Robert Burns Fellowship
The Robert Burns Fellowship is a New Zealand literary residency. Established in 1958 to coincide with bicentennial celebrations of the birth of Robert Burns, it is often claimed to be New Zealand's premier literary residency. The list of past fellows includes many of New Zealand's most notable 20th and 21st century writers.[1]
Robert Burns Fellowship | |
---|---|
Genre | Literary awards |
Begins | 1958 |
Frequency | Annual |
Country | New Zealand |
Inaugurated | 1958 |
Overview
The fellowship was established by an anonymous group (thought to have been instigated by Charles Brasch), to be awarded each year to "writers of imaginative literature, including poetry, drama, fiction, autobiography, biography, essays or literary criticism."[2]
The position is based at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. It provides a year's salary along with accommodation and an office for a writer in and around the university. Terms are for one year, although this may be extended to a second year in rare cases. The fellowship is named after Scotland's national poet Robert Burns. Dunedin was established by The Lay Association of the Free Church of Scotland in 1848, and one of its founding fathers, Thomas Burns, was a nephew of Burns.
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the fellowship, a book - Nurse to the imagination: Fifty years of the Robert Burns Fellowship - was launched in October 2008, along with commemorations to coincide with Dunedin's 2008 Arts Festival.
Robert Burns Fellows
The writers to have held the fellowship are listed below:
- 1959 Ian Cross
- 1960 Maurice Duggan
- 1961 John Caselberg
- 1962 R. A. K. Mason
- 1963 Maurice Shadbolt
- 1964 Maurice Gee
- 1965 Janet Frame
- 1966–67 James K. Baxter
- 1968 Ruth Dallas
- 1969 Warren Dibble
- 1970 O. E. Middleton
- 1971 Noel Hilliard
- 1972 Ian Wedde
- 1973 Graham Billing
- 1974 Hone Tuwhare
- 1975 Witi Ihimaera
- 1976 Sam Hunt
- 1977 Keri Hulme
- 1977–78 Roger Hall
- 1978 Peter Olds
- 1979 Michael A. Noonan
- 1980 Philip Temple
- 1981–82 William Sewell
- 1983 Rawiri Paratene
- 1984 Brian Turner
- 1985–86 Cilla McQueen
- 1987 Robert Lord
- 1988 John Dickson
- 1989 Renée
- 1990 David Eggleton
- 1991 Lynley Hood
- 1992 Owen Marshall
- 1993 Stuart Hoar
- 1994 Christine Johnston
- 1995 Elspeth Sandys
- 1996 Bernadette Hall
- 1997 Paddy Richardson
- 1998–99 Michael King
- 1999 Paula Boock
- 2000 James Norcliffe
- 2001 Jo Randerson
- 2002 Alison Wong
- 2003 Nick Ascroft
- 2003 Sarah Quigley
- 2004 Katherine Duignan
- 2005–06 Catherine Chidgey
- 2006 Dianne Ruth Pettis
- 2007 Laurence Fearnley
- 2008 Sue Wootton
- 2009 Michael Harlow
- 2010 Michele Powles
- 2011 Fiona Farrell
- 2012 Emma Neale
- 2013 David Howard
- 2014 Majella Cullinane
- 2015 Louise Wallace
- 2016 Victor Rodger
- 2017 Craig Cliff
- 2018 Rhian Gallagher
- 2019 Emily Duncan
- 2020 John Newton
See also
References
- Robinson, Roger; Wattie, Nelson (1998). The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature. Oxford University Press. p. 80. ISBN 0-19-558348-5.
- "Fine collection of fellows." Otago Daily Times, September 20, 1998, pp 49 and 53.