Four cash grants awarded to local writers

The 2025 Copyright Licensing New Zealand (CLNZ) and New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa PEN NZ Inc (NZSA) Research Grants have been awarded to four writers in Aotearoa.

The $5,000 grants support local writers who wish to undertake research for a fiction or non-fiction writing project.

The judging panel, Siobhan Harvey, Vasanti Unka and Vaughan Rapatahana said, 'Allowing authors funding and time to undertake research into the development of their creative writings is a true gift. We honour Copyright Licensing New Zealand and the New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa PEN NZ Inc for the collective administration of these research grants and, therein and more broadly, the assistance provided to New Zealand writers and writing. It was an honour to judge each of the 46 applications for this year’s grants. We do encourage all New Zealand authors to submit to the CLNZ/NZSA grants in future.' Join us in congratulating the CLNZ | NZSA Research Grants 2025 recipients!

Rosetta Allan with project The Good Uncle

Rosetta Allan is a novelist, essayist, and manuscript assessor based in Tāmaki Makaurau, with a strong interest in how family, addiction, and moral responsibility intersect. The Good Uncle, my novel in development, explores the pull of generational loyalty through the story of a woman determined to save her brother from relapse—and from the grip of a charismatic uncle with a criminal past.

Set between the Kaipara Harbour and inner-city Auckland, the novel navigates buried secrets, personal agency, and the long shadow of familial harm. With support from the CLNZ | NZSA Research Grant, which I am very grateful for, I’ll be deepening my research into addiction recovery, family justice systems, and the emotional aftermath of intergenerational trauma.

The 2025 judging panel said – 'this literary fiction project about whānau set in the Kaipara offers insight upon navigating bureaucracy and personal trauma. The applicant offered an extensive and cogent outline of grant use including Environmental Fieldwork at the Kaipara Harbour and Urban and Systemic Research in Auckland (CYF/Oranga Tamariki offices, Family Court etc). The resulting novel will undoubtedly be authentic and impactful.'

Taryn Dryfhout with project Ngā Tini Ara o te Tamariki: A Complete History of Adoption in Aotearoa New Zealand

Taryn Dryfhout is a Māori academic, teacher, and writer whose work explores the intersections of adoption, western frameworks, and Māori worldviews. She is currently completing a PhD that examines Māori worldviews and cultural adoption. Taryn will be working on the first comprehensive account of the history of adoption in Aotearoa New Zealand.

From the earliest examples of informal care arrangements in early colonial history, to the introduction of formal adoption laws, and the enduring Māori practice of whāngai dating back to before the arrival of the British, this book will trace how New Zealanders have cared for and raised children across generations. It will explore the legal, cultural, and personal dimensions of adoption, including stories of love, loss, identity, and belonging, while capturing the social forces that have shaped these practices over time. The book will offer a rich and inclusive account of how New Zealanders have formed, nurtured, and redefined family over time.

Taryn’s work aims to bridge scholarly research and accessible storytelling, contributing to meaningful conversations about care, identity, and indigenous knowledge systems in Aotearoa.

The 2025 judging panel said – 'this is a project of national significance, aiming to be the first book the first book to offer a full, accessible account of the history of adoption in this country. A complex project, the grant will help enable travel and accommodation for fieldwork and archival access across the motu, as well as conducting face-to-face interviews with people, including Māori participants. We look forward to seeing the resulting publication'. Jacquie Mcrae with project Wākainga, a historical novel set in Aotearoa, in 1863

Jacquie Mcrae (Tainui and Ngāti Koata) is an award-winning fiction writer, published by Huia. She has a master’s in creative writing and mentors for the New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (PEN NZ) and Māori Literature Trust on Te Papa Tupu. She is on the Michael King Writers Centre board.

History happened but how we view it depends on who is telling the story.

This historical novel is Ika’s story, a young boy who leaves his home, on Rangitoto ki te Tonga (D’urville island) in 1863 to go to war in the Waikato. Ika’s view of the world was based in mātauranga māori (traditional māori knowledge.) He looked to his ancestors and te taiao (the natural world) to guide him. At the battle of Rangiriri he saw many of his whanau die, including his mother and father. Some managed to swim the river to safety but 180 others were taken prisoner, marched to Auckland and held captive on a ship, anchored in the Waitematā harbour. They were never charged with anything but held onboard for eight months before the ship was taken to Kawau island and from here they escaped. This novel looks at the loss of life, land, and freedom and the impact this had.

The 2025 judging panel said – 'this project will be the author’s third book. Publisher support is provided for an intriguing book about Ika, a thirteen-year-old boy who leaves his home, on Rangitoto ki te Tonga (D’urville island) to go to war in the Waikato. This grant will allow the author to extend initial personal whakapapa research through access to the Auckland Library’s Governor Grey’s collection and archival footage and voice recordings housed in both Ngāti Koata head office in Whakatū and the National Library of NZ. We can’t wait to read this novel.'

Pauline (Vaeluaga) Smith with project – My New Zealand Story: The Dawn Raid Apology (Working Title)

Pauline (Vaeluaga) Smith is an author and educationalist of Samoan, Tuvaluan, Scottish and Irish descent based in the seaside town of Aparima/Riverton. Her first book My New Zealand Story: Dawn Raid, was a finalist at the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young People in the Esther Glen, Junior Fiction and Best First Book categories. It was the winner of the Best First Book for 2018 and gained a Storylines Notable Book award.

The project My New Zealand Story - The Dawn Raid Apology is a companion text to her first book. This new work will combine the journey of her first-hand experience along with her Polynesian Panther colleagues to advocate for and secure a full, formal, public apology for the Dawn Raids. The grant will be critical to supporting interviews, research and development of this manuscript to bring the history and importance of the apology to life.

The 2025 judging panel said – 'this is an exciting and commendable YA fiction follow up to the author’s My New Zealand Story Dawn Raid. In addition to composing the proposed work from firsthand experience, the author will use the grant to provide time and resources to meet with and interview several key people who worked towards getting The Dawn Raids apology.'

CLNZ and NZSA are delighted to assist New Zealand authors in their research efforts. Research Grants are funded through the CLNZ Cultural Fund, which derives its revenue from a 2% share of domestic licensing income and from overseas revenue.

CLNZ and NZSA would like to thank the 2025 Judging Panel - Siobhan Harvey, Vaughan Rapatahana and Vasanti Unka.

The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa is proud to be administering the awards in 2025.