The Michael King Writers Centre is a writing centre on the slope of Takarunga / Mount Victoria in Devonport, Auckland, New Zealand, which offers residencies to early career and experienced writers. It was established in 2005 in honour of New Zealand historian Michael King.

About the centre

The centre is based at the Signalman's House, a historic house built in 1898, on Takarunga / Mount Victoria in Devonport, Auckland. the centre had hosted around 140 writers-in-residence. Residencies are of short length to encourage applicants of diverse backgrounds. residencies are offered for between two and three weeks, although in the past they have been offered for as long as six months. The centre also offers short-term accommodation for visiting writers on a paying basis.

History

At the memorial service for historian and writer Michael King in 2004,

Gordon McLauchlan Gordon William McLauchlan (9 January 1931 – 26 January 2020) was a New Zealand writer and social historian. He became a popular media personality through his work on both television and radio. Early life and family Born in Dunedin on 9 Januar ...

suggested that a writers' centre in King's name should be set up. The centre was established through a charitable trust; together with McLauchlan, founding trustees included

Christine Cole Catley Dame Christine McKelvie Cole Catley (née Bull; 19 December 1922 – 21 August 2011) was a New Zealand journalist, publisher and author. Career Christine McKelvie Bull was born in 1922 in Wellington, New Zealand. She grew up on a farm in Hunt ...

Witi Ihimaera Witi Tame Ihimaera-Smiler (; born 7 February 1944) is a New Zealand author. Raised in the small town of Waituhi, he decided to become a writer as a teenager after being convinced that Māori people were ignored or mischaracterised in literat ...

and Geoff Chapple. The centre officially opened in July 2005. The first writer-in-residence was Geoff Chapple. Between 2007 and 2020,

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

residencies were offered at the centre, supported by

Creative New Zealand The Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa (Creative New Zealand) is the national arts development agency of the New Zealand government, investing in artists and arts organisations, offering capability building programmes and developing markets ...

, which required the writer to spend time at the university's English department. In 2010 the centre began offering Māori writers' residencies, developed with the assistance of Witi Ihimaera. In July 2011 the centre offered a free week's residency for four writers affected by the

Christchurch earthquake A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. local time (23:51 UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the entire of the Canterbury region in the South Island, centred south-east ...

. In 2014, in partnership with several organisations including the Shanghai Writers' Association, the centre began running an exchange whereby Chinese writers could undertake a residency at the centre and New Zealand writers could undertake a residency in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

. In 2021 the centre announced a new exchange programme with

Varuna, The Writers' House Varuna, The National Writers’ House is Australia's national residential writers' house located in Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia. The former home of writers Eleanor and Eric Dark, it was gifted to the Australia ...

in the Blue Mountains, Sydney. From 2008 to 2019 the centre offered a programme of workshops for young writers, and since 2012 has published a literary journal of students' work titled ''Signals''. The programme was put on hold in 2020, and the centre has instead run the Signals Awards for writers aged 16 to 21.

Notable residents

Notable recipients of Michael King Writers Centre residencies have included: *

Rachel Barrowman Rachel Barrowman (born 1963) is a New Zealand author and historian, with a focus on New Zealand cultural and intellectual history. Career Barrowman's biography of R.A.K. Mason, ''Mason: The Life of R.A.K. Mason'', won the 2004 Montana New Zeala ...

(worked on biography of

Maurice Gee Maurice Gough Gee (born 22 August 1931) is a New Zealand novelist. He is one of New Zealand's most distinguished and prolific authors, having written over thirty novels for adults and children, and has won numerous awards both in New Zealand an ...

, 2010) *

Ann Beaglehole Ann Beaglehole (; born 1948) is a New Zealand writer and historian. In the 1950s, her family emigrated from Hungary to New Zealand as refugees following the Hungarian Revolution. She earned a PhD in history and a master's degree in creative wr ...

(2009) *

Eleanor Catton Eleanor Catton (born 24 September 1985) is a New Zealand novelist and screenwriter. Born in Canada, Catton moved to New Zealand as a child and grew up in Christchurch. She completed a master's degree in creative writing at the International In ...

(wrote the final draft of ''

The Luminaries ''The Luminaries'' is a 2013 novel by Eleanor Catton. Set in New Zealand's South Island in 1866, the novel follows Walter Moody, a prospector who travels to the West Coast settlement of Hokitika to make his fortune on the goldfields. Instead ...

'', 2012) * Geoff Chapple (first resident, 2005) * Gina Cole (established Pasifika writer-in-residence, 2021) *

Dick Corballis Richard Patrick Corballis (24 March 1946 – 20 July 2016) was a New Zealand academic who specialised in the study of Irish literature, and particularly the writings of James Joyce. Early life, family and education Born on 24 March 1946, Corbal ...

(worked on biography of

Bruce Mason Bruce Edward George Mason (28 September 1921 – 31 December 1982) was a significant playwright in New Zealand who wrote 34 plays and influenced the cultural landscape of the country through his contribution to theatre. In 1980, he was appo ...

, 2008) *

Bill Direen William Direen (born 1957) is a New Zealand writer and performer. He graduated from Canterbury University (Christchurch) with the John Tinline Prize (1980) and M.A. Hons. (1st). His masters thesis was titled ''The influence of Japanese noh, B ...

(

residency, 2010) *

David Eggleton David Eggleton (born 1952) is a New Zealand poet, critic and writer. Eggleton has been awarded the Ockham New Zealand Book Award for poetry and in 2019 was appointed New Zealand Poet Laureate, a title he held until 2022. Eggleton's work has app ...

