Local writers encouraged to apply for grant

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Writers with a connection with this region through family, or who have a Tairawhiti focus in their writing project, have until the end of the month to apply for a Margaret Spencer Writers Encouragement Trust grant.

Writers working in literary, historical or scientific fields are invited to apply for a grant of up to $5000 from the trust.

Applicants must have a connection with the region either through birth or family or because they are writing about this region.

Applicants' work is expected to have “reasonable literary merit and general appeal”.

The writing can be in English or te reo Maori.

The Tairawhiti Writers' Hub (TWH) was last year granted $2500 for a community-centred project.

The grant has helped TWH's editors Aaron Compton, Gillian Moon, Chris McMaster and Claire Price continue to put together an anthology called Kaituhi Rawhiti.

Kaituhi translates to writer, scribe, author, novelist; rawhiti is eastern.

As the name suggests all contributions or contributors are from Tairawhiti, or have a link to the East Coast.

After making their application for funding from the trust the TWH editors were asked to supply more information, Ms Moon said.

“We supplied them with our writing credentials and some examples of what might appear in the anthology.”

The grant will help with printing and publicity expenses and some of the money will be used to hire a professional editor.

Projects funded by the trust grant are expected to be completed within two years and the TWH team plan to have their book out by the end of this year.

The editorial team are still welcoming submissions. These can be from any genre but must be previously unpublished. Short stories can be up to 4000 words in length and submissions should include a short bio (100 words).

Submissions should be made as a Word document and sent to tairawhitiwrite@gmail.com

Application forms for a writers' encouragement grant are available from The Margaret Spencer Writers Encouragement Trust, c/o BDO, PO Box 169, Gisborne or email writerstrust@bdo.co.nz