International Writers' Workshop NZ Inc (IWW)

Recent Competition Results

This page provides results of IWW competitions.
Click here to jump to a summary of The Kathleen Grattan Prize results.

Short Story Fiction – May 2026

Judge: Vicky Adin. There were 12 entries.

First: 'A Ghost of War' by Tamsin Worsley
Second: 'Sister Act' by Fiona d'Young
Third: 'Lost in Time' by Denise O'Hagan

A Story in Rhyme – April 2026

Judge: Su Bradley. There were 11 entries.

First: 'Down the Track' by Fiona d'Young
Second: 'A Coromandel Ballad' by Bronwyn Bryant
Third: 'Queenie' by Bronwyn Blair
Honourable Mention: 'Obstreperous' by Kerry Clark
Honourable Mention: 'Beyond the Pit' by Bronwyn Blair

The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems – November 2025

Judge: Anna Jackson

Winner: Sue Wootton for Holding Patterns: Seven songs of pots, jars, bowls and vases
Runner-Up: Richard Smith for Mango Rains

Highly Commended

SK Grout for Ghost Nets
Edna Heled for riding a two humped camel in the vampire land of milk and honey

Click here to read the Media Release.

Historical Fiction Short Story, 1500-1800 words – October 2025

Judge: Vicky Adin

First: ‘Otago 1863 Claim, Strike, Match’ by Kerry Clark
Second: ‘The Eastbourne Set’ by Judy Tindill
Third: ‘The Hidden Story’ by Denise O'Hagan
Highly Commended: ‘The Phaeton & the Funeral’ by Christine Beardon

Flash Fiction, up to 250 words – September/October 2025

Judge: Anita Arlov

First: 'Besieged' by Bronwyn Blair
Second: ‘The Arrangement' by Gay Johnson
Third Equal: ‘Water Landing' by Lynn Holland
Third Equal: ‘Overland' by Jan Thorburn

Text for a Picture Book (5–8 years), up to 750 words – August 2025

Judge: Melinda Szymanik

First: 'The Loudest Roar' by Kerry Clark
Second: 'Who’ll Wake Mary' by Tamsin Worsley
Third: 'A Magical Journey' by Denise O'Hagan
Highly Commended: 'I like visiting my Aunty's House' by Jan Thorburn

Creative Essay: 1000 to 3500 words – July 2025

Judge: Lynn Davidson

First: 'Sliding Doors' by Fiona d'Young
Second: 'Berlin, Museums and Beyond' by Jenny Clay
Third: 'Living by the Manukau' by Kerry Clark
Highly Commended: 'Journey to a Garden' by Vonne Learmonth

Open Poetry: Up to 40 lines – June 2025

Judge: Adrienne Jansen

First: 'Schmetterling' by Nicola Thorstensen
Second: 'Alive Alive-O' by Sandi Hall
Third: 'The Soft Warm Hum' by John Howell
Highly Commended: 'in the Upstairs Gallery' by Ila Selwyn
Highly Commended: 'In the Black Holden' by Tamsin Worsley

Non Fiction Mastery:Writing Articles that Matter – May 2025

Judge: Yvonne van Dongen

First: 'Scenes from a Series' by Vonne Learmonth
Second: 'The Price of Power' by Leonie Couper
Third: 'Stretch' by Beth Leyland

A Story in Dialogue – April 2025

Judge: Su Bradley

First: 'International Symposium on Climate Change' by Kerry Clark
Second: 'Whose Name?' by Christine Beardon
Third: 'Jelly Bean' by Sue Glamuzina
Highly Commended: 'School Reunion' by Sue Courtney
Highly Commended: 'Burnt Toast' by Monte St Aubyn

Ekphrastic Writing – March 2025

Judge: Voted by IWW members

First: 'Typing Until the End of the World' by Lincoln Jaques, image by Quentin Whitehouse
Second: 'Gone but Not Forgotten' by Tom Nicholson, image by John Leyland
Third: 'Instructions to the Moth' by Bronwyn Blair, image by Julie Ryan
Highly Commended: 'The Letter' by Kerry Clark, image by Quentin Whitehouse
Commended: 'Pisa 2019' by Sue Courtney, image by Tom Nicholson

The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems – November 2024

Judge: Anne Kennedy

Winner: Nicola Thorstensen for Reclamation
Runner-Up: Michelle Elvy for The map in your palm

Highly Commended

Sarah Scott for Fable
Kerrin Sharpe for Oars in the Sky

Click here to read the Media Release.

