New writer for Randell Cottage

Australian based writer Jennifer Compton today starts her six-month Randell Cottage Residency in Thorndon, Wellington.

New Zealand born, Compton is an award winning poet and playwright who has lived in Australia since 1972.

As a result, Compton is now probably better known across the Tasman, despite her early success as a young writer in New Zealand.

Randell Cottage trustee Dame Fiona Kidman says the Trust is delighted to offer the residency to Jennifer Compton.

“It’s exciting that we’re able to attract a writer of Compton’s calibre,” she says. “I hope her selection will help to bridge the gap between Australian and New Zealand writers. We’re so close in many ways, and yet the writing scene is often surprisingly separate.”

The Creative New Zealand Randell Cottage Residency alternates between New Zealand and French writers. The six month residency in a historic cottage in Thorndon, Wellington, carries a monthly stipend of $2,500.

To find out more about Randell Cottage, email: randell@writerstrust.co.nz, or visit http://www.randellcottage.co.nz/.

Links to some of Compton’s previous work:
http://www.thylazine.org/archives/thyla8/jc.html
http://www.logolalia.com/arspoetica/archives/003119.html
http://www.logolalia.com/arspoetica/archives/003118.html
http://www.presspress.com.au/compton.htm

Contact for further information:
Mary McCallum
ph 027 600 3313

or

Janet Bache
ph 027 200 5426