Source: Victoria University of Wellington29 July 2025Victoria University of Wellington’s International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML) is delighted to announce the appointment of Kasi Valu as the Emerging Pasifika Writer in Residence for 2026. Kasi will use the residency to develop a collection of poems, spoken-word pieces, and short stories with the working title Frangipani Thorns. Kasi says of the residency, “I’m deeply grateful and humbled to follow the writers before me. Such opportunities are integral to the development needed for any writer or artist at any phase of their life or career. Kasi will receive a stipend of $15,000 to write his new work at the IIML for three months.