Landfall Essay Competition


The Landfall Essay Competition is an annual competition open to New Zealand writers. It is judged by the current editor of the long-running literary magazine Landfall and the winning entry is published in a subsequent issue of the magazine.

History edit

The Landfall Essay Competition was first held in 1997 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the literary magazine Landfall. It was begun by Chris Price, who was editor at the time, and was sponsored by the Otago University Press. The competition has been awarded annually since 2009 and is judged each year by the current editor. 

The aim of the competition is "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".[1][2]

In 2017 the Charles Brasch Young Writers' Essay Competition, named for Landfall founder Charles Brasch, was launched, which is an annual award open to young writers between the ages of 16 and 21.[3][4]

In 2019, Strong Words 2019: The Best of the Landfall Essay Competition was published, featuring shortlisted competition entries selected by Emma Neale, then editor of Landfall.[5] It was selected by The Spinoff as one of the ten best non-fiction works of 2019.[6]

Eligibility and conditions edit

As of 2022 there are a number of conditions of entry, including:[7]

  • The competition is open to New Zealand citizens or permanent residents.
  • Essays must not exceed 1500 words.
  • Essays can be on any topic but must not have been previously published.

The winner is announced and published in each November issue of Landfall. The winner receives $3000 and a year’s subscription to Landfall.[1]

List of winners by year edit

See also edit

External links edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "Otago University Press: Landfall Essay Competition". University of Otago: Te Whare Wananga o Otago. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Awards and Competitions". Unesco City of Literature Dunedin. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  3. ^ Lewis, John (20 May 2021). "Pupil's plea for climate adaptation wins prize". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  4. ^ "Charles Brasch Young Writers Essay Competition". Read NZ Te Pou Muramura. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending December 6". The Spinoff. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  6. ^ "The 10 best New Zealand non-fiction books of 2019". The Spinoff. 14 December 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  7. ^ "Landfall Essay Competition: Conditions of Entry". Otago University Press. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  8. ^ "Race you there - Tze Ming Mok co-winner of the 2004 Landfall Essay Prize". The Big Idea. 28 January 2005. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  9. ^ Green, Paula (4 March 2010). "An edition to savour". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  10. ^ "Another win for Dr Slaughter". The University of Waikato: Te Whare Wananga o Waikato. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  11. ^ "International Institute of Modern Letters: Airini Beautrais wins 2016 Landfall Essay Competition". Victoria University of Wellington. 3 November 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  12. ^ "Landfall Essay Competition Winner: Umlaut". Pantograph Punch. 5 December 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  13. ^ "Landfall Essay Competition winners share prize for radically different topics". Booksellers NZ. 6 November 2017. Archived from the original on 15 January 2019.
  14. ^ Makereti, Tina (27 November 2022). "Lumpectomy". The Spinoff. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  15. ^ Zhan, Xiaole (7 June 2023). "Muscle Memory: winner of the 2023 Charles Brasch Young Writers' Essay Competition". The Spinoff. Retrieved 16 December 2023.