NZSA / Auckland Museum Research Grants

18 December 2015

NZSA / Auckland Museum Research Grants – Recipients Announced!

The New Zealand Society of Authors and Auckland War Memorial Museum are delighted to announce the recipients of the NZSA Auckland Museum National and Auckland Regional Grants.

The National Grant goes to Paolo Rotondo. Paolo is a screenwriter, playwright, filmmaker and actor who will be researching for his theatrical piece, Kororareka. Paolo will use the NZSA Auckland Museum Grant to research the earliest interaction of Pakeha and Māori.

The judging panel said “his script outline shows a bold re-imagining of the northern port as it existed decades before the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi was ever signed. The panel has some confidence that the theatre piece will become to a public performance in 2017, and feels the historical material available in the Museum library will assist with the accuracy of the pre-Treaty settings.” Paolo will receive a $4,000 grant to undertake his research for the next year.

The Auckland Regional grant of $2,500 is awarded to two writers for their joint application ‘Dear, dear, dear Papa'. Archaeologist David Veart and writer/researcher Lorraine Wilson have a project that will draw on the John Logan Campbell papers held at the Museum library.

The judging panel commented “the Veart and Wilson proposal promises to add a significant new chapter to the saga of John Logan Campbell, the so-called ‘Father of Auckland’ and to our understanding of Victorian children”.

Now in its fifth year, the NZSA / Auckland Museum National and Auckland Regional Grants are a wonderful opportunity for writers to develop a manuscript thanks to a generous stipend, guided access to the Museum’s documentary heritage collections and (for the National Grant award) four weeks accommodation at the Michael King Writers Centre. Past award winners have included flash fiction authors, historical novelists and a biographer writing about Auckland photographer Arthur Breckon.

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