during her residency.This is what she wrote about her experience at the centre: