2017 CLNZ Contestable Fund Investments Announced

18 August 2017

Copyright Licensing New Zealand (CLNZ) is delighted to announce the successful applicants in this year’s round of the CLNZ Contestable Fund. Introduced in 2014, the fund was established to support strategic projects that demonstrate New Zealand publishing growth and development, including within education. In 2017, total funds available, and allocated, were $75,000.

The 2017 CLNZ Contestable Fund recipients are:
• Oratia Media $5,000
• Gecko Press $5,000
• Academy of New Zealand Literature $10,000
• The Writing Bug Ltd $5,000
• The Sapling $15,000
• Toitoi Media Ltd $10,000
• Essential Resources $15,000
• Gillian Candler $10,000

Funding contributions will be made to Oratia Media for their young adult non-fiction project and Gecko Press receives funding towards an independent publisher’s roadshow. Academy of New Zealand Literature receive funding for international promotions of New Zealand writers’ work and The Writing Bug has a contribution to translate Te Reo Singalong books into the Samoan language. The Sapling will receive funding towards content development on their children’s books website and Toitoi Media receives funding to publish New Zealand student’s work in Te Reo. Essential Resources receives contributions towards developing print and digital resources for export and Gillian Candler receives funding towards ‘Nature Heroes’, a conservation-focused non-fiction project.

The selection panel were excited by the array of projects in the 65 applications received. They were particularly impressed with the range of material aimed at young people and in multiple languages that will help to respond to New Zealand's changing demographic. They also commented that it was great to be able to support both digital and physical projects.
The CLNZ Contestable Fund is a dynamic fund able to support projects that may not fit with other funding providers objectives. CEO of CLNZ, Paula Browning, said “We intentionally established the Contestable Fund with broad criteria and the variety of projects that have been funded in the past four years, endorses this approach. Investing in authors and publishers and supporting organisations that deliver value to the sector is what the CLNZ Cultural Fund (where this funding comes from) was set up for.”
Applications for the next round of the CLNZ Contestable Fund will be called for in mid-2018.


The Contestable Fund is part of CLNZ’s Cultural Fund, which derives revenue from CLNZ’s licensing activity in New Zealand. Other grants and awards made from this fund include the CLNZ Writers Aware, NZSA/CLNZ Research Grants and tertiary scholarships for creative writing students. Revenue generated through the licensed copying of copyright material is helping to fund the creation of new work.