Ngā Whakataetae

The annual Te Tauihu Short Story Awards are open to all New Zealand writers aged 16+, and celebrates stories written in te reo Māori and English. 

Made annually by the New Zealand Society of Authors with the support of Tāwhia Copyright Aotearoa, this award is open to ‘New Zealand writers of non-fiction, including educational material.’ Winners receive $25,000, ‘to devote time to a specific writing project.’

Funded by Creative New Zealand, this award ‘provides a stipend that enables a published writer or playwright at an early stage of their career to create a new work.’ The dollar amount varies depending on the amount requested for the project. The most recent award was $11,000, but has been as much as $25,000.

Funded by Creative New Zealand and for emerging writers, this award ‘enables a writer or playwright at an early stage of their career to write a new work.’

This biennial award is for an original book-length collection of poems by a New Zealand or South Pacific permanent resident or citizen. Individual poems in the collection may have been previously published, but the collection as a whole should be unpublished. The winner will receive $10,000 and a year’s subscription to Landfall.

This annual award was established in 1997 to mark 50 years of the literary magazine Landfall. The competition aims to ‘to encourage New Zealand writers to think aloud about New Zealand culture, and to revive and sustain the tradition of vivid, contentious and creative essay writing.’ Essays should not exceed 4000 words. The winner receives $3000, their essay will be published in the November issue of Landfall, and they receive a year’s subscription to the magazine.

Open to all New Zealand writers, submissions of flash fiction must be unpublished and no longer than 300 words. The winner receives $1,000, first and second runners-up $400 and $100 respectively.

Held annually by the International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML), this competition is open to Year 12 and 13 students. Submissions can be in English or te reo Māori. ‘The winner and nine finalists win cash and prizes for their poems, plus an invitation to attend an exclusive masterclass with leading New Zealand poets at the IIML at Victoria University of Wellington’s Kelburn campus.’

This award celebrates the life and work of the writer Laura Solomon, and is open to ‘published and unpublished writers to enter manuscripts written across genres, i.e. fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, drama, or children’s writing … for new writing with a unique and original vision.’ Manuscripts must be unpublished, and between 40,000-100,000 words. Poetry manuscripts should be 70-100 pages in length. The prize is a $1000 advance and a publication contract with The Cuba Press.

Established by the Māori Literature Trust Te Waka Taki Kōrero in collaboration with Huia Publishers, this biennial short story competition open to all Māori writers aims ‘to discover and promote new and emerging talent’ in English and te reo Māori.

Categories include short stories and poetry in te reo and English, and a tauira category, as well as the Keri Hulme Award for experienced Māori writers who ’embody the values of perseverance and experimentation through their body of work’.

Selected winners and finalists have their entry published in Huia Short Stories, the contemporary fiction series by Huia Publishers.

Established in 2019, New Zealand’s richest short story prize is sponsored by the University of Waikato. The Open Division is for writers aged 16 and over. Entries must be a single story no longer than 5000 words. First prize is $15,000, second and third $1000 and $500. Winning stories will be published on Newsroom, in its literary section ReadingRoom. The Secondary Schools Division is for students between the ages of 16-18 enrolled at a secondary school. First prize is $2,000, second and third prizes $500 and $200.

These annual fan-voted awards recognize excellence in science fiction, fantasy or horror, and are presented at the New Zealand National Science Fiction Convention. Categories may vary annually. ‘Professional nominations can be for novels, short stories, art and others. Fan nominations can be for fanzine, writing, art, services to fandom, Services to Science Fiction and more.’

Established in 1984, this annual short story award ‘has helped launch the careers of many well-known writers,’ including Eleanor Catton, Owen Marshall, and Sarah Quigley. There are two categories: the Open division has a prize of $5000, the Under 25 division has a prize of $1000. Winning entries are published in the Sunday Star Times, and Stuff.co.nz.

In 2021 a new category for an Emerging Māori Writer was added, with prize money of $1000, judged by Patricia Grace.