NZSA announces mentorship program recipients
New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (NZSA) has announced the recipients of its 2026 mentorship program.
The mentees are:
- Vivienne Bailey (Paraparaumu)
- Cassandra Barnett (Waikato)
- Angela Barnett (Tāmaki Makaurau | Auckland)
- Catherine Bennett (Tāmaki Makaurau | Auckland)
- Michelle Cheever (Upper Moutere)
- Marcus Hobson (Aongatete)
- Margaret-Mary Hollins (Tāmaki Makaurau | Auckland)
- Annelies Judson (Tāmaki Makaurau | Auckland)
- Philip Luke (Te Awa Kairangi ki Uta | Upper Hutt)
- Jemma Richardson (Te Whanganui-a-Tara | Wellington)
- Lisa Stanley (Tāmaki Makaurau | Auckland)
- Kirsteen Ure (Tāmaki Makaurau | Auckland)
- Kirsty Wadsworth (Ngāmotu | New Plymouth).
Judges Paula Morris, Cassie Hart and Philippa Werry said, “We were impressed with the number of applications and the range of projects they represented – including historical, crime and speculative fiction, children’s and young adult fiction, multi-genre works, poetry collections and memoirs. Many of our writers are working on books with much potential, and it was difficult to narrow the list to just 13 mentorships.”
The writers will spend the rest of 2026 refining their skills and working on their craft under the mentorship of an experienced writer selected from a curated list of industry mentors.
Running since 1999, the NZSA Mentorship program is offered every year by the NZSA to “foster and develop emerging writers to hone their craft with the support of established practitioners.”
Judges said, “We encourage applicants who were unsuccessful this time to keep working on their craft, and to take advantage of all the resources the NZSA offers.”
More information is available on the website.
Category: Local news
