Exciting New Partnership...

The Caselberg House will be home for two new University of Otago writing fellowships which will facilitate and encourage literary and cultural exchange between Ireland, Scotland and New Zealand.

The new fellowships represent a partnership between Otago’s Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies (CISS) and the Caselberg Trust. Holders of the fellowships will be housed at the Caselberg Cottage at Broad Bay on the Otago Peninsula for the months of September and October. They will receive a stipend, the use of a car, and office space in the Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies at Otago’s Dunedin campus.

The two-month fellowships will be open to writers of Irish or Scottish birth, residence or affiliation. Fellowship holders will be invited to address and mentor students in Otago’s Irish and Scottish Studies and Creative Writing programmes and will participate in public events.

Visiting Professor of Scottish Studies and Crime Fiction Professor Val McDermid welcomed the two new scholarships.

“Having already spent ten weeks based at CISS both in Dunedin and at the Caselberg Cottage, I can testify to the potential value of these fellowships both to the writers and to the Centre. The exchange of ideas, the establishment of creative relationships and the deepening of cross-cultural understanding will enrich everyone concerned. It's a programme of tremendous promise all round,” she says.
 

THE INAUGURAL FELLOWS

The inaugural CISS Scottish Writers Fellowship will be held jointly by Scottish crime writer Craig Robertson (the Sunday Times-bestselling author of The Photographer and Murderabilia) and American-Scottish novelist and screenwriter Alexandra Sokoloff (author of the bestselling Huntress/FBI series). Robertson and Sokoloff will take up their Fellowship in September 2020.

Craig Robertson says he is delighted and honoured to accept the award in its first year. “New Zealand is a country I’ve only ever visited briefly, and I welcome the chance to learn more about its culture and people. Above all, I appreciate this marvellous opportunity to clear valuable writing time in the beautiful environs of Broad Bay and Dunedin and work on my next novel.”

Alexandra Sokoloff is also excited about the opportunity.
“I’m looking forward to the adventure of New Zealand and Dunedin, of learning about the country, getting valuable time to write, and connecting with the creative writing community in Otago.”
The inaugural CISS Irish Writers Fellowship will run in 2021; the holder has yet to be confirmed.

Read the full press release from the Otago University - click here