Randell Cottage Writers Fellowship

Randell Cottage | Literature

$28,026 of $16,500 Raised

$28,026 of $22,000 Stretch Goal Raised

170%
206 Generous Donors

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Stretch Goal Message

We had hardly dared hope to reach our first target and yet here we are!   We've been amazed and touched by the generosity of so many wonderful supporters, who can't wait to see Saraid safely established at Randell Cottage and free to work on her next novel.  

We know a number of you are still planning to contribute, which would take us even closer to being able to continue our work on behalf of Saraid and future residents in our heritage Cottage.  Our heartfelt thanks in advance for your help.


 

Overview

Since its foundation in 2001, the Randell Cottage Writers Fellowship has offered six months of rent-free accommodation each year to mid-career New Zealand writers.  They stay in a restored heritage Cottage in Thorndon, Wellington, with a stipend to cover their living costs.  Devastatingly, Creative New Zealand has pulled its grant for the Fellowship stipend as of 2025, citing limited funding availability.  


This means the Trust is urgently seeking donations to allow this year’s selected resident, Saraid de Silva - and her successors - to continue to take up the residency.  Saraid is due to begin her stay In July, so we need help very quickly!


Saraid was chosen for 2025 from a highly competitive group of applicants, based on her track record and the potential of the writing project she submitted. The selection committee’s judgment has been borne out by the recent inclusion of Saraid’s novel Amma in the longlist for the Jann Medlicott Acorn award for literature in the 2025 Ockham Awards and sensationally in the UK Women’s Prize for Fiction.


With your help, we can enable Saraid to fulfil her creative potential, while we work to preserve the Randell Cottage residency and its contribution to the NZ arts and cultural landscape.

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Donors

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  • Frances Lowe

  • Rachel O'Neill

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Project Updates

Saraid has arrived at Randell Cottage, thanks to our supporters

To all our generous donors: we are celebrating the very successful funding campaign that made it possible for the Randell Cottage Writers Trust to host our next writer in residence, Saraid de Silva.  Saraid has arrived safely and is settling in to the Cottage, where she was welcomed by Trust Chair Christine Hurley and Trustee Catherine van Melle.

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