Finalists announced from 180-plus entrants for literary awards honouring Hāwera author

Finalists for the Lysaght-Watt Trust Ronald Hugh Morrieson Literary Awards have been announced. Photo/ Unsplash

More than 180 entries have been whittled down to 19 finalists for this year’s Lysaght-Watt Trust Ronald Hugh Morrieson Literary Awards.

The competition closed in August and the judges have been kept busy assessing work submitted by 181 writers from across Taranaki.

The entries were spread across five categories, with submissions open for poetry and short stories from secondary school children in the South Taranaki district and residents or ratepayers in the wider Taranaki region over 13 years old, as well as a true story category for research articles open only to secondary school students.

Entrants for the poetry and short story categories were asked to depict aspects of present-day life in the local area or a revealing character description of a real person, while in the true story category, judges wanted to read a story from the contestants’ families.

Poetry judge Mikaela Nyman was especially busy.

“With 119 of [the entries] being poems, and the poetry workshops fully subscribed, it is fair to say that poetry is alive and well in Taranaki,” she said.

Entries were also well above previous years in the true story category, according to judge Matt Rilkoff.

“Entries in the 2023 True Story section were uniformly assured, imaginative and expertly structured. Great entries this year. Technically well above any other year,” he said.

Short story judge Emma Hislop said this year’s entries were highly entertaining.

“The stories in both categories were highly entertaining and covered a range of topics,” she said.

The finalists across all categories are Aria Brophy, Bethany Gyde, Bruce Finer, Catherine Hurley, Christine Cameron, Dave Lee, Ella Butterworth, For my Wairua, Graeme Woller, James O’Sullivan, Lauren Kalin, Maakare Edwards, Maria Taylor, Oliver Marsh, Pip Harrison, Shaneya Patel, Stacey Lodge, Willow Noir and Zoe Kruse.

First place in each category will be awarded $500 in prize money, with second place winning $300 and third place $200.

All entrants are invited to an awards ceremony at TSB Hub in Hāwera at 7pm on Thursday, October 26. The judges will comment on their respective categories and highlight the works that won them over.

The awards honour the work of Hāwera writer Ronald Hugh Morrieson who wrote four novels from 1963 to 1976: The Scarecrow, Came a Hot Friday, Predicament and Pallet on the Floor.

All four were adapted into films, making Morrieson the only New Zealand writer to have all of his works adapted for cinema.