The winners of this year’s Wallace Foundation Short Fiction Contest were announced at a special event during the Auckland Writers Festival last Saturday. Stories must be original, unpublished works of fiction and may be on any theme. The word limit is 2000 words.

Samesame but different is delighted to announce the winners:
Overall winner – Turning Blue (Julie Helean)
Runner up – Five Dollar Jo (Lisa Williams)
Under 25 Winner – Protea Neriifolia (Sinead Overbye)

This is the fourth year of the contest and there was a substantial increase in the number of entries this year.

Judges were experienced writers Brendan Weir and Paula Boock. They outlined the judging process and commented that writers should continue to write and to enter contests, whether or not they win.

The prizes were awarded by visiting Auckland Writers Festival author, Alexander Chee, alongside the funder, Sir James Wallace of the Wallace Foundation.

The prize money was increased this year: a first prize of $1000 for the winning story, $500 for the runner-up and $500 for the best entry by a promising young writer aged under 25.

Samesame but different appreciates the support received from the Auckland Writers Festival.

For more information on samesame but different, please go to: http://www.samesamebutdifferent.co.nz .