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.
We offer the following competitions in 2019
The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems
Other monthly competitions, which include a mix of poetry, fiction and non-fiction.
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 competition, prize money, the name of the judge and the 2019 rules and guidelines will be posted by the end of April 2019.
Entry is restricted to financial and honorary IWW members, including any new member whose membership application form is received before or at our meeting on the third Tuesday in June, which is the 18th June in 2019.
Entries close on 1 October 2019. Our PO Box will be cleared in the morning, so please post early to ensure your entry arrives in time. Hand delivered entries will be accepted at our IWW meeting that day. Late entries will not be accepted.
The winner will be announced at the IWW end of year function on Tuesday 19 November 2019.
Click here for the 2018 Rules and Guidelines - these will be pretty much the same in 2019.
Click here for the 2019 Cover Sheet.
Two copies of the poem sequence are required and each entry must have this cover sheet attached to it.
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.
2019 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: Anita Arlov
Results: At the meeting on 5 March 2019 |
250 words |
Closed |
Travel Story
Judge: Joanna Wane
Results: At the meeting on 16 April 2019. |
800-1200 words |
19/3/2019 |
Kidult Story
Judge: Judy Lawn
Results: At the meeting on 4 Jun 2019
|
2000 words |
7/5/2019 |
Romance
Judge: Louisa George
Results: At the meeting on 2 July 2019. |
1800-2000 words |
4/6/2019 |
Short Story Fiction
Weaving Dialogue into Prose
Judge: Thalia Henry
Results: At the meeting on 6 August 2019. |
2000-3000 words |
2/7/2019 |
'How To' article
Judge: Mariska Mannes
Results: To be confirmed |
TBA |
20/8/2019 |
Rules for the Monthly Competitions
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Competitions are open to all 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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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.
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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 topic.
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A completed cover sheet with entry category,
title, maximum length as set out in the competition schedule,
the actual length of your entry and your pen-name, is to be
attached to the entry with either a paper clip or a staple.
Click here to
download a cover sheet.
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Your own name must not appear on your
entry piece, although your pen-name may appear.
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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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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 are to reach the competition secretary
by the deadline, either handed in at the meeting or to arrive in the post
that day. Late entries will not be accepted.
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Postal entries are to be sent to International Writer's Workshop,
PO Box 36652, Northcote, Auckland, 0748.
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If you wish your entry to be returned by post, please also
include a stamped, self-addressed envelope.
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Entries may be emailed in certain circumstances
by arrangement with the Competition Secretary.
These rules are also available as a PDF - click here
Competition Results
Click here to view
the results of some of our recent competitions.