Our kaupapa
The Auckland Writers Festival established the Mātātuhi Foundation to support the growth and development of New Zealand's literary landscape.
To achieve that outcome, we fund literary projects that have the potential to achieve at least one of the following objectives:
The development of sustainable literary platforms that help grow awareness and readership of New Zealand books and writers.
Increasing engagement with New Zealand children’s literature
Building access to and awareness of New Zealand’s literary legacy
Find out more about us
Our Trustees
The Foundation is independent of the Auckland Writers Festival Trust, with a Committee comprised of three independent members, the Festival Trust Board Chair and the Festival Director.
The current Committee members are:
Paula Morris
Paula Morris (Ngāti Wai, Ngāti Whatua) is an award-winning fiction writer and essayist, and the 2019 Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellow. She teaches creative writing at the University of Auckland, and at schools and in community programmes. Paula is the founder of the Academy of New Zealand Literature, sits on the Māori Literature Trust, New Zealand Book Awards Trust, and the Coalition for Books and was appointed an MZNM in the 2019 New Year Honours.
Mark Broatch
Mark Broatch is literary editor of the NZ Listener, and has been a books editor for more than 15 years. A former Buddle Findlay Sargeson literary fellow and resident at the Michael King Writers Centre, he is the author of four books, with one forthcoming, and has been a peer assessor at Creative NZ Toi Aotearoa four times. Mark is passionate about increasing awareness and readership of NZ literature and authors across all genres in this country and overseas.
Catriona Ferguson
Catriona Ferguson is the Managing Director of Auckland Writers Festival Waituhi o Tāmaki.
She has previoiusly held roles with Creative New Zealand, Read NZ Te Pou Muramura and the Publishers Association of New Zealand Te Rau o Tākapu.
Anne Blackburn
Throughout a twenty-year career in governance, Anne has been involved in financial services, infrastructure, media property, and the creative sector; including past Chair of the Royal New Zealand Ballet. Her own passing acquaintance with writing came from an early period as a journalist. Other starter careers included diplomacy and economic policy advice before turning to banking in New York, London and on return to New Zealand.
Lyndsey Fineran
Lyndsey Fineran is the Artistic Director of Auckland Writers Festival Waituhi o Tāmaki. Prior to moving to Aotearoa, she spent a decade working for the Cheltenham Literature Festival, one of UK’s largest and most prestigious literary events; was a board member of the British Arts Festivals Association; a judge for the Desmond Elliot Prize and is an alumnus of The Bookseller’s Rising Stars programme which identifies and champions the publishing world’s future leaders.
She’s passionate about promoting good literature and creating pathways to the book industry for others.