Flying Fetu is a collaboration between Grace Iwashita-Taylor and Lana Lopesi, with the intention of building abundant futures for artists of upu. As community members and writers, we know how much work is out there waiting to be written, and as readers and audience members we are hungry to read it and hear it. However, we are also starkly aware of the barriers to getting your creative juices flowing when you have to deal with life.

Born out of the desire to get support for Moana writers and writing, and also out of FOMO of everyone else's writers table stories, we are offering Flying Fetu Writers Labs, an annual programme of writers labs where writers of all genres are supported to write.

We are currently calling for applications for our next Flying Fetu Writers Lab held 2 – 4 November at Auckland's Basement Theatre) as part of the first Flying Fetu Festival (although more of that soon!).

This Lab will be a three full-day intensive programme that includes one specialist workshop in the morning and intensive writing, editing, peer and mentor feedback sessions in the afternoon. This culminates in an evening salon style showcase on Friday 4 November of works in development to open the Flying Fetu Festival.

Writers receive a stipend of $1200, have access to resources, skills development, critical space to flesh out ideas and access to support with experienced writers across multiple genres of writing. You heard right! Writers are PAID and SUPPORTED in a full immersion writing space for 3 solid days!

Workshop themes are:

• Character Development
• Dynamic Storytelling and Storyboarding
• Sharpening the Edges and Dramaturgy

You can expect to connect with a community of writers and leave with a blueprint for a new body of work. If you live outside of Tāmaki Makaurau, you can still apply and if successful, we will support your travel.

How to apply?

We invite Moana writers of all forms and manifestations to apply. We wish to be accessible, so please reach out via email if you need any assistance or if the format below doesn't work for you. We are flexible.

To participate you will need to have the beginnings of a new body of work or detailed concept for a new work in development. Please send us the following;

• Name
• Relationship to the Moana
• Brief Description of new work in development
• Sample of work/idea/concept (up to 5 pages)

Email applications to [email protected]. Application close date August 21 2022.

To stay up to date with Flying Fetu including upcoming announcements follow us on Instagram @flyingfetu

This piece is presented as part of a partnership with Flying Fetu with support from Creative New Zealand.

Flying Fetu Writers Labs will be held from 2 November — 4 November at Basement Theatre.