News /

Author Donald S Murray to tutor New Zealand students in creative writing

19 July 2026 10:16

ISLES author Donald S Murray is set to provide a masterclass in creative writing to students in New Zealand.

Murray will live and work in Broad Bay, near Dunedin, in New Zealand for two months, and will be employed by the Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies (CISS), in conjunction with the Caselberg Trust.

The author of the books As the Women Lay Dreaming and The Loch of the Bees will tutor students at the University of Otago as well as hosting other events across New Zealand.

A man in a tweed jacket stands with hands in pockets beside a stone wall with blooming flowers, with a blurred lighthouse in the background.

He will provide a masterclass at Dunedin Campus on Wednesday 19 August, and will be in conversation with Otago’s professor of Irish and Scottish studies Professor Liam McIlvanney in Dunedin on Thursday 27 August.

The pair will discuss Murray’s novels, his creative process and the stories behind his work at the Dunningham Suite.

The stay has been organised by McIlvanney, with the CISS inviting both Scottish and Irish writers to work with students every year.

“I’ll be delighted to meet people with Highland and Islands connections and also others from elsewhere and the Maori community of New Zealand while I’m away,” Murray, who is originally from the isle of Lewis, said.

“I am conscious, for instance, that there are many with links to islands like Skye, Lewis and Shetland for people living in or near Dunedin.

“I am also acutely aware that there were people whose ancestors came from my own native district of Ness in Lewis and also areas across Shetland ended up in both Australia and New Zealand.

“A number of individuals have already contacted me in advance of my journey. I am relishing the opportunity to meet them.”

Murray and his wife Maggie will be residents of Caselberg House, Whaka Oho Rahi in Broad Bay.

This is the former home of the late Anna and John Caselberg, which was purchased by the Caselberg Trust in 2006 to honour their artistic and literary legacy.

Since 2019, the trust has partnered with CISS to host the Scottish and Irish writing fellows.