(wrote ''Time of the Icebergs'' poetry collection, 2009) *

Chris Else Chris Else (born 1942) is the New Zealand author of novels, collections of short stories, and poems. Biography Born in Cottingham, Yorkshire in the United Kingdom, Chris Else emigrated to New Zealand in 1956. He was educated at Auckland Gra ...

(2012) * Tracy Farr (2009, 2018, 2021) *

Karyn Hay Karyn Hay (born 1959 in Auckland) is a New Zealand author and broadcaster. She came to fame as the presenter of 1980s music TV show Radio with Pictures before going on to an extensive career in television and radio. Early life Hay grew up in t ...

(2018) *

Whiti Hereaka Whiti Hereaka (born 1978) is a New Zealand playwright, novelist and screenwriter and a barrister and solicitor. She has held a number of writing residencies and appeared at literary festivals in New Zealand and overseas, and several of her books ...

(worked on play ''Rewena'', 2012; finished draft of novel ''Kurangaituku'', 2017) * Roger Horrocks (2015) *

Anna Jackson Anna Jackson (born 1967) is a New Zealand poet, fiction and non-fiction writer and an academic. Biography Jackson grew up in Auckland and now lives in Wellington. She has an MA from the University of Auckland and a DPhil from Oxford University ...

(2017) *

Jade Kake Bonnie Jade Kake is a New Zealand Māori architectural designer of Ngāpuhi, Te Arawa and Whakatōhea iwi. She specialises in designing communities and housing based on a traditional model of living known as papakāinga. Biography Kake was bor ...

(emerging Māori writer-in-residence, 2019) *

Anne Kennedy Anne Kennedy (born 1959 Wellington, New Zealand) is a New Zealand novelist, poet, and filmwriter. Background Educated in Wellington, Kennedy was a piano teacher and music librarian in her early years. She graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Co ...

(University of Auckland residency, 2014) *

Sarah Laing Sarah Laing (born 1973) is a New Zealand author, graphic novelist and graphic designer. Background Laing was born in 1973 in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, United States and grew up in Palmerston North, New Zealand. As a teenager she moved to W ...

(worked on graphic novel about

Katherine Mansfield Kathleen Mansfield Murry (née Beauchamp; 14 October 1888 – 9 January 1923) was a New Zealand writer, essayist and journalist, widely considered one of the most influential and important authors of the modernist movement. Her works are celebra ...

, 2013; also 2008) * Colleen Maria Lenihan (emerging Māori writer-in-residence, worked on short story collection ''Kōhine'', 2019) * Kirsten McDougall (2019) *

Fiona McGregor Fiona Kelly McGregor (born 1965) is an Australian writer, performance artist and art critic whose third novel, '' Indelible Ink'', won the 2011 The Age Book of the Year award. Early life and education McGregor was born in Sydney, New South W ...

(through New Zealand-Australia writers' residency exchange, 2023) *

Frankie McMillan Frankie McMillan is a writer of poetry, fiction and flash fiction. She lives in Christchurch, New Zealand. Biography Frankie McMillan was born in Christchurch in 1950. She studied education and sociology at the University of Canterbury. In t ...

(University of Auckland residency, 2017) * Arthur Meek (wrote play about

Mary Martin Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in '' South Pacific'' (194 ...

, 2011) *

Kyle Mewburn Kyle Mewburn (born 1963) is an Australian-New Zealand writer whose books have won many prizes and awards. She lives in Millers Flat, Central Otago, writes picture books and junior fiction and is a popular and well-known speaker at schools and li ...

(2021) * Kelly Ana Morey (Māori writer-in-residence, completed novel ''Daylight Second'', 2014) * Vincent O'Sullivan (worked on biography of

Ralph Hotere Hone Papita Raukura "Ralph" Hotere (11 August 1931 – 24 February 2013) was a New Zealand artist. He was born in Mitimiti, Northland and is widely regarded as one of New Zealand's most important artists. In 1994 he was awarded an honorary do ...

, 2009) * Lawrence Patchett (emerging writer-in-residence, 2018) *

Joan Rosier-Jones Joan Rosier-Jones (born 27 December 1940 in Christchurch) is a New Zealand novelist, playwright, short story writer and nonfiction writer, and teacher. She completed a Teacher's- A Certificate in Christchurch Teachers' College in 1958–59 and ...

(2008, 2010) * Maria Samuela (emerging Pasifika writer-in-residence, 2020) *

Elspeth Sandys Elspeth Somerville Sandys (born 1940) is a New Zealand author and script writer. Background Born in Timaru in 1940, she grew up in Dunedin. She was adopted by the Alley family and was exposed to literature from a young age by Rewi Alley. ...

(2016) *

Ian Wedde Ian Curtis Wedde (born 17 October 1946) is a New Zealand poet, fiction writer, critic, and art curator. Biography Born in Blenheim, New Zealand, Wedde lived in East Pakistan and England as a child before returning to New Zealand. He attended ...

(wrote novel ''The Catastrophe'', 2009) * Philippa Werry (2019) *

Mere Whaanga Mere Whaanga is a New Zealand writer, illustrator, historian, researcher and academic whose work includes bilingual picture books, history books and conference papers. Several of her books have been shortlisted for or won awards and she herself h ...

(Māori writer-in-residence, 2015)

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2005 establishments in New Zealand New Zealand writers' organisations New Zealand literary awards Writers' centres and houses Artist residencies