Short story comp opens

Budding writers and seasoned scribes might like to sharpen their keyboard skills with entries for the Sargeson Prize, the country’s richest short story competition, now open.

The competition, named for celebrated New Zealand writer Frank Sargeson, is sponsored by the University of Waikato. The top prize in the Open Division is worth $10,000. 

The winner of the Secondary Schools Division will receive $500 and a one-week summer writing residency at the University of Waikato, including accommodation, meals and mentoring.

Chief judge for the competition this year is Dame Fiona Kidman, one of New Zealand’s best-known novelists and short-story writers. Entries close on June 30.

While there is no entry fee, stories are limited to one per person per division. Stories in the open division can be up to 5000 words and 3000 words for secondary schools’ stories.

Winning stories in both categories will be published online on Reading Room, the literary arm of Newsroom, managed by journalist and author Steve Braunias.

Info: www.waikato.ac.nz/fass/about/school-of-arts/english/sargeson-prize