Landfall Essay Competition

In 1997, Landfall celebrated its 50th anniversary. To mark the occasion, then editor Chris Price launched the Landfall essay competition, sponsored by Otago University Press. From 2009, the competition has been an annual award.

Winning and short-listed essays from past competitions can be read in Landfall 194, 198, 203, 212, 216, 218, 220, 222, 223 and 224.

The winner is announced and published in each November issue.

About the Competition

The purpose of the competition remains as it was at the outset: to encourage New Zealand writers to think aloud about New Zealand culture, and to revive and sustain the tradition of vivid, contentious and creative essay writing in this country – as embodied in the non-fiction of early Landfall contributors such as Bill Pearson, in the essays of past winners of this competition, and in the essays the journal continues to publish.

Entries for the next Landfall Essay Competition (2013) will be accepted from 1 May 2013. The closing date for receipt of entries is 5 pm 31 July 2013. The winning entry/ies will be published in the November 2013 issue of Landfall.

The winner will receive $3000 and a year’s subscription to Landfall.

Landfall Essay Competition Winners and Short-listed Authors

2012

Elizabeth Smither won the competition with her essay 'Reading a Bad Book Is Like Getting Food Poisoning', published in Landfall 224: Home and Building. Runners-up were Majella Cullinane and Jane Williamson.

2011

Philip Armstrong was the winner for his essay 'On Tenuous Ground', published in Landfall 222: Christchurch and Beyond. Siobhan Harvey, Ruth Nichol, Raewyn Alexander and Natalie Kershaw were shortlisted. Siobhan Harvey's story was published in Landfall 223.

2010

Ian Wedde (published in Landfall 220)

2009

Ashleigh Young (published in Landfall 218)

2008

Alice Miller, Kirsten Warner (published in Landfall 216)

2006

Anna Sanderson (published in Landfall 212)

2004

Martin Edmond and Tze Ming Mok (published in Landfall 208)

2002

Patrick Evans and Kapka Kassabova (published in Landfall 203)

1999

C.K. Stead and Peter Wells (published in Landfall 198)

1997

Gregory O'Brien (published in Landfall 194)

Entry

1. Essays will be fully developed, independent works and will be no more than 6000 words long.

2. Essays will be on a topic of the author's choosing.

3. Essays will not have been published elsewhere.

4. Writers will be New Zealand citizens or permanent New Zealand residents.

5. One entry per person will be accepted. Entrants should include a stamped, addressed envelope for return of their contributions.

6. 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.

7. Landfall reserves the right to publish the winning entry, and other shortlisted entries, at the editor's discretion.

8. It is a condition of the competition that the winning writer's name and photograph may be used by Landfall for publicity purposes.

How to Enter

1. Essays can be posted or emailed.

2. Posted entries should include the essay on CD with text saved as RTF, MS Word or text-only files. Two hard copies of the essay are also required. Your name should NOT appear on the essay itself. Please include a separate cover letter with your name, address, email and telephone number.

3. Emailed entries need to include the essay as a word doc, RTF file or text-only file and a separate cover letter with your name, address, email and phone number. Your name should NOT appear on the essay itself.

4. Entries should be addressed to: Landfall Essay Competition, Otago University Press, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand, or couriered to Landfall Essay Competition, Otago University Press, level 1, 398 Cumberland St, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand. Emailed entries should be sent to landfall@otago.ac.nz with Landfall Essay Competition in the subject line.

5. Submissions will NOT be returned.