A $5000 award for a New Zealand fiction writer
The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc) announce the 2025 opening of this award, which supports the completion and/or publication of new fiction by a mid-career fiction writer from New Zealand.
The NZSA Shaw Writer's Award was established by novelist Tina Shaw to encourage the development of great novels by mid-career fiction writers who are working on a new project. All applicants must be New Zealand citizens or permanent residents. The award opens for applications 16 May 2025, and will close at midnight Sunday 13 July 2025.
Submissions must be made online. Unsuccessful applicants will be advised before recipients are announced. Successful recipients will be contacted directly, and the announcement will be published on the NZSA websites and social media platforms. Applicants will be shortlisted by a judging panel, with the final winner selected by Tina Shaw in consultation with and advised by the shortlist judging panel.
The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc) administers the prize. Entries for the NZSA Shaw Writer's Award must be made on the New Zealand Society of Author’s website (authors.org.nz) by the advertised deadline, with the winner announced after judging has been completed. For more information and to apply, go to the NZSA site.
2024 Winner
The inaugural winner of the NZSA Shaw Writer's Award was Steph Matuku who said: ‘Being awarded the inaugural NZSA Shaw Writer’s Award was such a thrill. The prize-money was used to buy time – time to write without having to worry about the day-to-day tedium of paying bills! Being a debut author is a heady thing; people fuss over you a lot. And then you head into ‘mid-career’ and suddenly you’re a bit boring. For me, the Shaw award was a tangible validation of my work thus far, and that the judges were confident I could produce something cool in the future. I’ve been working on my first magical realism historical novel, and it’s going very well! Many thanks to the NZSA Shaw Writer’s Award for helping me get some solid work done.’
About the Award
Tina Shaw says of her award, “It’s true that our New Zealand writers frequently express the feeling that their mid-career progress is slower than that of new writers, who can more readily garner media interest for their publications,” says Shaw.
As a result, the newly created award is intended not only to offer the recipient the freedom that money brings but also to increase the chances of a mid-career writer being recognised as a “good business” prospect to be welcomed by publishers.