The International Writers Workshop is a recipient of a generous bequest from
The Jocelyn Grattan Charitable Trust for an award in honour of Jocelyn's mother Kathleen. Due to the bequest some IWW competitions may offer monetary prizes (note: prize monies will be shared in tied placings) and currently no entry fee applies.
The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems
Other monthly competitions, which include a mix of poetry, fiction and non-fiction.
The 2024 competition program will be announced in early 2024. The completed 2023 competition calendar is listed below to give an example of how competitions are organised.
Competitions are open to financial and honorary members of IWW who normally live in New Zealand.
New members are welcome to join. Find out how to join here.
New members become eligible to enter competitions after their application has been tabled at a committee meeting and then approved in writing (usually via email).
The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems
The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems has been our premier competition of the year since 2009. It is for a cycle or sequence of poems that has a common link or theme - no limit to length.
Details of the 2024 competition will be announced around April 2024.
Monthly competitions
These competitions are for IWW members and further clarification, if any, should be in the newsletter. If you need more information, please email IWW.
All competitions close on a Tuesday workshop day. If you see a date that is not a Tuesday, please contact the webmaster for clarification.
All entries must be accompanied by the official IWW Cover Sheet, which must be attached to your competition entry. Please also adhere to the monthly competition rules below.
2023 IWW Competition Calendar
Please note, these competitons follow a workshop on the theme. A summary of the workshop will appear in the newsletter prior to the competition closing date. An outline of the workshop leading up the competition will be on our meetings page.
| Genre/Topic |
Word Count |
Due date |
Flash Fiction
Judge: Gail Ingram
Results: At the meeting on 21st March 2023 |
250 words |
Closed |
Ekphrastic Writing
Judge: By popular vote of IWW members
Results: At the meeting on 18th April 2023 |
300 words |
Closed |
Characterisation and Crime
Judge: Nathan Blackwell
Results: At the meeting on 16th May 2023 |
1500 words |
Closed |
Memoir Incident
Judge: Bronwyn Bryant
Results: At the meeting on 20th June 2023 |
500 words |
Closed |
Long Fiction
Judge: Sarah Quigley
Results: At the meeting on 18th July 2023 |
3000 words |
Closed |
Childrens Story (for 6-8 year olds)
Judge: Maureen Crisp
Results: At the meeting on 15th August 2023 |
up to 1000 words |
Closed |
Poetry
Judge: Lynn Davidson
Results: At the meeting on 19th September 2023 |
up to 40 lines |
Closed |
Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Judge: Darian Smith
Results: At the meeting on 17th October 2023 |
1200-1500 words |
Closed |
Rules for the Monthly Competitions
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Competitions are open to financial and honorary life members
of IWW.
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There is a maximum of one entry per member per
competition.
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No writing that has been previously published
may be entered.
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No writing that has won a competition may be entered.
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No writing that has previously won 1st,
2nd or 3rd place in an IWW competition may be re-entered.
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Entries to be at least one-and-a-half line spacing for prose (fiction / non-fiction). Single spacing is permitted for poetry. Font to be at least 12-point, preferably Times New Roman.
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Entries to be on one side of the paper only.
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Illustrations are not permitted, unless explicitly stated.
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Entries are to meet or not exceed the word count
or time limit as set out in the competition schedule for the
entry category.
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A completed Cover Sheet with entry category,
title, maximum length as set out in the competition schedule,
the actual length, and your pen-name, is to accompany your entry. For printed entries, attach Cover Sheet with either a paper clip or a staple.
Click here to
download a Cover Sheet.
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Your real name and pen-name
must be completed in the space provided at the bottom of the Cover Sheet.
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Your real name must not appear on your
entry piece, although your pen-name may appear.
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Entries are to reach the competition secretary
by the deadline. They can either be:
a. Handed in at the meeting on or before the due date.
b. Emailed with both Cover Sheet and Competition Entry as PDF attachments.
Receipt of emailed entries will be acknowledged.
If you send as a word processing document the correct formatting cannot be guaranteed at the recipient's end, nor may the document be able to be read. PDF preserves your formatting on different computer systems.
c. Posted or couriered to the Competition Secretary’s postal address. The address will be notified in the IWW newsletter or by email prior to competition closing date. IWW is not responsible for entries sent to an incorrect address.
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If you wish your handed in / posted / couriered entry to be returned by post, please also
include a stamped, self-addressed envelope.
These rules are also available as a PDF - click here
Competition Results
Click here to view
the results of some of our recent competitions.