Pasifika writer and performer Kasi Valu has been named the Emerging Pasifika Writer in Residence for 2026.
Valu will use the three-month residency at Victoria University of Wellington’s International Institute of Modern Letters to develop Frangipani Thorns, a collection of poems, spoken-word pieces and short stories.
The work will draw on a wide range of Pasifika experiences and storytelling forms, with historical reflections, community gossip, political satire, social media discourse and speculative futures among the themes Valu plans to explore.
He also plans to make audio recordings of the pieces.
“I imagine Frangipani Thorns as a digital constellation of portals,” Valu said.
“Like a web browser with multiple tabs open at once, each piece offers a different entry point into the world.”
Born and raised in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Valu trained as an actor at Te Kura Toi Whakaari o Aotearoa and completed a Bachelor of Arts in Performing Arts in 2022.
His work has included acting, writing, stage management and producing. He has also performed at slam poetry events and the Auckland Writers Festival.
Valu won the E Tū Whānau Spoken Word Competition in 2021 and received a Fale-ship Residency from Tautai Contemporary Pacific Arts Trust.
He said he was grateful and humbled to follow the Pasifika writers who had held the residency before him.
“I also feel privileged, especially now, when residencies for artists across Aotearoa are becoming scarcer,” he said.
“Such opportunities are integral to the development needed for any writer or artist at any phase of their life or career.”
Valu will receive a $15,000 stipend and work with a mentor during the residency.
International Institute of Modern Letters director Damien Wilkins said the selection panel was impressed by the fearlessness and energy of Valu’s writing.
“We’re excited to see Kasi’s work develop,” he said.
The residency is supported by Victoria University of Wellington and Creative New Zealand.