Sihle Ntuli, 2025 Caselberg Trust Margaret Egan Cities of Literature Writers Resident
The Caselberg Trust and Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature, thanks to a generous bequest from Margaret Egan, are delighted to announce the judges’ selection of Sihle Ntuli from Durban (South Africa) as Caselberg Trust Margaret Egan Cities of Literature Writers Resident 2025.
Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature Director Nicky Page says, “We were thrilled to receive 79 applications from 28 Cities of Literature around the world. The judges were impressed that Sihle’s submission stood out amongst exceptional applications across a range of genres.”
Sihle is a poet, editor and classicist from Durban UNESCO City of Literature. He recently won the Diann Blakely National Poetry Competition, was awarded the Rajat Neogy Editorial Fellowship by A Long House, and won the 2024 Patricia Kailis Fellowship (Centre for Stories, Australia).
He is also the author of several acclaimed works, including Owele (uHlanga, July 2025), Zabalaza Republic (Botsotso, 2023), The Nation (River Glass Books, 2023), Rumblin (uHlanga, 2020), and Stranger (Aerial, 2015). His poetry has appeared in leading international journals, and he previously held editorial roles at Wild Pine Poetry and New Contrast.
Sihle’s selection means he will live and write at Caselberg House in Broad Bay on Dunedin’s Otago Peninsula for six weeks, from October to mid-November 2025.
Established in 2023, the residency is a partnership between the Caselberg Trust and Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature.
The residency is offered annually and alternates between accepting applications from other UNESCO Cities of Literature and, every other year, from Aotearoa only.
The residency offers writers the opportunity to work on a substantial piece of creative writing, while also fostering connections with writers and readers and the wider community.
Sihle says he plans to continue working towards his fourth full-length collection of poetry Blues for King Kong, a multilingual fusion of Afro-Jazz and Blues-inspired lyric poetry, while in Dunedin.
He says, “I am looking forward to exchanging cultures and having rich dialogue with the Dunedin community.”
Caselberg Trust Chair Dr Janet Downs says, “We are all really excited to be hosting Sihle for this very special residency, and we look forward to welcoming him to Ōtepoti Dunedin. Margaret Egan, whose bequest enabled this residency, was an enthusiastic supporter of the Trust.”
This year’s residency is also timed to coincide with the Dunedin Writers & Readers Festival (17 to 19 October).
Caselberg Trust contact - Dr Janet Downs, Chair, Caselberg Trust, 021 102 1762, info@caselbergtrust.org for further information, or www.caselbergtrust.org.
Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature contact – Nicky Page, Director, Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature 021 810 057