$1000 Poetry Prize Announced

 

International Writers' Workshop NZ Inc (IWW) is delighted to announce that due to an ongoing bequest from the Jocelyn Grattan Charitable Trust The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems will take place again later this year.

The competition is for a cycle or sequence of unpublished poems that has a common link or theme.
The winner will receive The Kathleen Grattan Prize, which is $1000 this year.

IWW is thrilled that poet Robert Sullivan will judge the competition this year.  Robert’s first collection, Jazz Waiata, won the PEN (NZ) Best First Book Award in 1991 and his nine books include the bestselling Star Waka (Auckland UP, 1999), which has been reprinted five times. His poem ‘Kawe Reo / Voices Carry’ is installed in bronze in front of the Auckland City Library. He directed the creative writing programmes at the University of Hawai’i and at Manukau Institute of Technology. See  http://www.anzliterature.com/member/robert-sullivan/ for more.

Robert will conduct a 2-hour workshop on Writing a Poetry Sequence at the Workshop’s meeting venue, the Northcote Point Senior Citizen’s Villa, 119 Queen Street, Northcote Point, Auckland on Tuesday April 18 2017 starting at 10.30am. Visitors are welcome to attend. A $10 visitor entry fee to the workshop is refundable to visitors who join IWW by the third Tuesday in June.

This is the ninth time this poetry competition will be held with previous winners being Michael Giacon (2016) Maris O’Rourke (2015), Julie Ryan (2014), Belinda Diepenheim (2013), James Norcliffe (2012), Jillian Sullivan (2011) Janet Charman and Rosetta Allan (joint winners 2010) and Alice Hooton (2009).

The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems is sometimes referred to as the 'Little Grattan' as the Jocelyn Grattan Charitable Trust also funds the biennial Kathleen Grattan Award, run by Landfall / Otago University Press.

As per the terms of the bequest, the competition is restricted to IWW members.

For new members to become eligible to enter The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems 2017, application for membership must be received by the third Tuesday in June.

The rules for the competition, details of how to join and other activities of the Workshop are available from the IWW website: iww.co.nz

Key Dates

June 20: Last day for new members to join IWW to be eligible to enter The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems 2017.

October 3: Closing date for entries in The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems 2017.

November 21: Announcement of the winner of The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems 2017.

For further information about the Prize or about IWW in general, contact IWW President Sue Courtney, email iww-writers@outlook.com or phone (09) 426 6687.