In need of some inspiration – and peace and quiet – while finishing off his true-tales tome, The Scene of the Crime, writer Steve Braunias came upon the idea of setting up camp in Grey Lynn’s Surrey Hotel – a place he passed and gazed at most days on the bus. And so, in 2016, the Surrey Hotel Writer’s Residency Award, the nation’s “coolest literature prize”, was born.
“It just struck me what a strangely ideal place it was to ignore the outside world and do the one thing all writers want to do: write,” Steve tells Verve. And write he most certainly did, polishing off around 30,000 words in just four days. “I pick up that feeling every time I go there. I think it’s something to do with its obscurity, and its eccentric mock-Tudor look – it’s a place of make-believe.”
How did the atmosphere or environment of the hotel help in the completion of The Scene of the Crime?
“It has an extremely private and discreet atmosphere. I think that helped a lot when I wrote my book – crime is very often an attempt to do something very private, very discreet.”
This year, 131 writers entered the residency award, whittled down to a shortlist of 13. In August it was announced the winner is J Wiremu Kane, current emerging Māori writer in residence at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University and author of Waitangi Day short story, Ringarewa. His prize is a seven-night stay at Surrey Hotel along with $3,000 and the hotel’s legendary Sunday roast. Kane says he’s keen to work on his historical novel, Whakarongorua, an “epic” which will incorporate everything from sexuality to European colonisation.
Dunedin author Laurance Fearnley came in second (winning $1,000 and five nights), while third place ($500 and three nights) is shared by Becky Manawatu, author of Auē, and Hawke’s Bay short story writer Shelley Burne-Field.
Previous residency attendees include Fake Baby author Amy McDaid who described her stay as a “wonderful opportunity” that “will always hold a special place in my heart” and journalist Kelly Dennett who used her time there to work on a book about the death of Jane Furlong.
“Kelly Dennnett’s The Life and Mysterious Death of Jane Furlong is an amazing piece of crime writing,” says Steve. “I love the way she writes about herself and introduces herself as a character in the book; it was totally the right thing to do and served the story she was telling. And Colleen Maria Lenihan’s newly published collection of short stories, Kōhine, is another favourite.”
What kind of feedback have you had from the writers?
“Most of them have got in touch and said it was awesome. A few never said anything, and as far as I could tell, never wrote anything – oh well!”
Have you forged friendships with the residency award alumni?
“Yes, definitely some of them, and now and then we’ll meet at the hotel for drinks. Colleen has become a really close and loyal friend, and it was great hanging out with John Summers and Nick Ascroft. I’ve become real good friends with the manager Denise King. She’s absolutely lovely and has been incredibly supportive and welcoming of all the writers who come to stay.”
I ask Steve about how the prize has evolved over the years and he lauds the “amazing generosity” of artist Dick Frizzell and “living legend” Sir Bob Harvey who have so far donated around $5,000 to wining writers. “That came out of the blue. I just hope the hotel continues to maintain the residency award, and that Dick and Bob are good for prize money for a little while longer.”
And, as for what sets New Zealand’s “grooviest writer’s residency” apart from the others?
“A change of sheets, a good bar, and a Sunday roast that would convert a vegetarian!”
