Text Publishing and the New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (PEN NZ) Inc. are thrilled to announce that entries for the 2023 Michael Gifkins Prize for an Unpublished Novel are now open.
The prize seeks fiction manuscripts by published and unpublished authors who are citizens or permanent residents of New Zealand. It celebrates the life and work of the writer and agent Michael Gifkins. The winner will receive a publication contract for world rights from Text, and an advance of NZ $10,000.
Submissions to the 2023 prize will close at midnight NZST on Friday 14 October 2022. The shortlist will be announced in the second quarter of 2023 and the winner in the third quarter of 2023. The prize will be administered by the New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (PEN NZ) Inc. Entry forms and terms and conditions can be found here.
Emma Sidnam was announced as the 2022 winner on Friday 15 July. Her prize-winning manuscript, Backwaters, is a tender, nuanced novel about the bittersweet search for belonging.
On winning the prize, Emma said, ‘I’ve always written with the goal of publication. This novel has helped me grow into myself over the last two years, and I’m incredibly excited to see it out in the world. This prize means the world to me and I hope it’s only the beginning.’
Backwaters will be published by Text in September 2023.
Tom Baragwanath’s literary thriller, the winner of the 2021 prize, will be published in September 2022. Paper Cage is both a nail-biting thriller and a beautifully written, acutely observed portrait of a community.
The Gifkins Prize is made possible by a generous financial commitment from the Gifkins family and from Text Publishing. It is administered by the New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (PEN NZ) Inc. Previous winners of the Gifkins Prize include Gigi Fenster, Tom Remiger and Ruby Porter.
For administration and media enquiries, please contact:
Lydia McClelland
Text Publishing
lydia.mcclelland@textpublishing.com.au
Jenny Nagle
New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (PEN NZ) Inc.
director@nzauthors.org.nz | +64 27 627 2728
www.authors.org.nz
