In 1997, Landfall celebrated its 50th anniversary. To mark the occasion, editor Chris Price launched the Landfall essay
competition, sponsored by University of Otago Press. In 2002, the prize will be awarded for the third time with Margaret
Mahy as judge. Internationally renowned as a writer for children, Mahy is the author of an acclaimed recent collection
of essays, A Dissolving Ghost (Victoria University Press, 2000).
Entries are now open for the competition, and the winner will be announced in May 2002, with the winning entry published
in Landfall 203. This, with the best of the short-listed essays, will form a special New Zealand non-fiction feature in
the same issue.
The new editor of Landfall, Justin Paton, says: "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 must be received by 5pm, December 21, 2001. The prize will be $2500 for the winning entry, sponsored by Landfall
publisher, University of Otago Press. Essays should be fully developed, independent works on subjects of general
interest and no longer than 6000 words. The competition is open to writers resident in New Zealand. For entry details,
write to: Landfall Essay Competition, University of Otago Press, PO Box 56, Dunedin.
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CONTACT Philippa Jamieson, Publicist, University of Otago Press, tel 03 479 9094, fax 03 479 8385, email
philippa.jamieson@stonebow.otago.ac.nz