It’s a bumper year for NZ literary milestones. The Michael King Writers Centre marks 20 years of hosting writer residencies; NZ’s longest-running literary journal Landfall publishes its 250th issue; and creative writing teaching at Te Herenga Waka–Victoria University of Wellington, the home of the prestigious International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML), reaches its 50th anniversary.
Collectively their alumni lists read like a ‘who’s who’ of New Zealand letters. However, among the much-deserved milestone toasts exists a note of caution. Arts funding is more precarious than ever and a sustainable writing career feels an impossibility for many.
Madeleine Chapman meets former Writers Centre trustee Whiti Hereaka (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Arawa), Landfall editor Lynley Edmeades and IIML Director Damien Wilkins to reflect on their institutions’ contribution to NZ’s literary landscape to date, and discuss what’s required to help them survive and thrive to serve the next generation of writers.
Supported by the Michael King Writers Centre.
Also at Auckland Writers Festival
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