Dedicating the year to writing his first novel isn’t the only positive thing about being named the Kaipukahu University of Waikato Writer in Residence for 2024. Award-winning children’s author, poet and writer, Ben Brown (Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Korokī Kahukura, .
The average New Zealand author only earns about a third of their income from writing, but for the select few writer in residencies programmes provide financial support and a physical space to write.