IWW Results

Recent Competition Results

This page provides results of IWW competitions.
Click here to jump to a summary of The Kathleen Grattan Prize results.

The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems - November 2023

Judge: Emma Neale

Winner: Caroline Masters for The Mountains Above, The Mountains Below
Runner-Up: Sarah Scott for Sun Goddess: The Paintings of Rita Angus
Click here to read the Press Release.

Sci-Fi/Fantasy - October 2023

Judge: Darian Smith

First: 'Blood Protectors - Gabby' by Sue Glamuzina
Second: 'Zoryana’s Concern' by Gavin Flower
Third: 'Reset' by Craig Steed

Poetry (up to 40 lines) - September 2023

Judge: Lynn Davidson

First: 'Neighbourhood Gentrification' by Denise O’Hagan
Second: 'Come Sun' by Bronwyn Bryant
Third: 'Mangroves' by Sue Courtney

Children's Story (for 6-8 year olds) - August 2023

Judge: Maureen Crisp

First: 'Vincent and the Eels' by Sue Courtney
Second: 'Big Boy' by Edna Heled
Third: 'Detective Helpers' by Christine Beardon
Highly Commended: 'Lavender Hill' by Sue Glamuzina

Long Fiction - July 2023

Judge: Sarah Quigley

First: 'Ninepence' by John Leyland
Second: 'Where am I From' by Denise O’Hagan
Highly Commended: 'The Switches' by Sue Glamuzina

Memoir Incident - June 2023

Judge: Bronwyn Bryant

First: 'The 5th of December 1952' by Leonie Couper
Second: 'Friday Night Drinks' by Sue Courtney
Third: 'An Education' by Christine Beardon
Highly Commended: 'Perception' by Edna Heled

Characterisation and Crime - May 2023

Judge: Nathan Blackwell

First: 'The Case of the Blue Shopping Trolley' by Sue Courtney
Second: 'Two by Two' by Edna Heled

Ekphrastic Writing - April 2023

Judge: Voted by IWW members

First: 'Not for Everyone’s Eyes' by John Leyland
Second: 'Through the Looking Glass' by Juliet Yates
Third equal: 'An Octopus’s Garden Under the Sea' by Sue Courtney
Third equal: 'An Infinite Shade of Blue' by Duncan Perkinson

Flash Fiction - March 2023

Judge: Gail Ingram

First: 'Retreat' by Margaret Moores
Second: 'Hitching Post' by Sue Courtney
Third: 'Amen' by Judy Tindill

The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems - November 2022

Judge: Janet Charman

Winner: Margaret Moores for Absences
Runner-Up: Lincoln Jaques for Casual Euphoria
Click here to read the Press Release.

Click here for all winners of The Kathleen Grattan Prize.

Playwriting - October 2022

Judge: Gary Henderson

First: 'Sonny-Abula' by Christin Beardon
Second: 'One left on the Bucket List' by Duncan Perkinson

Travel Writing - September 2022

Judge: Yvonne van Dongen

First: 'These Boots are Made For …' by John Leyland
Second: 'Puppy and Petra' by Edna Heled

Longer Writing - August 2022

Judge: Scott Butler

First: 'The Boyfriend's Cup' by Norma Riley
Second: 'Mistaken in Masquerades' by Denise O'Hagan
Highly Commended: 'The Bird Tree' by Gay Johnson

Poetry - one short and one long poem - July 2022

Judge: Trixi Rosa

Winner: 'Now it is Time' and 'Refugees' by Edna Heled

Flash Fiction - April 2022

Judge: Paul Clark

First: 'Bad News' by Denise O'Hagan
Second: 'The Hypnotist' by John Leyland
Third: 'Countdown to Christmas' by Duncan Perkinson
Highly Commended: 'Edie's Antidote' by Norma Riley

The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems - November 2021

Judge: Vana Manasiadis

Winner: Robyn Maree Pickens for Juniper
Joint Runner-Up: Marie McGuigan for The Goose Wing
Joint Runner-Up: Kerrin Sharp for Te hau o te atua / The breath of heaven

Click here to read the Press Release.

