Closing date 11 September 2020

You have ten more days to submit your entries of short prose, poetry and books.

Entries in all categories so far are inspiring. Organisers are busy getting entries to the judges.

Short prose entries can be a short story, a memoir or even an article with a heritage base. They may be published or unpublished, appealing to writers developing their career, as well as established writers.

This year’s judge for short prose is Becky Manawatu who won this year‘s Ockham fiction award. It is a chance to have your work assessed by a leading New Zealand writer and if you are short listed you will receive comments.  The only requirements are that the short prose piece should be no more than 2,500 words and have some connection to the theme: – Encountering our Stories – Arts, Culture and Identity, the theme for Christchurch’s Heritage Week of which this competition is a part.

This year poems that have been published in anthologies of collections after 1 July 2019 may be entered.  They can be sent as a photocopy or a scan, but all names -both those of the collection and the author – should be removed.

The judge for poetry is Teoti Jardine and again it is a chance to have your work considered by a well-known poet and if short listed to have comments on the work. The poem is to be no more than 50 lines and must have some connection with the theme mentioned above.

The competition closes on 11 September 2020 and entries post marked on or before that day will be accepted. Shortlists will be announced on Monday 12 October 2020, winners on Thursday 29 October, 7.30pm, at St Michael & All Angels, 95 – 99 Oxford Terrace Christchurch at the opening of WORD Festival 2020.

Short fiction and poetry can be emailed to nzsacanterbury@gmail.com or posted to NZSA c/- 302 Lake Terrace Rd, Shirley, Christchurch 8061. Entry forms and terms and conditions can be found at nzsacanterbury.wordpress.com or emailed on request from nzsacanterbury@gmail.com.

So please check your computers or ‘dust off’ a wonderful piece of your writing and send it in.