Text Publishing and the NZ Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc) are  thrilled to announce entries for the 2022 Michael Gifkins Prize for an Unpublished Novel are now open.

The Prize seeks fiction manuscripts by published and unpublished authors who are citizens or permanent residents of New Zealand. It celebrates the life and work of the writer and agent Michael Gifkins. The winner will receive a publication contract for world rights from Text, and an advance of NZ $10,000.

Submissions to the 2022 prize will close at midnight NZST on Thursday 14 October 2021. The shortlist will be announced in the second quarter of 2022 and the winner in the third quarter of 2022. The prize will be administered by the New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc). Entry forms and terms and conditions can be found here.

The 2021 winner will be announced at the New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc) Regional Roadshow in Auckland on 18 September at 5.30pm. All are welcome to attend.  The shortlist was announced in June. It comprises Paper Cage by Tom Baragwanath, Light Keeping by Adrienne Jansen and Landed by Sue McCauley.

The same event, the NZSA Auckland Tāmaki-makau- rau Regional Roadshow, will also host the launch of the 2020 Gifkins winner. Gigi Fenster’s enthralling psychological thriller A Good Winter, is a dark and complex portrait of a troubled mind. When accepting the prize, Fenster said: ‘It’s hard to overestimate the boost such a prize gives an author, not only because of the wonderful publishing opportunity this presents, but also the very real acknowledgement of the writer’s talents.’

The Gifkins Prize is made possible by a generous financial commitment from the Gifkins family and from Text Publishing. It is administered by the NZ Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (PEN NZ) Inc. Previous winners of the Gifkins Prize are Ruby Porter and Tom Remiger.

For administration and media enquiries, please contact:

Sophie Mannix
Text Publishing sophie.mannix@textpublishing.com.au
textpublishing.com.au

Jenny Nagle
New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc)
director@nzauthors.org.nz +6427 627 2728
authors.org.nz