Michael Gifkins Prize 2022 shortlist announced

Text Publishing and the New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc) have announced the shortlist for the 2022 Michael Gifkins Prize for an unpublished novel.

The shortlisted manuscripts are:

• ‘The Shape of the World’ by Tiffany Brown,‘an imaginative, futuristic novel tracking multiple generations of a family throughout times of upheaval and societal change from a contemporary world through to 2050’
• ‘Rabaul’ by Maria B Joseph,‘an insightful look into New Zealand’s history and character, following a disparate group of characters who inhabit one of the most beautiful towns in the South Pacific from 1937 to 1946’
• ‘Backwaters’ by Emma Sidnam, ‘a captivating story about past, present, and finding one’s place in the world, through the eyes of a Chinese–New Zealander woman in her twenties beginning to look more closely into her parents’ and grandparents’ lives’
• ‘Apple Moon’ by Anna Woods, ‘an elegant, reflective portrayal of two adult sisters and their mother across a week spent in a tropical resort, as past familial hurts surface and long-held secrets are revealed’.

The winner, to be announced in July, will be awarded a contract for world rights from Text, and an advance of NZ$10,000 (A$9000).

The shortlist was selected by Text Publishing from a longlist of 13 curated by New Zealand writers Paula Morris and Vanda Symon, who said they were ‘impressed with the imagination, range and engagement with story of the submissions’.

In its fifth year, the prize honours Michael Gifkins’ contribution to writers and New Zealand literature.

‘A manuscript prize is all about providing writers with additional paths to publication,’ said Text publisher Michael Heyward. ‘It’s about creating demand for new work. It’s about identifying and applauding talent, and we have been able to do that again this year with the announcement of the shortlist for this year’s Michael Gifkins Prize. We believe that every year the quality of the entries for the prize continues to rise.’

Last year’s winner, Paper Cage by Tom Baragwanath, is scheduled for publication in September 2022.

Category: Awards Local news