NZSA Youth Mentorships awarded
Congratulations to the talented student writers awarded NZSA Youth Mentorships for 2026!
Four secondary school students selected for mentorships will each be matched with a professional writer/mentor in their genre, as part of the NZ Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc) 2026 Youth Mentorship Programme.
The young writers will hone their writing skills and develop their craft through the year, working on their chosen writing project. We congratulate them on their success.
2026 Youth Mentorships have been awarded to:
- Dorothy Baricuatro - Trinity Catholic College (Ōtepoti | Dunedin)
- Payton Blackburn - South Westland Area School (HariHari)
- Meisha Rose Kitto - Dunstan High School (Clyde, Ōtākou | Otago)
- Bleys Robertson - Mairehau High School ( Ōtautahi | Christchurch)
The judging panel of award-winning authors Convenor Cristina Schumacher and Ruby Porter, said: ‘This year’s panel encountered young writers with strong imaginative potential and thematic engagement, and the mentorship initiative will play an important role in nurturing and refining their emerging voices.’
Congratulations also to the highly commended student writers: Molly Marjoribanks from Michael Park School (Tāmaki Makaurau | Auckland), and Jacob Prewer from Cambridge High School (Kemureti | Cambridge)
The NZSA Youth Mentorship Programme was established in 2010 to foster and develop emerging writing talent around Aotearoa New Zealand with the support of established authors. NZSA Chief Executive Jenny Nagle says " Over the last 30 years NZSA's mentor programmes have proven themselves to be a valuable development pipeline for emerging writers. Mentorship by a senior writer, one-on-one, provides a significant opportunity to develop their work and their future writing skill. We wish these writers well with their projects this year."
Youth Mentorship is one of The New Zealand Society of Authors successful mentoring programmes for writers and is made possible with the support by Creative New Zealand.