News

• Tracey Slaughter’s The Longest Drink in Town – now onstage

  11-04-2022

  

  Acclaimed New Zealand author Tracey Slaughter presents The Longest Drink in Town, debuting at The Meteor Theatre (1 Victoria Street, Hamilton) April 27-30, 7:30pm.  A dark, lyrical and brooding snapshot of the fallout of a parental affair; The Longest Drink in Town marks the first of Slaughter’s works to be adapted for the stage. Book at themeteor.co.nz  (Mature Audiences – contains depictions of self-harm, sexual themes and strong language).

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• Sargeson Prize – open for entries

  01-04-2022

  First offered in 2019, the Sargeson Prize is New Zealand’s richest short story prize, sponsored by the University of Waikato. Named for celebrated New Zealand writer Frank Sargeson, the Prize was conceived by writer Catherine Chidgey, who also lectures in Writing Studies at the University. Entries open on 1 April for the 2022 Sargeson Prize and close at 11.59pm (NZST) on 30 June 2022. There is no entry fee, and entries are limited to one per writer, per division. The Chief Judge for 2022 will be Fiona Kidman. Learn more here or for queries email sargeson.prize@waikato.ac.nz

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• Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day – registrations open

  30-03-2022

  Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day is preparing to mark its 25th anniversary with plans for the broadest range of events and promotions yet on 26 August 2022, and registrations are already open for seed funding to support organisers.

  National Poetry Day coordinator Erica Stretton says that after two years of largely online events, the NPD team, poets and organisers are all eager and optimistic about a return to the usual feast of in-person and community events across the motu. Erica urges organisers to register their interest early in hosting an event on or around 26 August, in order to access the seed funding available and to be included in the heavily promoted official calendar of NPD events.

  This year also marks the 40th anniversary of NPD sponsor, Phantom Billstickers. CEO Robin McDonnell says the company has plenty planned to mark its special milestone, but that poetry will always be at the heart of what it does.

  Interested organisers can access registration documents, templates and a full range of planning and promotional resources via the NPD website, or contact Erica if you have any questions. Applications for seed funding close at 5pm on 1 June 2022.

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• Ockham New Zealand Book Awards Judges Announce ‘Surprisingly Diverse’ Shortlist

  02-03-2022

  

  Dazzling and diverse writing that reveals and reflects our changing world is the hallmark of the sixteen finalist books in the 2022 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards, announced today.The shortlist – selected from a longlist of 40 books by four panels of specialist judges (for fiction, poetry, illustrated non-fiction and general non-fiction) – includes both literary luminaries and first-time authors.

  Congratulations to all Ockham shortlisters, in particular ANZL Fellow Patricia Grace and Members Bryan Walpert, Serie Barford, Anne Kennedy, and Charlotte Grimshaw.

  The 2022 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards shortlisted titles are:

  *represents debut authors.

  Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction

  A Good Winter by Gigi Fenster (Text Publishing)

  Entanglement by Bryan Walpert (Mākaro Press)

  Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly (Te Herenga Waka University Press)*

  Kurangaituku by Whiti Hereaka (Huia Publishers)

  Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry

  Rangikura by Tayi Tibble (Te Herenga Waka University Press)

  Sleeping with Stones by Serie Barford (Anahera Press)

  The Sea Walks into a Wall by Anne Kennedy (Auckland University Press)

  Tumble by Joanna Preston (Otago University Press)

  Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction

  Dressed: Fashionable Dress in Aotearoa New Zealand 1840 to 1910 by Claire Regnault (Te Papa Press)

  NUKU: Stories of 100 Indigenous Women by Qiane Matata-Sipu (QIANE+co)*

  Shifting Grounds: Deep Histories of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland by Lucy Mackintosh (Bridget Williams Books)*

  The Architect and the Artists: Hackshaw, McCahon, Dibble by Bridget Hackshaw (Massey University Press)*

  General Non-Fiction Award

  From the Centre: A Writer’s Life by Patricia Grace (Penguin, Penguin Random House)

  The Alarmist: Fifty Years Measuring Climate Change by Dave Lowe (Te Herenga Waka University Press)*

  The Mirror Book by Charlotte Grimshaw (Vintage, Penguin Random House)

  Voices from the New Zealand Wars | He Reo nō ngā Pakanga o Aotearoa by Vincent O’Malley (Bridget Williams Books)

  The winners of the 2022 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards, including the four Crystal Arts Trust Best First Book award winners, will be announced on 11 May.

  The General Non-Fiction, Poetry and Illustrated Non-Fiction category winners will each receive a $10,000 prize. The winners of the four Crystal Arts Trust Best First Book Awards will each receive $2,500.

  The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are supported by Ockham Residential, Creative New Zealand, Jann Medlicott and the Acorn Foundation, Mary and Peter Biggs CNZM, the Crystal Arts Trust, Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand and the Auckland Writers Festival.

