The ''Landfall'' Essay Competition is an annual competition open to New Zealand writers. It is judged by the current editor of the long-running literary magazine ''Landfall'' and the winning entry is published in a subsequent issue of the magazine.

History

The ''Landfall'' Essay Competition was first held in 1997 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the literary magazine ''Landfall''. It was begun by Chris Price, who was editor at the time, and was sponsored by the Otago University Press. The competition has been awarded annually since 2009 and is judged each year by the current editor. The aim of the competition is "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". In 2017 the Charles Brasch Young Writers' Essay Competition, named for ''Landfall'' founder

Charles Brasch Charles Orwell Brasch (27 July 1909 – 20 May 1973) was a New Zealand poet, literary editor and arts patron. He was the founding editor of the literary journal ''Landfall'', and through his 20 years of editing the journal, had a significant i ...

, was launched, which is an annual award open to young writers between the ages of 16 and 21. In 2019, ''Strong Words 2019: The Best of the Landfall Essay Competition'' was published, featuring shortlisted competition entries selected by

Emma Neale Emma Neale (born 2 January 1969) is a novelist and poet from New Zealand. Background Neale was born in Dunedin and grew up in Christchurch, San Diego, and Wellington. She received her undergraduate degree from Victoria University of Welling ...

, then editor of ''Landfall''. It was selected by ''

The Spinoff ''The Spinoff'' is a New Zealand online magazine and news website that was founded in 2014. It is known for current affairs coverage, political and social analysis, and cultural commentary. It earns money through commercial sponsorship and su ...

'' as one of the ten best non-fiction works of 2019.

Eligibility and conditions

there are a number of conditions of entry, including: * The competition is open to New Zealand citizens or permanent residents. * Essays must not exceed 4000 words. * Essays can be on any topic but must not have been previously published. The winner is announced and published in each November issue of ''Landfall''. The winner receives $3000 and a year’s subscription to ''Landfall''.

List of winners by year

*1997:

Gregory O'Brien Gregory Leo O’Brien (born 1961) is a New Zealand poet, painter and editor. Life Born in Matamata in 1961, O'Brien trained as a journalist in Auckland and worked as a newspaper reporter in Northland. He graduated from the University of Auc ...

and

Joris de Bres Joris, a Dutch form of the given name George, may refer to: *Joris Bado (born 1991), Burkinabé basketball player *Joris Bert (born 1987), French baseball player * Joris Borghouts (born 1939), Dutch Egyptologist * Joris Delle (born 1990), French f ...

. *1999:

C. K. Stead Christian Karlson "Karl" Stead (born 17 October 1932) is a New Zealand writer whose works include novels, poetry, short stories, and literary criticism. He is one of New Zealand's most well-known and internationally celebrated writers. Early l ...

and Peter Wells. *2002: Patrick Evans and

Kapka Kassabova Kapka Kassabova (born in November 1973, in Bulgarian Капка Касабова) is a poet and writer of fiction and narrative non-fiction. Her mother tongue is Bulgarian, but she writes in English. Life Kapka Kassabova was born and grew up in ...

. *2004:

Martin Edmond Martin Edmond (born 1952 in Ohakune) is a New Zealand author and screenplay writer. He is the son of writer Lauris Edmond. Biography Edmond studied Anthropology and English, graduating MA in English from Victoria University of Wellington. H ...

and Tze Ming Mok. *2006: Anna Sanderson. *2008: Alice Miller and Kirsten Warner. *2009:

Ashleigh Young Ashleigh Young (born 1983) is a poet, essayist, editor and creative writing teacher. She received the Windham-Campbell Literature Prize in 2017 for her second book, a collection of personal essays titled ''Can You Tolerate This?'' which also won ...

. *2010:

Ian Wedde Ian Curtis Wedde (born 17 October 1946) is a New Zealand poet, fiction writer, critic, and art curator. Biography Born in Blenheim, New Zealand, Wedde lived in East Pakistan and England as a child before returning to New Zealand. He attended ...

