Irish writer Nicole Flattery awarded 2025 Writing Fellowship with Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka - University of Otago’s Mātai Airana, Mātai Kotirana - Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies (CISS)
Visiting Irish writer Nicole Flattery will be well placed for her love of cold ocean plunges when she stays in Whaka Oho Rahi - Broad Bay on Otago Peninsula this August and September.
Nicole has been awarded the 2025 Writing Fellowship with Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka - University of Otago’s Mātai Airana, Mātai Kotirana - Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies (CISS).
“It feels wonderful to be awarded this residency! I’m very excited, I’ve always wanted to visit New Zealand, and it will be the trip of a lifetime,” says Nicole.
The Irish novelist’s first collection of stories Show Them a Good Time was published in 2019, and won the An Post Irish Book Award, the Kate O'Brien Award, the White Review Prizeand appeared in the Irish Times list of the 100 Best Irish Books of the 21st Century. Her widely acclaimed novel Nothing Special was published in 2023, and her work has been translated into eight languages.
Eamon Cleary Chair in Irish Studies and Co-Director of CISS at Otago, Professor Maebh Long says it will be invigorating to have Nicole join the community.
“Nicole’s an excellent writer. She has a sharp sense of observation and a tight style, and she crafts her work with precision and care. She also has fascinating insights into Irish and international characters,” Maebh says.
This will be the first time to New Zealand for the Dublin-based writer.
“I’ve been a longtime fan of the filmmaker Jane Campion, and the New Zealand writer Janet Frame so really looking forward to experiencing the environment that shaped their work,” says Nicole.
Nicole will be resident at Caselberg House in Whaka Oho Rahi - Broad Bay. This former home of the late Anna and John Caselberg was purchased by the Caselburg Trust in 2006 to honour their artistic and literary legacy. Since 2019, the Trust has partnered with CISS to host the Scottish and Irish Writing Fellows.
Caselberg Trust Chair, Dr Janet Downs says these Fellowships are part of a full programme of national and international residencies covering a wide range of creative endeavours.
“These Fellowships facilitate and encourage literary and cultural exchange, with Fellows contributing to both the creative writing programmes at the University and to public events during their stay, fitting well with the kaupapa and values of the Caselberg Trust,” Janet says.
The CISS Scottish Writing Fellowship and the CISS Irish Writing Fellowship have been offered in alternate years since 2020. The two-month fellowships are open to writers of Irish or Scottish birth, residence or affiliation, and designed to facilitate and encourage literary and cultural exchange between Ireland, Scotland and New Zealand.
Nicole has ambitious plans during her Fellowship, “I plan - lofty goal! - to fully complete my second novel. I’ve finished a draft, but I need to rewrite sections. I’m going to take advantage of being away from my friends and responsibilities. I also think sometimes it’s very useful to be away from the place you’re writing about. My current novel is set in the Midlands of Ireland so I think a bit of distance will really be useful.”
While here, Nicole will mentor postgraduate students and contribute to teaching undergraduate courses in Irish Studies and creative writing and give public lectures and readings.
“I really enjoy teaching. I really enjoy connecting with students, seeing what they’re writing about. I like to share pieces of work and see what kind of discussion they provoke. I also like to create a workshop environment where people feel confident and comfortable opening up and sharing with their fellow writers. You want that space to be as non-judgemental as possible.”
Kōrero by Antonia Wallace, Communications Advisor (Humanities) and first published on Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka - University of Otago Newsroom. A link to the article is here.