The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems
The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems has been our premier competition of the year since 2009. It is for a cycle or sequence of completely unpublished poems with a common link or theme - no limit to length. A Prize of $1000 is awarded to the winner.
Details of the 2026 competition
Click here for the 2026 media release.
We are delighted to announce Janet Newman as the 2026 judge of The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems and adjudicator of the $1000 prize.
Janet, who lives in Horowhenua, won The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems in 2017 and was previously runner-up in 2014. She has also won the 2014 and 2016 Journal of New Zealand Literature Prize for NZ Literary Studies and the 2015 New Zealand Poetry Society International Poetry Competition, and was a runner-up in the 2019 Kathleen Grattan Award. She has a Master of Creative Writing and a PhD in English from Massey University. Her poetry collection, Unseasoned Campaigner (OUP, 2021) won the 2022 NZSA Heritage Book Award for Poetry. She is an editor of Koe: An Aotearoa ecopoetry anthology (OUP, 2024).
Entry into The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems is restricted to financial and honorary IWW members, including any new member whose membership application form is received before or at our meeting on the third Tuesday in June (which is the 16 June in 2026).
Submission of entries opens on 1 September and closes on the first Tuesday in October, which is 6 October in 2026.
Hard copy (printed) entries will only be accepted.
The address to where the entries can be hand delivered, posted or couriered will be announced in the IWW newsletter, which all members receive.
Entries can also be brought along to the in-person meeting at St Aidans on the third Tuesday in September.
The winner will be announced at the IWW end of year function on Tuesday 17 November 2026.
Click here for The Kathleen Grattan Prize Rules and Guidelines.
Click here for The Kathleen Grattan Prize Cover Sheet. The cover sheet MUST be completed with the information requested and stapled to the competition manuscript.
Janet presented a preparatory Workshop to members via Zoom in May.
This Workshop was recorded and is available for IWW members to view or review in advance of the competition due date.
Previous Results
Click here to view a summary of The Kathleen Grattan Prize results since 2009.
Forms
All of our forms can be accessed from the IWW Forms repository.