The Centre for the Book is excited about Prof. Simone Marshall’s latest project, “The Book of Otago.”  In collaboration with the Otago Art Society, contributions are invited for an exhibition intended to reveal the past, present and future. Inspired by the early medieval manuscripts of remote far-flung places (the Book of Kells), the Book of Otago captures a moment in time – what Otago means to us all.

Artists, writers, children, schools, community groups and other Otago organisations are encoiuraged to submit entries showing what Otago means to you.  Entries must be one page, measuring no larger than 297mm x 420mm (A3), in portrait orientation. Works may use any medium – painting, textiles, digital, photography, etc. – but must be suitable for inclusion in a book.

Fancy not just a room but a historic cottage of one’s own?  The Centre’s friends at UBS, in partnership with the Robert Lord Writer’s Cottage, are pleased to announce that applications will soon open for the 2024 Summer Writer in Residence position.

The six-week Residency includes accommodation for six weeks in the Robert Lord Cottage, an office in the Book Shop, and a stipend of $2000. Applications are open from 1 July to 20 August 2023 and welcomes applications from emerging writers who are normally resident in New Zealand and who write for adults, young adults or children in any genre including poetry, drama, fiction, narrative non-fiction, graphic novels, biography, autobiography, essays or literary criticism.  Full details are available here: https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/cfb/files/2023/06/WIR-2024.pdf

So sharpen your pencils and start dreaming.  The Centre for the Book and many other City of Literature partners look forward to welcoming the selected author.