Dates for Donald’s speaking engagements in New Zealand have firmed up, should you wish to catch up with him in Aotearoa.
His itinerary during his writing fellowship in New Zealand currently looks like this.
Weds, Aug 19
Masterclass with the MCW (Master of Creative Writing) Students, 10.30 am-1.30 pm, Dunedin campus
Thu, Aug 27
An Evening with Donald S. Murray, Dunningham Suite, Dunedin City Library, 5.30 pm - 7 pm. He will be in conversation with Otago’s Professor of Scottish Studies, Liam McIlvanney, exploring his novels, creative process, and the stories behind his work.
Fri, Aug 28
National Poetry Event, 7 pm, the Athenaeum, the Octagon, Dunedin
Tue, Sept 1
Talk at the Otago Scottish Heritage Council monthly meeting, 7 pm, the Athenaeum, the Octagon, Dunedin
Sat, Sept 12
Scottish Interest Group, New Zealand Society of Genealogists, Tawa, Wellington at 1.30 pm
More dates and events to be confirmed.
Donald is currently in New Zealand on a prestigious writing fellowship where he will explore Gaelic and Māori cultural connections through literature and storytelling.
Donald is spending two months mostly in New Zealand’s South Island after being awarded the writing fellowship by the University of Otago.
When the Fellowship was announced late last year, Director of the Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies, Professor Liam McIlvanney, said: “I can’t wait to welcome Donald S Murray to Ōtepoti. Whether in poems, novels, plays, or non-fiction, it is the humanity and craft of Donald’s work that shine through.
“To have a writer and teacher of Donald’s range, experience and accomplishment with us in Dunedin will be a tremendous boon to our students and indeed to the wider community.
“I have no doubt, too, that, as a native speaker of Gaelic, Donald will be keen to kōrero with tangata whenua on issues of shared concern such as language revitalisation.”
As to his plans during the Fellowship, Donald says: “There are one or two ideas – one that I began writing about a few years ago – which I intend to explore while in New Zealand. It offers a wonderful and remarkable opportunity to do this. I am also acutely aware that new and original thoughts will come to mind.”
The CISS Scottish Writing Fellowship and the CISS Irish Writing Fellowship have been offered in alternate years since 2020. The two-month fellowships are open to writers of Irish or Scottish birth, residence or affiliation, and are designed to facilitate and encourage literary and cultural exchange between Ireland, Scotland and New Zealand.