Click here for all winners of The Kathleen Grattan Prize.

Romance Writing - September 2021

Judge: Anne Ashby

First: 'Four Hands in the Wheel' by John Leyland
Worthy Mention: 'Lost then Found' by Duncan Perkinson

Historical Writing - August 2021

Judge: Vicky Adin

First: 'Tomahawk Beach' by Judy Tindill
Second: 'In Absentia' by Denise O'Hagan
Highly Commended: 'The other Half' by Jenny Clay

Children’s Story - July 2021

Judge: Maria Gill

First: 'Beatrice Tinsley – Queen of the Cosmos' by Duncan Perkinson
Second: 'Tomfoolery in the Garden' by Denise O'Hagan
Third: 'The Secret World Under the Garden' by Tom Shiels

Flash Fiction - May 2021

Judge: Anita Arlov

First: 'Rodeo' by Caroline Carlyle
Second: 'Moonbeams' by Leonie Couper
Third: 'To Honour the Spirits' by Juliet Yates
Commended: 'Wing It' by Quentin Whitehouse

Haiku and Tanka - March 2021

Judge: Katherine Raine

Winner of the Haiku: 'Spring Cleanup' by Edna Heled
Runner-Up in the Haiku: 'Creeping Tide' by Sue Courtney
Winner of the Tanka: 'Collecting Dust' by Sue Courtney
Runner-Up in the Tanka: 'Family dinner' by Edna Heled

The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems - November 2020

Judge: Siobhan Harvey

Winner: Liz Breslin for In bed with the feminists
Runner-Up: Sophia Wilson for Attempting to Land

Click here to read the Press Release.

Click here for all winners of The Kathleen Grattan Prize.

300 word Flash Fiction - October 2020

Judge: Anita Arlov

First: 'The Bedouin' by Tamsin Worsley
Second: 'The Night Ferry' by Sue Courtney
Joint Third: 'A Killer View' by Edna Heled
Joint Third: 'A Memory of Spring' by Leonie Couper

Mystery story - September 2020

Judge: Nathan Blackwell

First: 'The Shackle that broke' by Juliet Yates
Second: 'One is too many' by Duncan Perkinson

Play-writing - March 2020

Judge: Paul Kalburgi

First: 'Text or Subtext' by John Leyland
Second: 'The Accident' by Sarah Abbott
Third: 'Dinner with Dad' by Duncan Perkinson

Flash Fiction - February 2020

Judge: Paul Clark

First: 'In Isolation' by Sophia Wilson
Second: 'Serving Porridge' by Duncan Perkinson
Third: 'Time Bomb' by Gavin Flower

The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems - November 2019

Judge: Professor Bryan Walpert

Winner: Siobhan Harvey for Ghosts
Runner-Up: Gillian Roach for Mute as Bottles

Click here to read the Press Release.

Click here for all winners of The Kathleen Grattan Prize.

Sargeson-inspired Short Story - October 2019

Judge: Jenny Cole and Helen Woodhouse

First: 'Banana Loaf' by Judy Tindill
Second: 'Conversation in the Marketing Department' by Duncan Perkinson
Highly Commended: 'The Writers Recipe' by Sue Courtney

'How To' article - September 2019

Judge: Ruth Hamilton

First: 'How to Trace Your Ancestors' by Leonie Couper
Second equal: 'How to Procrastinate About Writing that Novel or Biography' by Jenny Clay
and 'How to Take Your Humans for a Walk on the Beach' by Duncan Perkinson
Highly Commended: 'How to Make an IWW Memoir Activity Book' by John Leyland

Weaving Dialogue into Prose - August 2019

Judge: Thalia Henry

First: 'The Koru' by Tamsin Worsley
Second: 'Mud Cake' by Denise O'Hagan
Third: 'Ninepence' by John Leyland
Highly Commended: 'Old Nobby' by Craig Steed

