Pip Adam Receives The Michael King Writer’s Fellowship

Creative New Zealand is pleased to announce Pip Adam as the recipient of the Michael King Writer’s Fellowship (the Fellowship). The $100,000 Fellowship is awarded every two years to an established New Zealand writer of literature to work on a major project.

Pip Adam is an award-winning novelist and short story writer. Her first book, Everything We Hoped For (2010), won the NZ Post Best First Book Award. Her third book, The New Animals (2018), won the Acorn Foundation Fiction Prize at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. Pip’s latest novel, Audition (2023), was shortlisted for the Ockham New Zealand Book Award for Fiction. 

Pip’s project for the Fellowship is to write three works for performance, starting with an adaptation of Audition.This is new territory for Pip, whose works to date have been produced as books for readers. 

“I’m interested in what happens if I write for performance rather than for reading. I'm going to write three works over the two years. The umbrella they all come under is the idea of life at the end of capitalism. I think we're in a moment where capitalism is either in its death throes, or it's about to have another magnificent reincarnation, and I'm interested in capturing this time,” Pip says. 

Malcolm Burgess, Lead Practice Adviser, Literature at Creative New Zealand says the assessment panel was united in recommending Pip Adam as the recipient.  

“Pip’s proposal was compelling; she presented a bold, innovative idea that the panel agreed was a great match for the purpose of the Fellowship. The shift to writing for performance will develop Pip’s practice and push her to take risks. That’s high stakes for an established writer with a growing international reputation,” Malcolm says. 

Pip is grateful for the safety net the Fellowship will provide as she takes on the project.

“This is the first time I've ever started a project not knowing what the end product will be. But I just feel like this exploration is going to be really fruitful for me,” Pip says. 

“I’m hoping the challenge of writing for performance rather than publication will unlock something new in my practice and craft. Although I may use some of the tools of performance - improvisation, movement, collective creation - to create this work, my final product will be three written pieces which will form a roadmap for future performance.”

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