. *2011: Philip Armstrong. Runner-up: Siobhan Harvey. Commended: Ruth Nichol, Raewyn Alexander, and Natalie Kershaw. *2012:

Elizabeth Smither Elizabeth Edwina Smither (born 15 September 1941) is a New Zealand poet and writer. Life and career Smither was born in New Plymouth, and worked there part-time as a librarian. Her first collection of poetry, ''Here Come the Clouds'', was publi ...

. Runners-up: Majella Cullinane and Jane Williamson. *2013: Tim Corballis. Runners-up: Eva Ng and Maggie Rainey-Smith. *2014:

Diana Bridge Diana Bridge (born 1942 in Wellington) is a New Zealand poet. She attended Queen Margaret College and Victoria University of Wellington. She lived most of her adult life in various parts of Asia, including India and China, and as an adult she c ...

. Runners-up: Sarah Bainbridge, Simon Thomas, and Scott Hamilton. *2015: Tracey Slaughter. 2nd: Phil Braithwaite. 3rd:

Louise Wallace Louise Annette Wallace (née Hooper, born 21 November 1959) is a New Zealand television presenter, actress, and director. Early life Born Louise Annette Hooper in Auckland on 21 November 1959, Wallace was educated at St Cuthbert's College. ...

. Highly commended: Therese Lloyd. *2016:

Airini Beautrais Airini Jane Beautrais (born 1982) is a poet and short-story writer from New Zealand. Background Beautrais was born in 1982 and grew up in Auckland and Whanganui. She studied creative writing and ecological science at the Victoria University o ...

. 2nd:

Michalia Arathimos Michalia Arathimos is a Greek–New Zealand writer. She has held several writers' residencies in New Zealand, and received several awards for her short stories. Her debut novel, ''Aukati'', was published in 2017. Life and career Arathimos was b ...

. 3rd: Carolyn Cossey. *2017: Joint first:

Laurence Fearnley Laurence Fearnley (born 1963) is a New Zealand short-story writer, novelist and non-fiction writer. Several of her books have been shortlisted for or have won awards, both in New Zealand and overseas, including ''The Hut Builder'', which won the ...

and Alie Benge. Shortlisted: Ingrid Horrocks,

Lynley Edmeades Lynley Edmeades is a New Zealand poet, academic and editor. She has published two poetry collections and held a number of writers' residencies. she is the editor of the New Zealand literary journal Landfall (journal), ''Landfall''. Biography ...

, Sue Wootton,

Kate Camp Kate Camp (born 1972) is a New Zealand poet and author who currently resides in Wellington. Early life and education Camp was born in 1972 in Wellington, New Zealand. She has a BA in English from the Victoria University of Wellington. Career ...

, and Mark Houlahan. *2018: Alice Miller. 2nd: Susan Wardell. 3rd: Sam Keenan. *2019: Joint first: Tobias Buck and Nina Mingya Powles. 3rd: Sarah Harpur. Joint 4th: Joan Fleming and

Jillian Sullivan Jillian Sullivan is a writer of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry and a creative writing teacher. Her work has been published in New Zealand and overseas. Biography Jillian Sullivan was born in Masterton in 1957. She has written novels and sh ...

. Highly commended: Ingrid Horrocks, Himali McInnes, and Derek Schulz. Commended: Justine Jungersen-Smith and Amy Brown. *2020: A.M. McKinnon. 2nd: Tan Tuck Ming. 3rd equal: Anna Blair and Siobhan Harvey. Highly commended: Sarah Barnett, Shelley Burne-Field, Anna Knox, Una Cruickshank. *2021: Andrew Dean. 2nd: Claire Mabey. 3rd: Susan Wardell. Highly commended: Norman Franke, Susanna Elliffe.

External links

''Landfall'' magazine

References

{{Reflist New Zealand non-fiction literary awards 1997 establishments in New Zealand Awards established in 1997

History

Eligibility and conditions

List of winners by year

See also

External links

References