CLNZ/NZSA $25,000 Writers' Award 2020: Applications Open Early To Support Writers

$25,000 award to a New Zealand writer

• one of the highest non-fiction prizes in New Zealand literature
• presented by the New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA) and Copyright Licensing New Zealand (CLNZ)
• brought forward by three months to support NZ writers

CLNZ and NZSA have brought forward the application process for the 2020 Writers' Award as a response to falling incomes and lost funding opportunities during the covid-19 lockdown. The award, which is usually presented in the last quarter of the year, is one of the highest non-fiction prizes in New Zealand literature and will provide financial support and stability to a writer for their non-fiction project.

2019 winner of the Writers' Award,

Rebecca Macfie

said winning the award helped and supported many areas of her writing life.

"Winning the Writers’ Award last year was a huge honour, and I am enormously grateful to the NZSA and CLNZ. Financially, it was a great help, as my biography of Helen Kelly is an all-consuming project so I haven’t generally attempted to supplement my income through freelance writing. But even more importantly, it really helped stiffen my resolve and lift my morale."

The CLNZ/NZSA Writers’ Award is made possible through CLNZ’s Cultural Fund. The Cultural Fund’s objectives are to:

Protect

– writers and publishers’ ability to earn revenue from their works

Support

– the creation and production of new works and assist the commercial success of New Zealand works

Grow

– the number of works created and skills in the industry

We encourage non-fiction writers to consider applying for this award. Applications for the full range of non-fiction genre are welcome. Applicants must be New Zealand citizens or permanent residents and writers of proven merit.

Applications must be completed online by 4pm on Friday 29 May 2020

The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc) is proud to be administering this award in 2020.

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