Romance - July 2019

Judge: Louisa George

First: 'Her Bad Boy' by Gay Johnson
Second: 'Second Chance' by Denise O'Hagan
Third: 'Finding Love in a Vineyard' by Duncan Perkinson

Kiddult Story - June 2019

Judge: Judy Lawn

First: 'The Reluctant Hero' by Tom Shiels
Second: 'A Walk in the Park' by Denise O'Hagan
Third: 'The Hat Box' by Annie Glancie
Highly Commended: 'Caught in the Act' by Carol Sharma

Travel Story - April 2019

Judge: Joanna Wane

First: 'Medusa and the Moon' by Judy Tindill
Second: 'On the go with my Fat Friend' by Barbara Hawthorn
Third: 'Barefoot and Beans' by Norma Riley

Flash Fiction - March 2019

Judge: Anita Arlov

First: 'On Comtemplation' by Anne Hollier Ruddy
Second: 'Queasy' by John Leyland
Third: 'Destined Encounter' by Sue Courtney

The Kathleen Grattan Prize

Winners of The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems

2023
The winner of the 2023 prize is Caroline Masters for her sequence The Mountains Above, The Mountains Below.
Sarah Scott is the runners-up. Judge: Emma Neale.
Click here to read the Press Release.

2022
The winner of the 2022 prize is Margaret Moores for her sequence Absences.
Lincoln Jaques is the runners-up. Judge: Janet Charman.
Click here to read the Press Release.

2021
The winner of the 2021 prize is Robyn Maree Pickens for her sequence Juniper.
Joint runners-up are Marie McGuigan and Kerrin Sharp. Judge: Vana Manasiadis.
Click here to read the Press Release.

2020
The winner of the 2020 prize is Liz Breslin for her sequence In bed with the feminists.
Sophia Wilson is the runner-up. Judge: Siobhan Harvey.
Click here to read the Press Release.

2019
The winner of the 2019 prize is Siobhan Harvey for her sequence Ghosts.
Gillian Roach is the runner-up. Judge: Professor Bryan Walpert.
Click here to read the Press Release.

2018
The winner of the 2018 prize is Heather Bauchop for her sequence The Life in Small Deaths.
Gillian Roach is the runner-up. Judge: Stu Bagby.
Click here to read the Press Release.

2017
The winner of the 2017 prize is Janet Newman for her sequence Tender.
Anne Hollier Ruddy is the runner-up. Judge: Robert Sullivan.

2016
The winner of the 2016 prize is Michael Giacon for his sequence Argento in no man land.
Caroline Carlyle was presented with the 'Emerging Poet Award'. Judge: Gus Simonovic.

2015
The winner of the 2015 prize is Maris O'Rourke for her sequence Motherings.
Sue Wootton is runner-up. Judge: Rosetta Allan.
Gay Johnson was presented with the 'Emerging Poet Award'.

2014
The winner of the 2014 prize is Julie Ryan for her sequence On Visiting Old Ladies.
Jane Newman is runner-up. Judge: Janet Charman.

2013
The winner of the 2013 prize is Belinda Diepenheim for her sequence Bittercress and Flax.
Maris O'Rourke was the runner-up. Judges: Stu Bagby and Jenny Cole.

2012
The winner of the 2012 prize is James Norcliffe for his sequence, What do you call your male parent?'.
Jenny Clay was the runner-up. Judges: Stu Bagby and Jenny Cole.

2011
The winner of the 2011 prize is Jillian Sullivan, for her sequence How to live it.
Siobhan Harvey and Aysha Vitapa-Aspinall were joint runners-up. Judges: Stu Bagby and Selina Tusitala Marsh.

2010
Joint winners were declared. They are
Janet Charman, for her sequence, Mother won't come to us, and
Rosetta Allan for her sequence Capricious Memory. Judges: Jack Ross and Johamma Emeney.

2009
The winner of the 2009 prize is Alice Hooton, for her sequence America.
Jackie Ottaway was runner-up. Judges: Jack Ross and Johamma Emeney.