Nine funding rounds completed and Mātātuhi Foundation is only just scratching the literary surface.

The Mātātuhi Foundation is proud to announce funding for three more initiatives from writers, editors and organisations that will enhance or develop the literary landscape of New Zealand.

  • Mummys in Need Charitable Trust: supporting the workshop and publishing costs associated with the Young Mums Stories Project.

  • Kiwi Christmas Books Charitable Trust: supporting the scaling of an annual campaign that aims to get more Kiwi books into Kiwi homes at Christmas into a sustainable charitable trust.

  • Ngaio Marsh House and Heritage Trust: supporting the development of an education resource that engages secondary school students in the life and works of novelist, travel writer, artist, dramatist, and theatre director, Dame Ngaio Marsh.

This is the ninth funding round for the Foundation, established by the Auckland Writers Festival in 2018. Its aim is to support the literary community with funding of up to $5000 for new literature-related initiatives.

Outgoing Festival Director of the Auckland Writers Festival and driving force behind the establishment of the Mātātuhi Foundation, Anne O’Brien, reflects on her time as a Trustee.

“I’m enormously proud to have delivered, alongside previous Chair of the AWF Board Pip Muir and her governance team, this legacy entity.  Ambitious in scope and groundbreaking in structure, re-investing the Festival’s success into the wider literary sector to support innovative projects is an exemplar of leadership and an opportunity to support long-term change for the sector.  With almost 50 grants already distributed, and many more to come, I look forward to seeing it realise its full potential in coming years.”

Up to ten grants are available each year across two funding rounds (May and October).  Submissions must be made online at http://www.matatuhifoundation.co.nz/

Grants to date have supported workshops, websites, podcasts, teaching resources, and community projects, including the mentoring of youth and emerging writers, creating an online bibliography of books available in te reo, and projects that celebrate and preserve our literary history

 

ENDS.

 

 

 

Natalie Pearce