The Fulbright-Creative New Zealand Pacific Writer’s Residency is for an established New Zealand writer of Pacific heritage to carry out work on a creative writing project exploring Pacific identity, culture or history at the University of Hawai‘i for three months.
One award valued at NZ$33,300 is granted each year, towards three months of writing.

This award is offered in partnership with Creative New Zealand, the national arts development agency developing, investing in and advocating for the arts.
The recipient will based at the Center for Pacific Islands Studies at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa in Honolulu for either the Fall (August-November) or Spring (February-May) semester of the US academic year.
Hawai‘i has been identified as a strategic location for artists and is considered the hub of Pacific writing with numerous universities, library resources, networks, writers’ forums and publishers. It is also an important link to the mainland US and has a strong indigenous culture.
Previous grantees have included writers Coco Solid, Sarona Aiono-Iosefa and Marisa Maepu, poets Tusiata Avia, Karlo Mila and Daren Kamali, filmmakers Sima Urale and Toa Fraser, and playwright Victor Rodger.
David Fane
Fulbright-Creative New Zealand Pacific Writer’s Residency
David Fane, a New Zealand-born Samoan, will undertake a Fulbright Creative New Zealand Pacific Writers residency in Hawai’i
While there he will network with the local creative community through writing and workshops, undertake research within the Tagata Moana community in Hawai’i, and work on a new piece.
Gina Cole
Fulbright-Creative New Zealand Pacific Writer’s Residency
Gina Cole from Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, New Zealand will attend a three-month writer’s residency at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa to work on a science fiction fantasy novel in the genre of Pasifikafuturism.
Gina graduated with an LLB (Hons) from the University of Auckland in 1991, a Master of Jurisprudence in 1995, a Master of Creative Writing (First Class Hons) in 2014 and a PhD in Philosophy from Massey University in 2021.
David Eggleton
Fulbright-Creative New Zealand Pacific Writer’s Residency
David Eggleton from Dunedin will research, develop and complete a collection of poems about his Pasifika heritage at the Center for Pacific Islands Studies (CPIS) at the University of Hawai’i, Manoa.
David is an award-winning poet, writer, critic, editor, and arts journalist whose work has appeared in a wide range of publications.
Read more about David here.
Toa Fraser
Fulbright-Creative New Zealand Pacific Writer’s Residency
Toa Fraser from Auckland used his Residency to write the second draft of a screenplay for a film adaptation of Robert Louis Stephenson’s novella The Beach at Falesā at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa in Honolulu.
Toa is a playwright and filmmaker, who directed the films No.
2 and The Dead Lands.
Leilani Tamu
Fulbright-Creative New Zealand Pacific Writer’s Residency
Karlo Mila
Fulbright-Creative New Zealand Pacific Writer’s Residency
Karlo Mila (Tongan, Pākehā) from Wellington wrote a book of poetry and drafted her first novel on her Residency.
She graduated with a PhD in Sociology form Massey University in 2011 and completed her Postdoctoral Fellowship at The University of Auckland in 2015.
“As a Pasifika artist, the opportunity to work in Hawaii was a dream come true.
It is thriving with Pasifika and indigenous scholars and creatives – and simply being there expanded my own universe to incorporate so much more.
Hawaii itself is magical.
My novel grew – almost of its own accord – the poetry almost seemed to write itself – because the environment and the people were so conducive to creativity.
I cannot recommend the experience enough.
“