Louis Johnson New Writer's Bursary

Before you apply, make sure to confirm:

• you are eligible to apply
• your project aligns well with the purpose of the bursary and Arts Grants
• you know what information to include in your application and have the right support material

If you have questions about any of these things, contact a Funding Adviser at funding@creativenz.govt.nz.

The Louis Johnson New Writer’s Bursary is offered as part of the Arts Grants funding programme. It enables a writer at an early stage of their career to create a new work.

Through Arts Grants we support artists to undertake projects that:

• help create more sustainable careers for artists and arts practitioners
• encourage innovation in New Zealand arts
• support the development of arts practice
• provide opportunities for diverse communities to access the arts.

The Louis Johnson New Writers’ Bursary is design to help Creative New Zealand achieve its long-term goal (strategic outcome), “High-quality New Zealand arts is developed”.

When you apply, you need to explain how your project will achieve one of the Arts Grants programme’s purposes and how it will achieve the strategic outcome.

To apply for the bursary, you must be:

• an individual who is a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident, and
• an emerging writer with a track record of experience and success in Literature, or
• an emerging playwright with a track record of experience and success in Theatre

Funding types

You can apply under one of three funding types: Ngā toi Māori, Pacific arts, or general arts.

If you apply under Ngā toi Māori, you must be Māori.

If you apply under Pacific arts, your project must deliver outcomes to Pacific arts, and Kaupapa Pasifika will be evident in the practice of your activities. 

You cannot apply if you have breached the conditions of a current funding agreement.

The bursary supports the cost of writing a new work of Literature or Theatre.

Your project must:

• be able to be completed within a 12-month timeframe, and
• fall between 5 July 2023 and 5 October 2024.

You can apply for between $5,000 and $75,000, which can be used towards:

• a stipend/wage that offers fair pay
• production and administration costs

You can apply for costs incurred within the 12-month timeframe of the project. We do not fund retrospective or ongoing costs.

• Retrospective or ongoing costs
• Purchase of capital items, renovating or buying buildings, or restoring marae
• Core education resources and activities that are part of the curriculum or a course of study in New Zealand, including early learning, school, or further education
• Some film and screen activity
• Game design, fashion design and commercial design
• Duplication of funding from other government agencies
• Activities already funded by another Creative New Zealand funding programme or initiative. For instance, the Creative Communities Scheme.
• Activities another Creative New Zealand funding programme or initiative is designed to support
• Activities that are part of the core business of a Tertiary Education Organisation (TEO), Territorial Local Authority (TLA) or Council Controlled Organisation (CCO).
• Projects, project phases or programmes of activity that have received support from Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage via the Arts and Culture COVID Recovery Programme (excluding Cultural Sector Emergency Relief Fund, the Arts and Culture Event Support Scheme and the Grant for Self-Employed Individuals).

For more detail, see Guidelines - What we don’t fund

Register or sign into your Creative NZ Portal account to apply using the online application form.

Apply to Arts Grants 2022/23 Round 4 and include 'Louis Johnson New Writer's Bursary' in your project description.

The application form is available from 27 April 2023. Preview the application form.

The round will close once 450 applications have been submitted to Arts Grants 2022/23 Round 4.

Start preparing the information for your application in advance, so you are ready to apply when the round opens. The application questions are listed below under ‘What to include in your application’.

You will be able to see in the Portal how many other people have started their application and how many have been submitted.

See Guidelines – Portal help for step-by-step technical guidance, tips and support to create your portal account or to use the online application form.

If you have access needs or require additional support to use the CNZ portal, contact us on email portal@creativenz.govt.nz or phone 0800 CREATIVE (273 284).

The application form has five main sections.

1. Idea

In this section you tell us:

• what you're requesting funding for
• what the central idea or kaupapa of the project is
• what you expect the artistic outcomes or participant experience to be
• how your project will achieve Creative New Zealand's strategic outcome, "High-quality New Zealand art is developed"
• which Arts Grants programme purpose your project will achieve, and how

If you're applying under Ngā toi Māori or Pacific arts, also tell us:

• how Mātauranga Māori or Kaupapa Pasifika are evident in the idea, practice and outcomes of the project/programme.

The character limit for the Idea section is 500 to 10,000 characters.

2. Process

In this section you tell us where, when, and how you plan to deliver your project.

The character limit for the Process section is 500 to 7,500 characters.

3. People

In this section tell us about yourself, and other key people/organisations involved in your programme or project.

The character limit for each person or organisation is 1,000 characters.

4. Budget

In this section you provide a detailed project budget that shows:

• all the costs of your project, including fair pay for artists
• which costs you want the Creative New Zealand grant to cover
• all sources of revenue, including in-kind support

You can present your budget using:

• our standard project budget template, or
• the template that is built into the Budget section of the application form

For more guidance about budgets, see Guidelines - Budgets.

5. Support material

In this section, you can upload additional documents that support your application. This can include:

• a sample of the proposed work
• letters of support
• letters expressing interest to publish or present the resulting work
• planning documents
• your detailed project budget, if you’re supplying this in Excel format
• budget support material

For more detail and guidance about how to format your support material, see Guidelines - Support material.

After the round closes, Creative New Zealand staff double check your application is eligible and record information about the activities in your project.

Your application is then assessed by peer assessors, following our assessment and decision-making process.

We will let you know the result of your application on 5 July 2023. The successful applicant will be published on our Results page.

If your application is successful, we’ll contact you about your:

• Funding agreement
• Payment details
• Reporting requirements.

If your application is not successful you can email Funding Services to get feedback on it, and you may consider looking into other sources of funding and support.