• Sargeson Prize 2021 winners focus on relationships and families

    Posted on 14 October 2021

    A story about the harm patriarchal communities can do is the overall winner of this year’s Sargeson Prize. The University of Waikato sponsors the short story competition and announced the winners at the annual Frank Sargeson Memorial Lecture, which was streamed online on Wednesday night due to Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. Lara Markstein’s story ‘Good Men’ was […]

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  • Winners of 2021 Caselberg Trust International Poetry Prize announced

    Posted on 12 October 2021

    The Caselberg Trust International Poetry Prize winners for this year have been revealed. The competition is now in its eleventh year, and this year attracted 136 poems from across New Zealand and Australia. First place goes to Sophia Wilson from Ōtepoti – Dunedin for her poem “Sea-skins”. Runner up is Ōtautahi-Christchurch based Jenna Heller with […]

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  • International Translator’s Residency – call for entries

    Posted on 11 October 2021

    Moniack Mhor Writers’ Centre in the Scottish Highlands is asking for applications from international literary translators who wish to immerse themselves in Scottish literature.  The translator will receive a programme of meetings and showcases, exposing them to contemporary Scottish writers with the potential to pitch to international publishers for rights buying and translation. “This is […]

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  • International Writers Residency at Moniack Mhor now open for applications

    Posted on 11 October 2021

    Moniack Mhor Writers’ Centre in the Scottish Highlands is offering a month-long Connect and Collaborate residency opportunity to 10 mid-career international writers and Scottish peers. Six places will go to international writers who live outside of the UK, and three places will go to UK-based Scottish writers. There is a further one place available for […]

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  • Storylines Notable Books 2021 – Junior Fiction Winners Announced

    Posted on 7 October 2021

    Ten children’s novels named as Notable Storylines Children’s Literature Trust Te Whare Waituhi Tamariki o Aotearoa is pleased to announce ten novels by New Zealand authors for young readers, chosen as Storylines Notable Books 2021. The list, covering novels published from 1 January 2020 to 31 July 2021, is released in conjunction with the Kids’ […]

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  • Joy Watson – Obituary

    Posted on 7 October 2021

    Scholastic New Zealand and NZSA are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of dearly loved children’s author, Joy Watson, on Monday 4 October. Generations of children know Joy as the author of the much-loved series of five picture books about Grandpa (supposedly inspired by her husband!), illustrated by Wendy Hodder and beginning with the […]

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  • Warm congratulations NZ Book Industry Awards winners

    Posted on 6 October 2021

    The Nielsen Book Publisher of the Year award went to Mākaro Press, with the judges praising their expertise, appetite for risk and the company’s outstanding contributions to NZ literature. The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Bridget Williams of Bridget Williams Books (BWB) in recognition of her contribution to the Aotearoa publishing industry. The Book […]

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  • Bestselling authors call on publishers to name #TranslatorsOnTheCover

    Posted on 5 October 2021

    ‘Name the translator in the same breath as you name the author’ say authors, including Bernardine Evaristo, Sarah Waters, Preti Taneja, Katie Kitamura, Simon Schama, Max Porter, Tracy Chevalier and more. On International Translation Day 2021 #TranslatorsOnTheCover was launched, calling on every writer to ask their publishers for cover credits for the people who translate […]

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  • Welcoming University of Otago’s arts fellows

    Posted on 4 October 2021

    The University of Otago’s 2022 Arts Fellows’ projects will explore a wide range of topics with a common thread; understanding and embracing diversity. The 2022 Robert Burns Fellow is Albert Belz; Sean Donnelly is the Mozart Fellow; Michael Parmenter is the Caroline Plummer Fellow in Community Dance; Swapna Haddow is the University of Otago College […]

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  • Otago Summer Writer in Residence 2022 announced

    Posted on 4 October 2021

    Joanna Cho is this year’s University Book Shop Emerging Writer in Residence, and she will be taking up the Residency, in the Robert Lord Writers Cottage, in early January 2022. Cho was born in South Korea, her family moved to Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland when she was two, and now she lives in Te Whānganui-a-Tara/Wellington. She currently […]

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  • Sarah Forster – 2021 Storylines Betty Gilderdale Award Winner

    Posted on 4 October 2021

      Many congratulations to Sarah Forster, winner of the 2021 Storylines Betty Gilderdale Award Wellington’s Sarah Forster has been named as the recipient of the 2021 Storylines Betty Gilderdale Award for outstanding service to children’s and young adult literature and reading.Christine Young, chair of Storylines Trust says the award acknowledges the work Sarah has done […]

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  • Kiwi authors and books about emotions find favour with our kids

    Posted on 1 October 2021

    Every year, Kiwi kids get the chance to vote for their favourite books and Whitcoulls proudly publish the results. Now in its 23rd year, the 2021 Kids’ Top 50 Books List announced today shows the huge popularity of Kiwi authors, books about emotions and those in a series. Whitcoulls received more votes than ever this […]

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