ROBERT LORD COTTAGE RESIDENCY
When co-founder of Playmarket, Robert Lord, took up a Burns Fellowship at Otago University in 1987, he bought his first home—a small cottage close to the university and the town centre of Dunedin. His tragically few years in Titan Street were happy and productive ones. Before he died, Robert put in place a plan that the cottage would become a home for other writers who choose to come to Dunedin to write, and a Trust was established to administer the plan.
Today, the cottage (three furnished rooms and a courtyard garden) is run as a rent-free residency for writers.
To date, playwrights who have lived and worked here include Gary Henderson, Renée, Jan Bolwell, Vanessa Rhodes, Vincent O'Sullivan, Branwen Millar, Paul Rothwell, Rochelle Bright, and Kip Chapman.
To apply, please email here with your CV and a statement of the project you propose to work on, your preferred dates for a residency and whether you have flexibility, and why Dunedin is a suitable venue for the project.
Submissions for 2027 residencies will open in November 2026.
WRITING RESIDENCIES AND BURSARIES:
International Institute of Modern Letters Emerging Māori Writer in Residence
International Institute of Modern Letters Emerging Pasifika Writer in Residence
International Institute of Modern Letters Writer in Residence
The Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship
Louis Johnson New Writer's Bursary
Michael King Writers Centre Residencies
NZSA Peter & Dianne Beatson Fellowship
University of Canterbury Ursula Bethell Residency
University of Waikato Writer in Residence
Updated 2026
Ten playwrights' projects are selected and matched with a script advisor. Selected playwrights and script advisors are paid sixteen hours each of online contact time to help towards the process of developing a script. The process will take place over a period of time (up to three months) as negotiated between the playwright and script advisor.