The English Department is really happy to announce 2026’s University of Canterbury / Creative New Zealand Ursula Bethell Writers in Residence – Shehan Karunatilaka (January – July 2026) and Becky Manawatu (July 2026 – January 2027)!
Shehan is a Sri Lankan New Zealand novelist. He is the author of Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew (2010), which won the Commonwealth Book Prize, the DSC Prize and the Gratiaen Prize. His second book, The Seven Moons of Maalu Almeida, won the 2022 Booker Prize – the world’s most prestigious prize for literature in English. He also writes for children. He will be relocating to Aotearoa with his family after many years away to take up the residency, and we know the literary community will be thrilled to have him here.
Becky (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Mamoe, Waitaha) is a West Coast author and journalist best known for Auē, which in 2020 won the Jann Medicott Acorn Prize for Fiction and the Hubert Church Prize for the best first book of fiction, as well as Best Crime Novel and Best First Novel at the Ngaio Marsh awards. The book was the best selling book in NZ in 2020 and 2021. Her most recent novel is Kataraina, the much-awaited sequel to Auē, and was recently released in the US and the UK. It’s a privilege to be able support the creation of her next work.
We’re so happy to have such accomplished writers joining the department, and to have them here as we launch our new major and minors in writing. We’re also deeply thankful for the generous ongoing support of Creative New Zealand, as the residency has a real impact on the wider Ōtautahi community, as well as for UC’s staff, students, and community.
