Poet, author, and academic Dr Selina Tusitala Marsh ONZM, FRSNZ has been awarded the 2024 Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship, making her the first Pasifika writer to do so.
This recognition is a step towards acknowledging Pacific voices in Aotearoa New Zealand literature.
With the help of the Fellowship, which offers a $43,000 grant to cover all costs, Dr Marsh will be able to live and work on her selected project for three months in Menton, Southern France.
“I’m ecstatic and deeply honoured to be selected as the 2024 Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellow,” says Dr 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.”
Chair of the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship Advisory Committee Geraldine Baumann, says Dr 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.”
