Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship

History of the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship

For over fifty years, since 1970, the Fellowship has allowed a New Zealand writer to live and write for three months or more in Menton in southern France. There, they have access to the writing room in Villa Isola Bella where Katherine Mansfield once lived and worked.

Previous recipients include Charlotte Grimshaw, Paula Morris, Carl Nixon, Kate Camp, Anna Jackson, Mandy Hager, Greg McGee, Justin Paton, Chris Price, Ken Duncum, Damien Wilkins, Jenny Pattrick, Stuart Hoar, Dame Fiona Kidman, Ian Wedde and other prestigious writers such as Bill Manhire, Janet Frame, Witi Ihimaera, Elizabeth Knox, Lloyd Jones, Roger Hall, Marilyn Duckworth, Michael King and Allen Curnow.

The Fellowship is now managed by the Arts Foundation with the support of an Advisory Committee that includes members of the Winn-Manson Menton Trust.

Is this for you?

The primary aim of the residency is for the writer to work on a project in a new environment, and to complete, or make substantial progress with, a body of writing during the residency. The Fellowship also aims to raise awareness of New Zealand literature in France, while developing the potential of the writer through exposure to new cultures and ideas. 

To be eligible for the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship you must: 

• Be a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident who has lived continuously in New Zealand for three years prior to making the application (this requirement excludes any short trips out of the country).
• Be a professional practising writer with a record of achievement.
• Have the ability to produce a work of substantial literary quality if awarded the Fellowship.
• Have the potential to be an ambassador for New Zealand and for New Zealand literature.

The recipient of the Fellowship will be required to:

• Conduct themselves in an appropriate manner and have the self-reliance and resourcefulness to cope with an overseas residency.
• Liaise with contacts and maintain the goodwill of all those involved with the Fellowship, especially in Menton (for example, cooperate with any reasonable requirements from the Menton City Council).
• Ensure there is a printed acknowledgement in any published work that results from the tenure of the Fellowship.
• Attend any Fellowship ceremonies and take part in media interviews, publicity and promotion associated with the Fellowship. The recipient will also have an artist profile page on the Arts Foundation website, www.thearts.co.nz.
• If asked, make one public appearance on behalf of the Fellowship. This may include participating in a Festival or other special event.
• Arrange accommodation and travel.
• Insure against sickness, accident and death occurring while overseas and provide a receipt for the premium prior to departure.

We would also be grateful if you:

• Would participate in social activities to promote any sponsor, partner or supporter of the Arts Foundation and/or the Fellowship and the Fellowship itself.
• Keep in touch with the Arts Foundation team and send appropriate content such as photographs, writing excerpts or content for social media and our website from time to time.

Selection Criteria

Your application will be assessed by an independent panel chaired by a non-voting member of the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship Advisory Committee of the Arts Foundation of New Zealand.

The selection panel will assess which application best demonstrates one or more of the following:

• How the Fellowship will develop the career of a writer whose work has already made a considerable impact, or
• How the Fellowship will contribute to a new career direction for a established writer.
• Whether the Fellowship is an opportunity for a successful writer who has had little previous opportunity to travel.
• The likely impact the residency will have on the writer’s work.
• How the writer will contribute to the promotion and continuance of the Fellowship.

We encourage a diverse range of applications and want to ensure potential Fellows are aware of other opportunities that may coincide with their time in Menton:

• International Comic Festival in Angoulême — traditionally held in late January (comics, graphic novels, drawn literature in general)
• Rochefort Pacifique Festival (cinema and literature) — usually in late April
• St Tropez Film Festival (Australian and New Zealand cinema) — mid to late October
• Events that can be organised in partnership with the embassy, the Association France–Nouvelle-Zélande in Paris, the Société des Océanistes (Musée du Quai Branly - Paris), and/or the Menton Library.

Proudly supported by Craigs Investment Partners