Our Sponsors and Supporters
RAWA is deeply committed to building literary capital and providing space for creative expression that provides benefit to our communities. To do this we have drawn upon the support and partnership of individuals, groups and organisations who share this strong commitment.
Sponsors
The Orion Powerhouse Gallery Akaroa has provided leadership in the arts over many years, providing support for artistic events and community activities. We are deeply grateful for the generous support that the gallery has given us.
We are grateful to the Christchurch City Council, and in particular, the Creative Communities funding scheme, for their ongoing support of RAWA, the Akaroa Community Arts Council and the arts community more broadly.
We are delighted that Copyright NZ has supported ten RAWA fellowships for ten writers to attend the festival this year. Writers represent some of the poorest paid professionals in New Zealand and we are grateful to Copyright NZ for its unstinting support of the arts, and also this important collaboration that fosters a vibrant writing community in ways that will have longer-term benefits.
Young writers can miss out on the learning and development experiences that writing festival provide. With the generous support of the Ben Gough Family Foundation we have been able to establish ten Young Writers Fellowships that will support the full participation of young writers in the festival, enabling them to engage with and learn from some of the very best authors in Aotearoa.
The photographs that appear on the RAWA website were taken by local photographers:
Emma and Jason Crew.
We are incredibly grateful to Emma and Jason for allowing us to use their wonderful photos of Akaroa and its wildlife.
Chris Mangels at Bayleys is sponsoring our inaugural RAWA Flash Fiction Prize. The prize money ($1000) is a significant addition to flash fiction awards in Aotearoa. Our grateful thanks to Chris for his generous support of the arts in Akaroa.
Booksellers Aotearoa NZ have generously provided book tokens that we will be gifting during the festival. We are most grateful for their generous support.
Akaroa Waterfront Motels, located in the heart of beautiful Akaroa, is another one of our generous sponsors. They have chosen to support the festival by donating accommodation for some of our esteemed speakers, ensuring they have a comfortable place to stay while sharing their insights and creativity with our community.
French Peak Vineyard, nestled in the bay of Akaroa’s extinct volcano, has been a keen supporter of RAWA. Known for its award-winning wines and stunning scenery, the family-owned vineyard generously provided the wine for the RAWA launch of Owen Marshall’s latest book, New Stories.
Supporters
In addition to this vital sponsorship support, the RAWA festival would not be possible without the generous contributions of volunteers and partnering organisations that are critical to RAWA’s success. Our grateful thanks to Rebekah Proffit, from Content Proof, who has built our wonderful website. She has volunteered many hours of her expertise in the task, something we appreciate immensely. Thanks to the RAWA subcommittee who have had stewardship of the festival. They have been a rich source of innovation and expertise and we are lucky to have them. And, of course, our enduring thanks go to our loyal volunteers who work enthusiastically to facilitate the smooth running of the festival throughout over the RAWA weekend.
RAWA is also enriched by the cooperation of national and local organisations that support the success of our festival. These include collaborations with the Akaroa Area School and the Akaroa Museum on shared aspects of the programme, our local business community who have rallied in support for our speakers and participants, and the New Zealand Society of Authors and WORD festival who have helped to promote RAWA in the spirit of partnership.
Our grateful thanks to all our sponsors, partners and supporters. RAWA would not have been possible without you.