University of Otago’s annual creative writing competition

Posted: Tuesday Jul 18, 2023

The University’s annual creative writing competition opens for entries today, with the theme: The Getting of Wisdom.

Writer 2023 is open to Otago staff, students and alumni, with each invited to submit one entry – either a poem or a short story – inspired by the theme.

One of the competition’s organisers, Nicola Cummins, a Senior Teaching Fellow in the English and Linguistics Programme, says this year’s theme “The Getting of Wisdom,” borrowed from Henry Handel Richardson’s famous Australian novel, will allow contestants to explore the universally appreciated quality of wisdom and the process of its acquisition.

“We imagine writers will deal with wisdom in many different contexts and the emotional resonances of making tricky choices, overcoming challenges, and transacting moral dilemmas will encourage empathetic and authentic responses.”

The competition was established in 2019 as part of the University’s 150th celebrations and proved to be very popular.

This year’s judge is Kathryn van Beek, a New Zealand writer and editor, and the 2023 University of Otago Burns Fellow. Van Beek won the Mindfood Short Story Competition and the Headland Prize, she has a collection of short stories, Pet, which is also is available as a podcast, and she is published in Overland, akahe, Newsroom, The Spinoff, and the Sunday Star-Times. She lives with Bruce, a famous cat about whom she’s written two books: Bruce Finds a Home and Bruce Goes Outside.

“We’re thrilled to have a writer of Kathryn’s scope and experience judging the 2023 Writing Competition,” Ms Cummins says.

Co-organiser University Publications Editor Lisa Dick says the competition always highlights the depth of writing talent within Otago’s staff, student and alumni communities.

“We’re really excited to read the entries again this year.”

The winning entries will be published across multiple platforms, including print and radio, as well as via social media.

The competition opens for entries, today [Monday, 17 July] and closes at midnight on Monday, 11 September. Winners will be announced on Thursday, 12 October.

The competition is supported by University Book Shop, Otago University Press, Dunedin City of Literature, Otago Access Radio, and the Otago Daily Times – with prizes for each of the category winners.

Find out more here and below.