Source: The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc)
1 November 2026
The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa is delighted to announce that James Norcliffe is the NZSA 2027 President of Honour, who will deliver the prestigious NZSA Janet Frame Memorial Lecture in 2027.
This prestigious honour is bestowed on a senior writer and long-serving NZSA member in recognition of their contribution to writing, writers and the literary arts sector in Aotearoa.
James Norcliffe is an award-winning poet, novelist and short story writer with work appearing in journals world-wide and translated into several languages. He has published eleven collections of poetry, most recently Deadpan (Otago University Press, 2018), Letter to ‘Oumuamua (Otago University Press, 2023) and has just published A Day Like No Other: Selected Poems also from Otago.
He has published more than a dozen novels for young people, including the Mallory, Mallory series (Penguin, 2020 and 2021), and The Crate, a ghost story set on the West Coast (Quentin Wilson Publishing). His dual narrative novel The Frog Prince (Penguin Random House) was published in 2022. His flash fictions have been included in Flash Fiction International (W. W. Norton, 2015) and Best Short Fictions.
Besides his long list of publications, and his work as a tutor, mentor and assessor, he was also poetry editor for the Christchurch Press for several years and had a long-time involvement in takahē magazine. As an editor, he worked with Harry Ricketts and Siobhan Harvey as editor of the major anthology Essential New Zealand Poems – Facing the Empty Page (Godwit/Random, 2014), and he co-edited Bonsai: Best small stories from Aotearoa New Zealand (Canterbury University Press 2018), Ko Aotearoa Tātou | We Are New Zealand (Otago University Press, 2020) and the annual ReDraft anthologies of youth writing (Clerestory Press) now in its 26th year. He is currently an editor for the online journal Flash Frontier. His residencies have included the Burns Fellowship, the Randell Cottage residency in Wellington, the Tasmanian Island of Residencies residency, and the University of Iowa International Writers’ Programme. He has read at festivals and occasions in Aotearoa-New Zealand, the UK, Australia, Canada, the USA and Colombia.
In 2022, James was awarded the Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement in Poetry, and in 2023 he was awarded the Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal.
On receiving the award James Norcliffe said, “I feel tremendously honoured to have been chosen as the President of Honour of NZSA (PEN) for 2027, but rather daunted as well given the distinguished company of writers who have previously been awarded this honour.
“I’m especially gratified as I have long cherished NZSA for being a vital organisation serving the needs of the writing whanau of Aotearoa / New Zealand. From my first experience at one of the society’s monthly meetings in Christchurch many years ago, I felt welcomed into the writing community and grateful for the friendship and fellowship the society encouraged. Over the years, the wider work of NZSA has developed and become more ever valuable: its advocacy role on behalf of literature and writing, its practical help and advice, its awards and rewards, the opportunities and contacts it provides. It is a wonderful organisation, and I feel proud that it has accorded me this distinction.”
NZSA President Dr Vanda Symon says, “James Norcliffe is not only an accomplished poet and writer of flash fiction and children’s literature, but he has worked tirelessly across many genre. He has done so much to support and encourage New Zealand writers, young and old. We are delighted to have James as our 2027 NZSA President of Honour.”
The NZSA President of Honour 2027 James Norcliffe will deliver the prestigious annual NZSA Janet Frame Memorial Lecture – a ‘view from the bridge’ on an aspect of the literary sector, at his discretion. NZSA will announce details next year.
Rollcall of NZSA President of Honour: authors.org.nz/about/president-of-honour/
James Norcliffe: jamesnorcliffe.com
The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa PEN NZ Inc is the principal organisation representing writers in Aotearoa. Founded in 1934, it administers prizes and awards, runs professional development programmes for writers, offers advice and advocacy. The NZSA works across the sector to make NZ writers and NZ books more visible and upholds principles of fair reward and creative rights.