Source: New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc)
4 September 2026
The 2026 Tāwhia Copyright Aotearoa (TCA) and New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa PEN NZ Inc (NZSA) Research Grants have been awarded to four writers in Aotearoa.
The $5,000 grants support local writers who wish to undertake research for a fiction or non-fiction writing project.
The selection panel of Steph Matuku, Philip Garnock Jones and Kerry Sunderland says they are in awe of the standard of applications this year, from both experienced and emerging writers.
“It was an incredibly strong field, which made for a very difficult job selecting the final four,” they say.
Join us in congratulating the 2026 TCA | NZSA Research Grants recipients!
Beb Ngaruko with project ‘Jungle Journal: A Memoir of Civil War, Exile, and the Search for Meaning’
Bede Ngaruko is a Burundian-born writer, engineer, interpreter, and public speaker based in Auckland, New Zealand. He lived as a refugee across East and Southern Africa before resettling in New Zealand in 2010.
His memoir, Jungle Journal: A Memoir of Civil War, Exile, and the Search for Meaning, traces his journey from civil war and exile to rebuilding a life in Aotearoa. Blending personal narrative with historical reflection, the book explores resilience, identity, belonging, and the enduring search for meaning across cultures.
The selection panel says Ngaruko’s project will contribute to wider conversations about refugees, migration, belonging and cross-cultural understanding.
“The writing sample featured poetic, thought-provoking prose, emotional depth and precision, demonstrating exceptional skill and maturity,” they say.
Although Ngaruko is an emerging writer, the memoir manuscript is already substantially developed, with the grant providing valuable support to complete it for submission. The selection panel expressed strong confidence in both the quality of the work and its publishing potential.
“[Ngaruko is] an outstanding new literary voice to watch,” they say.
Monique Fiso with project ‘How to put down a Hāngī’
Monique Fiso (Ngā Rauru, Ngāti Ruanui, Samoa) is an award-winning chef and writer. She is known for her contribution to the revitalisation of Māori and Pasifika cuisine, and for breaking down barriers in the culinary world. She is working with Katie Monteith on this project. Monteith is passionate about the natural environment and applies the principles of permaculture to her life. She dreams of growing an abundant ngahere kai (food forest) capable of feeding her whānau and the wider community.
They are joined by award-winning artist, Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Ngāti Kahungunu, Kāi Tahu) whose illustrations are known for their rich symbolism and vibrant detail.
How to put down a hāngī is an in depth guide to the past, present and how-to of hāngī. It gives the reader an overview of the traditions and kai of our ancestors, as well as detailed instructions for undertaking a safe and successful hāngī.
The selection panel says How to put down a hāngī is a practical and culturally significant project that addresses a clear gap in the market.
“By exploring the past, present, and future of hāngī, it has the potential to strengthen cultural knowledge and connection while creating a lasting resource for generations to come,” they say.
Given the expertise of Fiso and Monteith, the strength of the proposed research plan, and the fact there is an established publisher already on board, the selection panel felt confident in the project.
“When this book makes its way into the world, it will have a wide and meaningful impact,” they say.
Together, Fiso and Monteith co-own culinary creative, Hiakai. Founded in 2016, Hiakai has been highly influential and the pair have gained an international reputation for their storytelling through kai.
Wendy Parkins for project ‘Fenic’
Wendy Parkins is a Dunedin writer of fiction and non-fiction. Her novel, The Defiance of Frances Dickinson, won Best First Novel at the Ngaio Marsh Awards in 2025. As a former Professor of Victorian Literature, Parkins is especially interested in women’s lives in the nineteenth century.
In this new project, a historical novel called Fenice, she aims to combine a strong foundation in historical research with a gripping narrative in the Dickensian tradition by continuing the story of a character from Dickens’ Dombey and Son, centred on 1850s Dunedin. Re-imagining the story of Edith Dombey will also provide an opportunity to expand the lens of such stories, in the light of contemporary understandings of gender, indigeneity, and the legacy of colonisation.
The selection panel says Fenice is a historical novel that takes a character from Dickens and invents a new story for her.
“What would Edith Dombey do next, after Dickens left her, living in disgrace at the end of Dombey and Son? The author reimagines the life of Edith after she emigrates to Dunedin and aims to use this premise to explore contemporary themes through the lens of the past,” they say.
The selection panel commended the strength of the writing, noting its accomplished classical prose and compelling tone, as well as the originality of the concept.
“While the research plan is ambitious, the author’s qualifications and experience will support a historically rich and authentic novel,” they say.
Duncan Sarkies for project ‘Laser Guy’
Duncan Sarkies is a writer of novels, theatre, and screen stories for film and television. His most recent novel, Star Gazers, was published in 2025 and longlisted for the New Zealand Book Awards in 2026. In his work he uses a wide variety of tools, amongst them satire, allegory and humour, to explore big questions that we face as a society, encouraging people to examine their own motives and assumptions, attempting to fuel the fight for a fairer and more just society.
Laser Guy is about a freelance hero who is taking on jobs that are of dubious benefit to society. The protagonist will take on a variety of jobs that contrast the disparity between the moral value of their actions and the economic rewards they receive. The whole novel will be a wild ride into cognitive dissonance and the slippery slopes that lead us to make choices that hurt others, despite our desires to be ‘good people’.
His research work will largely focus on the impacts of current and proposed policies for how governments and city council’s treat the homeless. It will examine the impacts of the proposed ‘move on orders’ legislation, how it is likely to be implemented, what impact it has on the people whose lives are being relocated and the psychological impact on the people whose job it is to enforce these measures. He will study how it has been done in various places around the country, how new proposals will work in practice, and how it has been done overseas, in places like Brisbane which is preparing itself for an Olympics and taking large measures against its homeless communities.
The selection panel says Laser Guy has an original and compelling premise, using a satirical superhero story to explore timely social issues, including homelessness and the tensions of late-stage capitalism.
“The writing sample was fast-paced, entertaining, witty and thought-provoking, highlighting its strong comic sensibility alongside its meaningful social commentary,” they say.
They say Sarkies’ experience as a writer, combined with a sophisticated research plan and the support of a committed publisher, made this a stand out application.
TCA and NZSA are delighted to assist New Zealand authors in their research efforts. Research Grants are funded through the TCA Cultural Fund, which derives its revenue from a 2% share of domestic licensing income.
TCA and NZSA would like to thank the 2026 Selection Panel – Steph Matuku, Philip Garnock Jones and Kerry Sunderland.
The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa is proud to be administering the awards in 2026.
Tāwhia Copyright Aotearoa (formerly Copyright Licensing NZ) plays a key role in making creative rights valuable assets for all New Zealanders, be they rightsholders like authors, publishers and artists, or users such as educators, students and businesses. TCA provides licences to help make copying, scanning and sharing printed works easy and legal.
New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc) was established in 1934 and is the principal organisation representing writers’ interests in NZ. A national office oversees 8 branches and hubs, administers prizes and awards, runs professional development programmes, advocates for the sector and to raise the visibility of NZ writers and NZ writing. It works with Next Page, its developing Youth writer’s network and in partnership with Ngā Kaituhi Māori.
Tāwhia Copyright Aotearoa: https://www.tawhia.nz/
New Zealand Society of Authors: https://authors.org.nz/