Chris Cole Catley Writing Awards

Media Release
Tuesday 16 September 2014

Chris Cole Catley Writing Awards

New awards for young writers in the Auckland region are being launched by the Michael King Writers’ Centre this year, as part of the Michael King Young Writers Programme.

The Chris Cole Catley Writing Awards are open to all senior secondary students (Years 11, 12 and 13) across the Auckland region, with prizes for poetry, prose and lyrics.

The competition judges are Auckland University Press senior editor Anna Hodge, musician and head of the Play It Strange Trust, Mike Chunn.

Entries close on Tuesday October 14.

Winners of the poetry and prose categories will each receive a $150 cash prize, plus a selection of books. The winner of the lyrics category will have a recording session with Mike Chunn.

All entries will be considered for inclusion in Signals, the literary journal for young writers published annually by the Michael King Writers’ Centre. The winners of the awards will be announced at the launch of Signals 2014 at the National Library on December 6.

Rosalind Ali and Johanna Emeney, who run the Young Writers Programme, say they are excited about the opportunity to involve more young Auckland writers. They are looking for submissions that are fresh, original and have a distinctive voice.

The entry form and conditions are available on the Michael King Writers’ Centre website (www.writerscentre.org.nz) or email assistant@writerscentre.org

The awards are named in memory of Dame Chris Cole Catley, a pioneering journalist, author and publisher, who mentored many writers and journalists during her long career. She was a life-long friend of Michael King, a founding trustee of the Michael King Writers’ Centre and she established the centre’s first workshops for young writers. The Young Writers Programme, now in its third year, is offered thanks to funding from Creative New Zealand.

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