Randell Cottage Writers' Residency


The Randell Cottage Writers' Residency is a literary residency in New Zealand. It is awarded annually to one New Zealand writer and one French writer, comprising six months' rent-free accommodation at Randell Cottage in Wellington and a stipend. The recipients are usually mid-career writers. The cottage itself is listed with Heritage New Zealand.

History

The residency is based at Randell Cottage in the suburb of Thorndon, Wellington. The cottage was built in 1868 by William Randell, the great-grandfather of children's author Beverley Randell. He and his wife Sarah raised their 10 children at the cottage. After seventy years of the cottage being owned by other families, Beverley and her husband, Hugh Price, bought the cottage in 1994 and restored it to how it had been at the time of William's ownership.
In 2002, on the suggestion of her daughter Susan Price, Beverley Randell decided to gift the cottage to a trust for the purpose of setting up a writers' residency. The plan was partly inspired by an attempt to set up a similar residency in memory of the poet Lauris Edmond, which had been unsuccessful. It was the first dedicated writers' residency in Wellington. In part, the residency reciprocates the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship, which provides a residency based in France for New Zealand writers. The trust has been supported by Creative New Zealand, the New Zealand–France Friendship Fund and the Wellington City Council. Founding trustees included Fiona Kidman and Vincent O'Sullivan.
Kirsty Gunn, 2009 writer-in-residence, described the cottage:
Caroline Laurent, the 2021 French recipient, was unable to take up the residency during the year due to COVID-19 border restrictions. She eventually was able to take up her residency in December 2022.
In late 2024 it was reported that the fellowship was experiencing funding difficulties after Creative New Zealand declined its funding application for the next three years. The trust sought crowd-funding to enable a 2025 residency.

Heritage registration

Randell Cottage was registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust on 14 December 1995. The building has a Category II classification. The registration covers the building and the section it is placed on and the rationale for the listing was the "historical and cultural heritage significance and value". Some of the household items uncovered during the restoration of the cottage are held at Te Papa.

Writers-in-residence

The recipients of the residency have been:
YearNew Zealand recipientFrench recipient
2002Peter WellsNadine Ribault
2003Tim CorballisCharles Juliet
2004Michael HarlowPierre Furlan
2005RenéeDominique Mainard
2006Beryl FletcherAnnie Saumont
2007Whiti Hereaka
2008Jennifer Compton
2009Kirsty GunnFariba Hachtroudi
2010Pat WhiteYann Apperry
2011Peter Walker
2012Vivienne Plumb
2013Denis WelchEstelle Nollet
2014Tina Makereti
2015Witi Ihimaera
Owen Marshall
2016Stephanie JohnsonNicolas Fargues
2017Stephen DaisleyJosef Schovanec
2018James Norcliffe
2019Paddy RichardsonKarin Serres
2020Michalia ArathimosAmaury da Cunha
2021Lynn Davidson
2022Rose LuCaroline Laurent
2023Rachel O'NeillSedef Ecer
2024Hinemoana BakerJulien Blanc-Gras
2025Saraid de SilvaTitaua Peu
2026