Top judges, new prizes for 2022 Sunday Star-Times Short Story Awards

One of NZ’s best loved short story competitions is back.

Tanticipated Short Story Awards, whose past winners include some of New Zealand’s best known writers, are back for 2022.

With the open category winner set to take home $7000 and other prizes totalling $4500, this year’s competition is set to be hotly contested and likely to surpass last year’s 900 entries,

editor Tracy Watkins says: ‘‘Every year seems to raise the bar for both the standard and number of entries.’’

Entries categories include: Open award ($7000 for up to 3000 words)

Emerging Ma¯ ori writer ($1500, 3000 words)

Emerging Pasifika writer ($1500, 3000 words)

Milford Foundation Secondary School writer ($1500 for up to 2000 words)

As one of New Zealand’s oldest and most prestigious short story competitions, the event always attracts a high calibre of judges – and this year is no exception, Watkins says. They include renowned New Zealand author Witi Ihimaera, judging the emerging Ma¯ ori category, and novelist Owen Marshall, who will judge the overall winner. Further judges will be announced next week.

Ihimaera is one of the most influential figures in New Zealand literature and was the first Ma¯ ori writer to publish both a book of short stories and a novel. His work includes writing for screen and stage, and his best-known novel he much

Whale Rider was made into an internationally successful film in 2002. Ihimaera has received numerous awards for his contribution to literature. The 50th anniversary edition of his book Pounamu Pounamu was published earlier this month, with a te reo Ma¯ ori version to follow next year.

Marshall is an award-winning novelist, short story writer, poet and anthologist and was previously a school teacher for 25 years. He has written or edited more than 30 books, including the best-selling novel The Larnachs, and has numerous awards for his fiction. Marshall has recently published Return to Harikoa Bay, his first collection of new stories in more than 10 years.

‘‘The opportunity to have your writing reviewed by such influential and important figures in the writing community is a huge attraction,’’ Watkins says.

‘‘Imagine having your work critiqued by a literary giant like Witi Ihimaera as a young or emerging Ma¯ ori writer.’’

Penguin Random House fiction publisher Harriet Allan will also provide the overall winner with her written review of their work. Penguin Random House is a longtime supporter and sponsor of the competition, providing both prize money and guidance and support.

‘‘Harriet is held in such high regard in the writing community that many of our winners have told us that’s as valuable to them as the prize money,’’ Watkins says.

Past awards have helped launch careers. Previous winners include novelists Kirsten McDougall, whose most recent book is the novel She’s a Killer (2021), set in NZ a few years from now; Booker prize winner Eleanor Catton; and best-selling authors Eileen Merriman and Carl Nixon.

Part of the attraction for writers is the opportunity to be published in the

and on exposing their work to wide audience. Last year’s awards attracted almost 900 entries, with artist and writer Dominic Hoey taking out the top prize. His story 1986 captured the judges’ hearts with its sharply observant social commentary on a Grey Lynn neighbourhood before gentrification. The awards, now approaching their 40th year, were reinvigorated last year with the help of new sponsor Milford Foundation, which put up extra prize money for the emerging Ma¯ ori and Pasifika categories to open the door to more young writers. This year, Milford Foundation has also sponsored a category for secondary school writers, worth $1500. The purpose of sponsoring the new category is to promote a new scholarship scheme easing the path to tertiary study for school leaders who might otherwise face cost and other barriers, Milford Foundation chief executive Bryce Marsden says.

The tertiary study scholarships will be awarded to up to 12 applicants from each of the Otago, Canterbury, Wellington, Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Auckland regions, and include a flexible support package up to a value of $10,000 a year, for up to four years of full time undergraduate study.

This funding is intended to help with costs associated with study: fees, living costs, course materials, accommodation, and travel.

The foundation will work alongside school principles to identify scholarship winners, Marsden says: ‘‘As an example, at one South Island high school the principal has already identified an ideal recipient for a foundation scholarship. This student is a top academic but is also living alone and paying for living costs via a student benefit as her mother has significant health issues.’’

Twelve scholarships will be awarded in the scheme’s first year, rising to 20 annually.

The closing date for the short story awards is October 31 and winners will be announced in December. Winning entries will be illustrated and published in the

and on over December and January. They will also be read to a wider audience on a special podcast, broadcast through

Full terms and conditions are available online. Entry form available at bit.ly/shortstorysst