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• Online Masterclass: The Art and Craft of Book Reviewing

  08-02-2022

  Do you want to write excellent book reviews?

  This two-hour seminar, taught by Paula Morris and Tom Moody, reviews editor for the Academy of NZ Literature, is a practical guide to long and short reviews: research, note-taking, layout, structure, using quotations, presenting an argument, and writing informative, shapely reviews that are more than plot summaries or over-personal musing. Our focus is fiction and nonfiction (with a brief section on poetry reviewing).

  Registered participants will receive a PDF of review samples in advance, as well as links to best-practice examples. Afterwards you’ll receive a recording of the session, plus slides.

  When: Sunday 13th February 2022 from 10:00am – 12.00pm

  Cost of the masterclass is $60, including GST and Eventbrite fee; or $100, which includes all of the above plus personal feedback and edits on a sample book review written after the masterclass.

  Funds from this masterclass will fund reviews on www.anzliterature.com

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• Longlists for New Zealand’s Premier Literary Awards Revealed

  27-01-2022

  

  Books exploring politics, fashion, social change, war, contested histories and family relationships sit alongside works celebrating our natural world and the enduring legacies of our activists and artists in the longlists for the 2022 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.

  Forty poetry, prose and non-fiction titles make up the longlists announced today. Selected from an impressive and highly competitive field of 160 entries, works range from deftly crafted intimate worlds to full-colour books that soar in scope and scale. Ten of the longlisted works are by first-time authors.

  New Zealand Book Awards Trust spokesperson Dr Paula Morris says that each of the four longlists speak to the diversity and excellence of books published last year, with both experienced and debut writers represented.

  “The range of publishers reflects the ingenuity and high quality across the industry, including the smallest of independents, and the imagination and expertise informing every aspect of our local publishing landscape.”

  Congratulations to all longlisters, in particular the following ANZL members who are among the 2022 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards longlisted works:

  Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction

  Aljce in Therapy Land by Alice Tawhai (Lawrence & Gibson)

  Entanglement by Bryan Walpert (Mākaro Press)

  Everything Changes by Stephanie Johnson (Vintage, Penguin Random House)

  Loop Tracks by Sue Orr (Te Herenga Waka University Press)

  She’s a Killer by Kirsten McDougall (Te Herenga Waka University Press)

  The Pink Jumpsuit: Short Fictions, Tall Truths by Emma Neale (Quentin Wilson Publishing)

  Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry

  Ghosts by Siobhan Harvey (Otago University Press)

  Sea-light by Dinah Hawken (Te Herenga Waka University Press)

  Sleeping with Stones by Serie Barford (Anahera Press)

  The Sea Walks into a Wall by Anne Kennedy (Auckland University Press)

  Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction

  Bill Hammond: Across the Evening Sky by Peter Vangioni with Tony de Lautour, Rachael King, Nic Low, Paul Scofield and Ariana Tikao (Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū)

  General Non-Fiction Award

  From the Centre: A Writer’s Life by Patricia Grace (Penguin, Penguin Random House)

  The Mirror Book by Charlotte Grimshaw (Vintage, Penguin Random House)

  The 2022 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards shortlist of 16 titles will be announced on 2 March.

  The Awards welcomed The Crystal Arts Trust as the new sponsor for the Best First Book Awards in November last year. The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards winners, including the four Crystal Arts Trust Best First Book Awards recipients, will be announced at a public ceremony on 11 May during the 2022 Auckland Writers Festival.

  For the complete list or to find out more about the longlisted titles go to https://www.nzbookawards.nz/new-zealand-book-awards/2022-awards/longlist/

  The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are supported by Ockham Residential, Creative New Zealand, Jann Medlicott and the Acorn Foundation, Mary and Peter Biggs CNZM, The Crystal Arts Trust, Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand and the Auckland Writers Festival.

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• ANZL Fellow Keri Hulme has died

  29-12-2021

  

  Haere rā ANZL Fellow Keri Hulme: literary icon, first NZ Booker prize winner, generous, humble, fiercely independent, extraordinary. Our deepest condolences to Keri’s whānau and friends.

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• The Peter Wells Short Fiction Contest – entries open

  20-12-2021

  Calling all New Zealand LGBTQIA+ writers! The Peter Wells Short Fiction Contest celebrates the life and work of Samesame but Different founder Peter Wells, a writer, filmmaker and historian. It gives New Zealand LGBTQIA+ writers the opportunity to prove their creative skills and to promote their work to a wider audience in a safe and supportive environment.

  Deadline for entries is 5 January 2022.

  First prize is $1000 for the winning story, $500 for the runner-up and $500 for the best writing by a promising young writer aged under 25. This makes it one of the leading short fiction competitions in Aotearoa. To read more about the awards or to read the winning entries from previous awards, see here.

