Otago University Press proudly celebrates bold, original voices with three major prizes for outstanding essay and poetry writing from Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific: the Landfall Tauraka Essay Prize, the Kathleen Grattan Poetry Award and the Landfall Tauraka Young Writers’ Essay Prize.
Conditions of entry
- Open to Aotearoa New Zealand citizens or permanent residents only.
- Essays must be fully developed, independent and original works, not generated by AI at any stage.
- Essays must not exceed 4000 words.
- Essays can be on any topic of the author’s choosing.
- Essays must not have been published elsewhere or be under consideration by any other competition or publisher during the competition period.
- Essays must not infringe any existing copyright and must contain nothing of a defamatory nature.
- One entry per person.
- Entries will be assessed by the judge, who reserves the right not to award a prize.
- No correspondence with the judge will be entered into.
- Landfall Tauraka reserves the right to publish the winning and shortlisted entries at the editor’s discretion.
- The winning writer’s name and photograph may be used by Landfall Tauraka and/or Otago University Press for publicity purposes.
How to enter
- Complete the submission form below and attach your essay as a Word file.
- Do not include your name on the essay itself.
Recent winners include: Franchesca Walker, Hannah August, Siobhan Harvey and Tina Makereti.
Conditions of entry
- Submissions must be complete book-length collections.
- Individual poems may have been previously published, but the collection as a whole must be unpublished.
- Entrants must be New Zealand or South Pacific permanent residents or citizens.
- Only one entry per person.
- Entries will be assessed by the judging panel, which reserves the right not to award a prize.
- Correspondence with the judges will not be entered into.
- Otago University Press has the right of first publication for the winning entry. Other entries may also be considered for publication.
- The name and photograph of the winning writer may be used by Landfall Tauraka and/or Otago University Press for publicity purposes.
- No current employees of Otago University Press or present editors of Landfall Tauraka are eligible to enter.
Preparing your entry
- Format the manuscript in 12pt Times New Roman, 1.5 line spacing. Keep formatting simple.
- Include the title and page number on each page.
- Do not include illustrations.
- Do not include your name anywhere on the manuscript.
- Note previously published poems (and where they appeared), but not in the manuscript.
How to enter
- Complete the entry form below and attach a PDF of your manuscript.
- Submit three hard copies (no plastic binding or covers, please). These will not be returned.
The Kathleen Grattan Award
Otago University Press
PO Box 56
Dunedin 9054
New Zealand
The Kathleen Grattan Award
Otago University Press
533 Castle St
Dunedin 9016
New Zealand
Kathleen Grattan, Auckland poet, former journalist and editor of New Zealand Woman’s Weekly, was a member of the Titirangi Poets. Her work appeared in Landfall and in collections such as Premier Poets from the World Poetry Society. Her daughter, Jocelyn Grattan, established the award through a bequest in her memory.
Recent winners include: Jo McNeice, Michael Steven and Philip Armstrong.
Conditions of entry
- Essays must not exceed 2000 words.
- Essays must be fully developed, independent and original works, not generated by AI at any stage.
- Open to Aotearoa New Zealand citizens or permanent residents aged between 16 and 25 years old on the closing date for entries.
- Essays can be on a topic of the author’s choosing.
- Essays must not have been published elsewhere or be under consideration by any other competition or publisher during the competition period.
- Essays must not infringe any existing copyright and must contain nothing of a defamatory nature.
- One entry per person.
- The judge will assess the merits of the essays and reserve the right not to award a prize. No correspondence with the judge will be entered into.
- Landfall Tauraka reserves the right to publish the winning and shortlisted entries at the editor’s discretion.
- The winning writer’s name and photograph may be used by Landfall Tauraka and/or Otago University Press for publicity purposes.
How to enter
- Complete the submission form below and attach your essay as a Word file.
- Do not include your name on the essay itself.
Recent winners include: Ava Reid, Emma Hughes and Xiaole Zhan.
See the complete list of past winners →
Sponsored by: Otago University Press, the University of Otago Department of English and Linguistics and Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature.