Selina Tusitala Marsh wins Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship

Professor Selina Tusitala Marsh (Faculty of Arts) has been awarded the 2024 Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship.

She will be the first female Pacific writer to receive this honour, marking a significant moment in recognising Pacific voices in Aotearoa New Zealand’s literary landscape. Marsh is of Samoan, Tuvaluan, English, Scottish and French descent.

The fellowship, managed by Te Tumu Toi, The Arts Foundation, means she will live and write in Menton, southern France, for three months with all expenses covered.

“I’m ecstatic and deeply honoured to be selected,” said Marsh, a professor of Pacific literature and creative writing. 

"Being the first Pasifika woman to receive this fellowship is profoundly meaningful to me and, I hope, to the communities I serve. It's a testament to the growing recognition of Pacific voices in our literary landscape. I hope it opens doors for more voices to be heard and celebrated in the future. It's a gateway.”

She says the award is a dream come true and the chance to fully immerse herself in writing and creativity for months and to bring some long-term projects to life.

“I’m excited to dive into my FETU*STARS project, a book I’ve had inside me since 2005. I’m eager to map the constellations of Pacific women's poetry across our literary firmament and ensure their starlight shines for generations to come.”

FETU*STARS stems from Marsh's PhD and showcases the first five foremothers of Pacific poetry. Over the years, that number has grown to around 20. 

"Since 2005 I've wanted to turn my research into a book.  I think it will be of epic creative and critical proportions.

"One aspect is that I will write a poem in response to each poet's own titular poem and also devise a creative writing exercise from the key working metaphor. The book will be another genre-bending exploration of Indigenous Oceanic women's creativity – including my own."

Marsh has a long list of writing credits including her smash hit Mophead children’s book series published by Auckland University Press. On 14 August she was in Wellington with her most recent Mophead book, Mophead, What Knot You Got, a finalist in the Children and Young Adults Book Awards. 

"Although it didn't win, I felt like a winner all night because, back in 2020 when the first Mophead book did win, the awards were all held online, so this was a great chance to finally celebrate with my peers in a storytelling atmosphere." 

In 2023, she featured in the Faculty of Arts Research and Reason podcast, talking about the genesis of Mophead, What Knot You Got, which arose as a response to ‘knotty’ questions she had been sent by children around the country during her visits to schools.

Geraldine Baumann, chair of the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship advisory committee, described Marsh as an extraordinary talent.

“And it's a significant moment for us to have our first, long-overdue Pasifika fellow. As a former Poet Laureate, her voice has already shaped our literary landscape, and we are thrilled to see her receive this recognition.”

Marsh follows in the footsteps of a number of other University of Auckland-connected writers to have ever received the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship, including Associate Professor Paula Morris, director of the University's Masters of Creative Writing programme. Alumna and 2023 recipient, Charlotte Grimshaw, is currently in Menton.

Marsh's fellowship was announced at an event at Wellington's National Library on 16 August. 

"There was a marvellous 'passing the baton' there and I was quite teary when introduced by Dane Fiona Kidman herself." 

Marsh is hoping to take up the fellowship from next July.