Breaking News: Robert Sullivan Named New Zealand Poet Laureate

By Ōtepoti He Puna Auaha | Dunedin UNESCO City Of Literature | Posted: Friday Aug 22, 2025

We are so excited with this wonderful announcement!! Warm congratulations to Robert Sullivan (Ngāpuhi, Kāi Tahu) - New Zealand Poet Laureate for 2025–2028

This morning, the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa announced Robert Sullivan (Ngāpuhi, Kāi Tahu) as New Zealand Poet Laureate for 2025 to 2028 — and we couldn’t be more thrilled!

It’s been a stellar year for Robert, with his latest collection, Hopurangi — Songcatcher: Poems from the Maramataka (Auckland University Press), being shortlisted for the Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry at the 2025 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. His Laureate appointment crowns a career that includes the Jessie Mackay Best First Book Award in 1991, a Lauris Edmond Memorial Award, recognition at the Montana New Zealand Book Awards, and much more.

Acting National Librarian Te Pouhuaki, Gina Smith, describes Robert as “a poet who amplifies Māori and Pacific voices with thoughtful engagement in complex cultural narratives … he holds considerable mana and leads with grace and humility.”

On his appointment, Robert reflects: “I’m very grateful for this laureateship. It recognises the continuum of Māori poets publishing such rich, vibrant work ... they inspire me — through seeing our tūpuna in their soulful words.”

To celebrate Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day, Robert will join a range of Otago poets at The Athenaeum & Mechanics’ Institute in Dunedin this evening and next weekend he’ll be at the inaugural Northland Writers, Readers & Poets Festival in Kerikeri..

We warmly congratulate Robert Sullivan on this richly deserved honour — and can’t wait to see where his tenure as Poet Laureate will lead the poetry of Aotearoa over the next three years.