A Wellington-based mother of two has won the Commonwealth Short Story Competition, which attracted more than 2000 entries. Emma Martin won the Pacific section last month, and became one of five finalists in the overall competition.
Her entry Two Girls in a Boat, written while she was completing her masters in creative writing at Victoria University in 2010, was announced the winner over the weekend.
Speaking to the Dominion Post after her entry had been shortlisted, she said she felt like a new kid on the block.
"I felt excited just to be on the list. I've had stories published in a few different journals, but this feels like a huge step up for me. It's hugely encouraging."
Commonwealth Short Story Prize chairwoman Bernardine Evaristo praised Martin's work for having linguistic flair, originality, depth and daring.
"The story was chosen for its gorgeous, elegant and spare writing, its nuanced handling of time, place and relationships, its daring, provocative subject matter and clear-eyed exploration of the choice of heterosexual conformity in the face of sexual mutability.
"She said it was great that Martin, who had never published a book, had been discovered through the competition.
Martin said it was a wonderful and unexpected honour to win.
"Writing can be a solitary business, so to receive any award is immensely encouraging. But the Commonwealth Short Story Prize is especially meaningful to me."
The awards, which were presented at the Hay Festival, the annual literary event in Hay-on-Wye, western England, aim to showcase new literary talent in the Commonwealth.
Martin grew up in Dunedin and her stories and essays have been published in literary journals and anthologies in New Zealand and Britain. She is currently working on a collection of short stories.
Commonwealth Writers is a new cultural programme within the Commonwealth Foundation which aims to develop, connect and inspire writers.
Footnote:
Read the story at Granta.
2 comments:
A good way to sniff out sexism in journalism is to change the gender in the headline. Think you'd ever see one reading "Capital Dad Wins Writing Contest?" It's 2012, folks. Do you honestly remain surprised that women who are mothers can also be something else? No? Then why mention the fact that she's a mother in the headline? What's wrong with "Capital Writer Wins Writing Contest?"
A good way to sniff out sexism in journalism is to change the gender in the headline. Think you'd ever see one reading "Capital Dad Wins Writing Contest?" It's 2012, folks. Do you honestly remain surprised that women who are mothers can also be something else? No? Then why mention the fact that she's a mother in the headline? What's wrong with "Capital Writer Wins Writing Contest?"
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