The fellowship was set up by Peter and Dianne Beatson in 2001 as a way of supporting New Zealand writers and writing, and has previously included the option of a month's residency at the Beatsons’ holiday house at
Foxton Beach. It is open to writers of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and drama. Applicants must be members of the
New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA) and need to show that they are working on a new project which has a high level of literary merit and national significance. The successful applicant receives a stipend of $10,000. The fellowship has also been known as the Foxton Fellowship or the Beatson Fellowship. The first recipients were
Janice Marriott ( 2001–2002),
Chris Else (2002–2003),
Marilyn Duckworth (2003–2004),
Sue McCauley (2004–2005),
Jackie Davis (2005–2006),
Paddy Richardson (2006–2007), Norman Bilbrough (2007–2008),
Jo Randerson (2008–2009) and
Glenn Colquhoun (2009–2010). ==The benefactors==