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Lynn Jenner wins 2025 Kathleen Grattan Poetry Award
Poet Lynn Jenner has won the 2025 Kathleen Grattan Poetry Award for her manuscript ‘The Gum Trees of Kerikeri’, a collection set in Te Tai Tokerau Northland that reflects on place, history and belonging through finely observed details. Jenner started writing her manuscript in late 2024 and wrote through summer, autumn and winter. ‘Days of […]
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Catherine Chidgey Beats Global Superstars, Making History as Kiwis’ Favourite Author
Waikato author Catherine Chidgey has been voted the New Zealand public’s favourite author in the world in The Women’s Bookshop’s Top 50 Women Writers of the Last 50 Years survey. It is the first time a New Zealand author has taken the top spot in the 20 years the competition has been running. Ms Chidgey […]
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2026 Adam NZ Play Award Submissions
Submissions are now open for the 2026 Adam NZ Play Award. Awards may be given in the following categories: – Best Play – Best Play by a Māori Playwright – Best Play by a Pasifika Playwright – Best Play by a Woman Playwright We are very grateful for the generosity of the Adam Foundation who enable […]
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2026 Robert Burns Fellow – Rachel O’Neill
Poet, film maker, and artist Rachel O’Neill says they’re excited to relocate to Ōtepoti from Te Whanganui-a-Tara to undertake the 12-month fellowship. “The Robert Burns Fellowship supports writers to be bold, imaginative and maybe an extra bit courageous, too, to discover new capabilities through doing things differently, or doing different things. “Receiving the fellowship means I can continue to […]
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From shattered to shining: Becky Manawatu wins Sargeson Prize for story of a broken vase
Embargoed until 8pm Saturday 11 October 2025 Winners of the 2025 Sargeson Prize Award-winning author Becky Manawatu has taken out the prestigious Sargeson Prize with a quirky, unforgettable tale of a vase mysteriously resurrected after being smashed during a cousins’ drinking session. With a $15,000 first prize, New Zealand’s biggest short story competition drew […]
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Two NZ books receive 2025 White Ravens
Two NZ books will be awarded a 2025 White Raven Award at a ceremony at the Frankfurt Book Fair, with their books accessioned to the International Youth Library. Congratulations to NZSA member Mandy Hager for her young adult novel Gracehopper (One Tree House) and to Elizabeth Gray for her picture book Hineraukatauri me Te Ara Pūoro (Huia Publishers). […]
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Arts Funding 101 – Creative New Zealand
Creative New Zealand Funding 101 CNZ have produced this explainer on Arts Funding as part of its advocacy work. Arts Funding 101 explains the arts ecosytem and is a tool we can all use to encourage support when seeking support. CNZ Funding 101 2025 High Res 1
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The NZ Historical Association 2025 NZHA book short lists announced
Oct 9 NZHA are excited to announce the shortlist for our two book prizes, the Erik Olssen Prize for the best first book and the W.H. Oliver Prize for the best book in New Zealand history. Winners will be announced at the NZHA Conference in November. Erik Olssen first book prize The NZHA established the […]
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Bob Docherty wins 2025 Storylines Betty Gilderdale Award
Storylines Betty Gilderdale Award Winner Announced Retired Christchurch librarian and passionate children’s books advocate Bob Docherty has been named the winner of the 2025 Storylines Betty Gilderdale Award, which is given annually for distinguished long-term service to children’s and young adult literature at a regional or national level. “Bob represents the very best of the unsung heroes of […]
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2024 Australasian Shadows Awards Winners
The winning entries in the 2024 Australasian Shadows Awards have been announced! Congratulations to the winners and to everyone who made the shortlists. The winners were announced at the awards ceremony at Conflux 19, held recently in Canberra. Short Fiction Winner: “Archive of the Dead” by Pamela Jeffs (SNAFU: AI Insurrection, Cohesion Press) Shortlist: […]
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Caselberg Trust International Poetry Prize 2025 – winners announced
The winners of the 2025 Caselberg Trust International Poetry Prize have been announced. The competition is now in its fifteenth year, and this year attracted 150 poems from New Zealand, the USA and Germany. This year’s competition was judged by poet Robert Sullivan. This year’s winner is Helen Williford-Lower from Te Matau-a-Māui (Hawkes Bay) for […]
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The 2025 Katherine Mansfield Sparkling Prose Competition Shortlist
SHORT LIST An adaptable man by Hayden Pyke A Cigarette at Taurua Stream by Anna Scaife Double Helix by Elizabeth Kelsey Father figures by Jemma Richardson Inside by Tim Saunders Janus-faced Survival Mode by Sharni Wilson Meatless by Shelley Burne-Field Minotaur by Lee Hana One Week to Live by Michael Botur On the Couch by […]
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