Short Story up to 1000 words – October 2024

Judge: Jillian Sullivan

First: 'Pīpīwharauroa: come spring' by Michelle Elvy
Second: 'Tapu' by Jan Thorburn
Third: 'Lobo' by Kerry Clarke
Highly Commended: 'Davide' by Michael Giacon

Rhyming Poem / Story Poem – September 2024

for children of primary school age
Judge: Elena de Roo

First: 'Autumn Echoes' by Sue Courtney
Second: 'Galactic Gran' by Tamsin Worsley
Third: 'The Hungriest Duck in the World' by Jan Thorburn
Special Mention: 'Sweet Dreams' by Marlene Milverton

World Building – August 2024

Judge: Darian Smith

First: 'After the Crash' by Jan Thorburn
Second: 'Conway' by John Leyland

Emotional Travel Story – June 2024

Judge: Vicki Virtue

First place: ‘Weekend in Paris’ by Kerry Clark
Second: ‘The Truth on Display’ by Denise O’Hagan
Third: ‘The Weight of my World’ by Ila Selwyn

First Five Pages – May 2024

Judge: Harriet Allen

First place:

‘Conchie!’ by Jan Thorburn

Joint second:

‘Gone’ by Gay Johnson
‘Ten Tudor Tales’ by John Leyland

Highly commended:

‘Beginnings’ by Jenny Clay
‘Where You Are’ by Lorraine Marson
‘Where Waves Rise Up Like Mountains' by Michelle Elvy

Commended:

‘The Hills and Valleys’ by Michelle Raill
‘Sorry’ by Sue Glamuzina

Memoir based on "My first ..." theme – April 2024

Judge: Bronwyn Bryant

First: 'My First Time as a Trial Witness' by John Leyland
Second: 'Gone' by Jan Thorburn
Third: 'A Curious Transaction' by Kerry Clark
Highly Commended: 'Simple Enough' by Leonie Couper

Ekphrastic Writing – March 2024

Judge: Voted by IWW members

First: 'Enduring Power of Attorney' by Nicola Thornstensen
Second: 'Ghosts Occupying a Non-descript Room on Floor 12' by Lincoln Jaques
Third: 'Snakes and Knockers' by Bronwyn Bryant
Highly Commended: 'The Eye of the Beholder' by Juliet Yates
Highly Commended: 'Wrapped in White' by Denise O'Hagan
Highly Commended: 'Mid-Morning Saturday in the Stray Dog Café Toilet, Miranda ' by Bronwyn Blair

The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems – November 2023

Judge: Emma Neale

Winner: Caroline Masters for The Mountains Above, The Mountains Below
Runner-Up: Sarah Scott for Sun Goddess: The Paintings of Rita Angus
Click here to read the Press Release.

Sci-Fi/Fantasy – October 2023

Judge: Darian Smith

First: 'Blood Protectors - Gabby' by Sue Glamuzina
Second: 'Zoryana’s Concern' by Gavin Flower
Third: 'Reset' by Craig Steed

Poetry (up to 40 lines) – September 2023

Judge: Lynn Davidson

First: 'Neighbourhood Gentrification' by Denise O’Hagan
Second: 'Come Sun' by Bronwyn Bryant
Third: 'Mangroves' by Sue Courtney

Children's Story (for 6-8 year olds) – August 2023

Judge: Maureen Crisp

First: 'Vincent and the Eels' by Sue Courtney
Second: 'Big Boy' by Edna Heled
Third: 'Detective Helpers' by Christine Beardon
Highly Commended: 'Lavender Hill' by Sue Glamuzina

Long Fiction – July 2023

Judge: Sarah Quigley

First: 'Ninepence' by John Leyland
Second: 'Where am I From' by Denise O’Hagan
Highly Commended: 'The Switches' by Sue Glamuzina

