NEW CRITERIA, NEW FUNDING POOL RELEASED

Could Your Project Be the Perfect Match for Our Literary Grant Funding?

Mātātuhi Foundation is excited to announce that grant applicants can now apply for up to $20,000 in funding in our October funding round, which closes on 31 October 2024. In previous years, the maximum grant per project was $5,000.  

To mark the 12th funding round, the Mātātuhi Foundation has released a revised set of funding criteria to help individuals and organisations seeking literary project funding to see whether there is a match.

"After nearly six years in the sector, the Foundation Trustees believed it was time to reassess how to serve best Mātātuhi's kaupapa of strengthening Aotearoa's literary landscape. Revising our criteria was one initiative and another was increasing the biannual funding pool to support capacity-building projects in the literary sector," said Anne Blackburn, Foundation Chair.


New Criteria for Funding

To be eligible, your literary project must deliver against one or more of the following objectives:

  • Helps develop a sustainable literary platform to grow awareness and readership of New Zealand books and writers.

  • Increases engagement with New Zealand children’s literature

  • Builds access to and awareness of New Zealand’s literary legacy

Applications meeting one or more of these objectives are welcome from individuals, groups or organisations with a strong track record in project delivery and clearly measurable project outcomes. 

To minimise the level of unsuccessful applications, the Trustees have also revised their list of projects they will not fund.  Grant funding is not available for*:

  • The development, publishing, or promoting of individual books or anthologies.

  • Projects which relate to screenwriting (for plays, films or TV) or are primarily performance-based in nature

All applications should be via our online form. For more information on applications, funding successes and criteria, please visit our website or contact us by email on info@matatuhifoundation.co.nz.


Since its launch in 2018, the Mātātuhi Foundation has funded close to 60 projects and awarded more than $360,000 of grant monies to the literary sector.  Skill building, digital resource development, facilitating youth access to NZ books and authors, celebrating excellence in writing along with preservation of NZ legacy texts have been just some of the projects that we have proudly supported.

Farewell to a Founding Trustee

In June 2024, founding Trustee, Peter Vial retired from his role. 

“Peter’s invaluable wisdom, commercial acumen, meticulous attention to detail, unwavering passion, and steadfast commitment to preserving New Zealand’s literary legacy will be sorely missed,” said fellow Trustee, Paula Morris.

An announcement on Peter’s replacement will follow in due course.  The current Foundation’s Trustees are Anne Blackburn (Founding Chair), Paula Morris (Founding Trustee), Lyndsey Fineran (Artistic Director, Auckland Writers Festival), Catriona Ferguson (Managing Director, Auckland Writers Festival).

Highlights Summary:

  • Our latest funding round is now OPEN and closes on 31 October 2024

  • Applications for up to $20,000 in funding will be accepted

  • All applications must meet one or more of the new priority areas - Sustainable Platform for NZ literature, NZ Children's Literature, NZ Literary Legacy

  • We will accept applications from past recipients

  • Project leads must have a strong track record in execution and delivering measurable outcomes

  • All applications must be submitted via our online form

Natalie Pearce