Meet the Pasifika poet and 2024 Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellow making history.

“I’m ecstatic and deeply honored to be selected as the 2024 Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellow,” says Selina Tusitala Marsh. “Being the first Pasifika woman to receive this Fellowship is profoundly meaningful to me and, I hope, to the communities I serve. It's a testament to the growing recognition of Pacific voices in our literary landscape. I hope it opens doors for more voices to be heard and celebrated in the future.

It really is a dream come true – the chance to fully immerse myself in my writing and creativity for months and bring some long-awaited projects to life. I’m excited to dive into the ‘FETUSTARS’* project, a book I’ve had inside me since 2005. I’m eager to map the constellations of Pacific women's poetry across our literary firmament and ensure their starlight shines for generations to come.”

Geraldine Baumann, Chair of the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship Advisory Comittee, adds, “Selina Tusitala Marsh is an extraordinary talent, and it's a significant moment for us to have our first, long-overdue Pasifika fellow. As a former Poet Laureate, her voice has already shaped our literary landscape, and we are thrilled to see her receive this recognition.”

About the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship

Established in 1970, the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship is one of New Zealand's most prestigious and long-running Fellowships. It offers New Zealand writers the opportunity to live and write for three months or more in Menton, southern France, working on their chosen project or projects. The Fellowship provides a grant of $43,000 to cover travel, insurance, living, and accommodation costs.

During their residency, a room beneath the terrace of Villa Isola Bella is available for use to the Fellow as a study. Katherine Mansfield spent long periods at Villa Isola Bella in 1919 and 1920 after she contracted tuberculosis. The climate in southern France was thought to be beneficial to her health.

The Fellowship is open to creative writers across all genres, including fiction, children's fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, and playwriting. The recipient can undertake the residency any time in the calendar year following the announcement of the award.

The 2023 recipient, Charlotte Grimshaw, is currently in Menton.

Previous recipients include Sue Wootton, 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 managed by the Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi with the support of an Advisory Committee that includes members of the Winn-Manson Menton Trust. It is the only privately funded international literary fellowship in New Zealand.