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• 2021 Prime Minister’s Awards for Literary Achievement – Winners Announced

  04-11-2021

  

  Huge congratualtions to the recipients of the 2021 Prime Minister’s Awards for Literary Achievement, in particular ANZL member and award-winning poet, fiction writer, screenplay editor and teacher, Anne Kennedy, who is the recipient of the Poetry category. For full details of this year’s awards see here.
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• 2021 Ngaio Marsh Awards – Winners revealed

  03-11-2021

  Congratulations to ANZL member Brannavan Gnanalingam whose book Sprigs (Lawrence & Gibson) has won the 2021 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Novel. Brannavan receives a trophy and $1,000 courtesy of WORD Christchurch, long-time partner of the Ngaio Marsh Awards. See here for a full list of winners and details.

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• The NZSA New Zealand Heritage Literary Awards 2021 – Winners Announced

  23-10-2021

  Congratulations to ANZL members Stephanie Johnson, winner of the 2021 NZSA Heritage Literary Award for Fiction, for her book Everything Changes (Vintage), and to runner up Carl Nixon for The Tally Stick (Vintage). Also Michael Harlow whose poem ‘The Holiness of Attention’ is joint winner for Poetry. Well deserved! For the full list of winners see here.
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• NZSA Laura Solomon Cuba Press Prize 2022 Opens

  08-10-2021

  Award for fresh writing with a ‘unique and original vision’

  The NZSA Laura Solomon Cuba Press Prize celebrates the life and work of the writer Laura Solomon. As set by Laura, the main criteria for the exciting prize is for new writing with a ‘unique and original vision’. Published and unpublished writers are invited to enter with completed manuscripts written across all genres i.e. fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, drama or children’s writing.

  The NZSA Laura Solomon Cuba Press Prize will:

  -pave the way for new and exciting writing to make its way into the market place

  -award the winner an ‘advance’ of $1000 and a publishing contract supplied by The Cuba Press

  -pay for the book production and printing. The Cuba Press will edit, design, print, market, distribute and promote the book and e-book and pay standard author royalties

  The prize is open to writers holding New Zealand citizenship or who are permanent residents of New Zealand.

  Applications are open from 8 October 2021 to 31 January 2022

  The application form and  terms & conditions for the NZSA Laura Solomon Cuba Press Prize are available on the NZSA website, authors.org.nz

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• The NZSA Heritage Literary Awards 2021 shortlists revealed

  30-09-2021

  

  Congratulations to all the NZSA Heritage Literary Awards shortlisters, in particular ANZL members with the following works:
  Fiction:
  Everything Changes by Stephanie Johnson (Vintage)
  The Talley Stick by Carl Nixon (Vintage)
  The Piano Girls by Elizabeth Smither (Quentin Wilson Publishing)
  Poetry:
  The Holiness of Attention by Michael Harlow
  

  The winners will be announced at the Awards Ceremony to be held at St Michael and All Angels, 95-99 Oxford Terrace, Christchurch, 22 October at 7pm.

  For more information and full shortlist see here.

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• Sunday Star Times Short Story Competition – entries open

  27-09-2021

  Entries for the 2021 Sunday Star-Times short story competition are open. Now in their 38th year, the awards are among New Zealand’s most prestigious and established writing prizes. The competition has helped launch the careers of many well-known writers.

  In association with the Milford Foundation and Penguin Random House the prize pool this year is $9000, with $6000 awarded to the overall open category winner. It’s also the chance for writers to receive critical feedback and have the winning story published in the Sunday Star-Times and on Stuff. Judges this year are acclaimed writers Patricia Grace, Rosetta Allan, Megan Dunn and Amy McDaid.

  There are four categories: Open division – 3000-word limit | Emerging Māori writer – 3000-word limit (open to any author who identifies as Māori and who does not already have a published book) | Emerging Pasifika writer – 3000-word limit (open to any author who identifies as Pasifika and who does not already have a published book) | Under age 25 division – 2000-word limit.

  Entries close October 22, 2021, at midnight. Winners will be announced in December, and a selection of the winning entries will be published in the Sunday Star-Times and on Stuff.

  To enter, upload your story here.

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• CNZ Randell Cottage Writing Fellowship – applications open

  21-09-2021

  Applications are now open for the 2022 Creative New Zealand Randell Cottage Writing Fellowship. The fellowship comprises a stipend, currently set at $27,450, and six months’ rent-free accommodation in one of Wellington’s oldest colonial buildings: Randell Cottage at 14 St Mary Street in Thorndon.

  The Trust is particularly interested in hearing from mid-career and Māori and Pasifika writers.

  In 2022, in response to Covid 19 and the continued disruption of international travel, the Creative New Zealand RCWT residency will again run from 1 April to 30 September.

  The deadline for applications is Friday, 5 November 2021. The successful applicant will be announced in December.

  Application forms and further information can be found here.

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