Prize-giving and Readings, with Judges’ Special
Remarks
Events in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington
Sunday, 22 June, 2pm
Because life is short. And so is some of the best
fiction.
“One of the great things about flash fiction is that
it takes only a moment to read and savour the work. Because of word economy
needed in the form, association, imagery and symbolism are often used to
suggest rather than describe. Language is really put under pressure the same
way as in poetry.”
- Frankie McMillan, 2014 NFFD judge
“Flash fiction is a wonderful amalgam of poetry (every
word matters) and fiction (plot/character), and therefore a great test of a
writer's skills. It is both fun and addictive, and becomes especially so when
there's a competition in the offing.”
- Mary McCallum, 2014 NFFD judge
Back for its third year, New Zealand’s
national flash competition honours the best 300-word stories in Aotearoa. This year’s judges Frankie McMillan and Mary
McCallum will preside over events in Christchurch and Wellington,
respectively.
PRIZE-GIVINGS AND READINGS
Celebrations will take place in three
different locations – including simultaneous awards announcements plus regional
awards sponsored by branches of the New Zealand Society of Authors:
Auckland: Flash and Flasher
·
Including
past and present winners Patricia
Hanifin, Jac Jenkins, Eileen
Merriman, Patrick Pink, Ila Selwyn, plus Flash Frontier Features Editor Rachel
Fenton
·
2pm in the Auckland
Central City Library, Lorne Street, in the Whare Wānanga, Level 2
"I tried writing flash fiction for the first time for the
competition and was intrigued by the special nature of this writing and challenged
by how to create character, voice, place and description that worked to tell a
complete story. There was something enchanting for me in the compression,
although I've read flash fictions that are wildly different in form. I'll
be looking forward to the finalists reading on Sunday and
hearing how they succeeded."
- Kirsten
Warner, Auckland branch chair,
New Zealand
Society of Authors (PEN NZ)
Christchurch: Flash in the
Pan
·
compered by Morrin Rout and
featuring Frankie McMillan
and James Norcliffe plus
present/ past winners Celia Coyne, Melanie Dixon, Gail Ingram, Elysia Rose
Jenson, Brindi Joy, Sue Kingham, Heather McQuillan, Monique
Shoneveld, Rachel Smith and
Reuben Todd
·
2pm at the ImageTech Lecture Room, CPIT,
Madras Street (entrance rear right of car park on Madras Street)
“It's been wonderful to help organise the Flash Fiction event this year
in Christchurch and, in the process, to discover how many talented flash
fiction writers we have in Canterbury.”
- Brindi Joy, Christchurch
NFFD team , 2013 Long List,
2012 Canterbury Regional
winner
Wellington: Open Mic Flash Event
·
featuring Mary McCallum and Catherine
Robertson, as well as past and present NFFD awards winners Maggie Rainey-Smith, Susan
Koster and Rebecca Styles
·
2pm at the Wellington Central Library, Victoria
Street
For more details about this year’s events, please go
to the National Flash Fiction Day website.
THE WINNERS
Winning stories from this year’s
competition – including long-listed and highly commended stories -- will be
published in Flash Frontier: An Adventure in Short Fiction in a special July issue.
The prizes include $300 prize for first
place, $150 for second and $100 for third.
THANK YOU
Heartfelt thanks to event organisers Brindi Joy in Christchurch, Rebecca Styles in Wellington and Kirsten Warner in Auckland. NFFD Chair Michelle Elvy notes the
extraordinary way people have come together for this year’s celebrations and
the happy circumstance of the geographical distribution of the long-listed and
short-listed writers. NFFD 2014 is sure to be a spectacular day, one that could
not have happened without the energy and enthusiasm of those on the ground
pouring energy and enthusiasm into making it a success.
NFFD also thanks supporters Jason Books in Auckland and Scorpio
Books in Christchurch,
both of whom have provided vouchers for this year’s celebration.
And a special thank you to
the good folks at the Wellington and Auckland libraries and also CPIT in
Christchurch, who have made these venues possible for the June 22 events.
Thanks also to the behind-the-scenes
NFFD Committee: Katherine Honeyman (Auckland), Margaret Cahill (Kerikeri),
Rebecca Styles (Wellington) and James Norcliffe (Christchurch).
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