Making Landfall | Info for writers

The Landfall Essay Competition has come round again. Otago University Press, publisher of Landfall and the sponsor of the competition, will be ready to start taking entries from May 1, and you’ll need to have come up with an original essay on any topic, no more than 6000 words long by the June 16 deadline.

It’s definitely the essay competition to be seen in – previous winners include Gregory O'Brien (1997), CK Stead and Peter Wells (1999), Patrick Evans and Kapka Kassabova (2002), and Tze Ming Mok and Martin Edmund (2004).

The competition ‘encourages writers to think aloud about New Zealand culture, and aims to sustain the tradition of vivid, contentious and creative essay writing that has appeared in Landfall’s pages.’ The prize is $2500 and a year's subscription. The winning essay will appear in Landfall 212, published in November 2006. (Landfall 211, incidentally, will be out in May sometime, with Tze Ming Mok having been guest editing). Fame and fortune are within your trembling grasp. Or not. Off you go.

15 Feb 06 | Filed by Kathy | Add your comment (3 so far)

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Comment by maggie ~ February 18, 2006 12:39 PM

Thanks for this! I entered last time - and was "short-listed" - very chuffed (judge Vincent O'Sullivan) - did wonders for my ego, but alas, only the "best" of the short-listed were published. And you guessed it... mine was obviously not one of those.
It is quite a lot of work to submit up to six thousand of your best and even when you make the shortlist, your essay languishes in limbo (my second to bottom drawer to be precise). So, I will give it another go (of course) - writers are notoriously optimistic or masochistic (a bit of both helps) - but what a pity there are not more opportunities for essays to be "published" - as opposed to just shortlisted. Enough... I try to be brief, but it's not in my nature.
p.s. have loved the debate re awards - out of my league to comment though - but hey - thank you Leafsalon.

Comment by Luna Rushdi ~ March 1, 2006 8:36 AM

Hi Maggie,

I am really interested in reading your essay. Would you be able to email this to my email address?

Lunarushdi@gmail.com

Also, do public libraries hold old issues of Landfall? I have never read one.

- Luna

Comment by meg ~ March 1, 2006 10:29 AM

I work at Wellington Central Library and we have all copies of Landfall. But is probably depends on the size of the library.