Memoir Incident – June 2023

Judge: Bronwyn Bryant

First: 'The 5th of December 1952' by Leonie Couper
Second: 'Friday Night Drinks' by Sue Courtney
Third: 'An Education' by Christine Beardon
Highly Commended: 'Perception' by Edna Heled

Characterisation and Crime – May 2023

Judge: Nathan Blackwell

First: 'The Case of the Blue Shopping Trolley' by Sue Courtney
Second: 'Two by Two' by Edna Heled

Ekphrastic Writing – April 2023

Judge: Voted by IWW members

First: 'Not for Everyone’s Eyes' by John Leyland
Second: 'Through the Looking Glass' by Juliet Yates
Third equal: 'An Octopus’s Garden Under the Sea' by Sue Courtney
Third equal: 'An Infinite Shade of Blue' by Duncan Perkinson

Flash Fiction – March 2023

Judge: Gail Ingram

First: 'Retreat' by Margaret Moores
Second: 'Hitching Post' by Sue Courtney
Third: 'Amen' by Judy Tindill

The Kathleen Grattan Prize

Winners of The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems

2025
The winner of the 2025 prize is Sue Wootton for Holding Patterns: Seven songs of pots, jars, bowls and vases.
Richard Smith is the runner-up. Judge: Anna Jackson.

2024
The winner of the 2024 prize is Nicola Thorstensen for her sequence Reclamation.
Michelle Elvy is the runner-up. Judge: Anne Kennedy.

2023
The winner of the 2023 prize is Caroline Masters for her sequence The Mountains Above, The Mountains Below.
Sarah Scott is the runner-up. Judge: Emma Neale.

2022
The winner of the 2022 prize is Margaret Moores for her sequence Absences.
Lincoln Jaques is the runner-up. Judge: Janet Charman.

2021
The winner of the 2021 prize is Robyn Maree Pickens for her sequence Juniper.
Joint runners-up are Marie McGuigan and Kerrin Sharp. Judge: Vana Manasiadis.

2020
The winner of the 2020 prize is Liz Breslin for her sequence In bed with the feminists.
Sophia Wilson is the runner-up. Judge: Siobhan Harvey.

2019
The winner of the 2019 prize is Siobhan Harvey for her sequence Ghosts.
Gillian Roach is the runner-up. Judge: Professor Bryan Walpert.

2018
The winner of the 2018 prize is Heather Bauchop for her sequence The Life in Small Deaths.
Gillian Roach is the runner-up. Judge: Stu Bagby.

2017
The winner of the 2017 prize is Janet Newman for her sequence Tender.
Anne Hollier Ruddy is the runner-up. Judge: Robert Sullivan.

2016
The winner of the 2016 prize is Michael Giacon for his sequence Argento in no man land.
Caroline Carlyle was presented with the 'Emerging Poet Award'. Judge: Gus Simonovic.

2015
The winner of the 2015 prize is Maris O'Rourke for her sequence Motherings.
Sue Wootton is runner-up. Judge: Rosetta Allan.
Gay Johnson was presented with the 'Emerging Poet Award'.

2014
The winner of the 2014 prize is Julie Ryan for her sequence On Visiting Old Ladies.
Jane Newman is runner-up. Judge: Janet Charman.

2013
The winner of the 2013 prize is Belinda Diepenheim for her sequence Bittercress and Flax.
Maris O'Rourke was the runner-up. Judges: Stu Bagby and Jenny Cole.

2012
The winner of the 2012 prize is James Norcliffe for his sequence, What do you call your male parent?'.
Jenny Clay was the runner-up. Judges: Stu Bagby and Jenny Cole.

2011
The winner of the 2011 prize is Jillian Sullivan, for her sequence How to live it.
Siobhan Harvey and Aysha Vitapa-Aspinall were joint runners-up. Judges: Stu Bagby and Selina Tusitala Marsh.

2010
Joint winners were declared. They are
Janet Charman, for her sequence, Mother won't come to us, and
Rosetta Allan for her sequence Capricious Memory. Judges: Jack Ross and Johamma Emeney.

2009
The winner of the 2009 prize is Alice Hooton, for her sequence America.
Jackie Ottaway was runner-up. Judges: Jack Ross and Johamma Emeney.