Landfall Essay Competition


The Landfall Essay Competition is an annual competition open to New Zealand writers. It is judged by the current editor of the long-running literary magazine Landfall and the winning entry is published in a subsequent issue of the magazine.

History

The Landfall Essay Competition was first held in 1997 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the literary magazine Landfall. It was begun by Chris Price, who was editor at the time, and was sponsored by the Otago University Press. The competition has been awarded annually since 2009 and is judged each year by the current editor. 

The aim of the competition is "to encourage New Zealand writers to think aloud about New Zealand culture" and "to revive and sustain the tradition of vivid, contentious and creative essay writing".

In 2017 the Charles Brasch Young Writers' Essay Competition, named for Landfall founder Charles Brasch, was launched, which is an annual award open to young writers between the ages of 16 and 21.

In 2019, Strong Words 2019: The Best of the Landfall Essay Competition was published, featuring shortlisted competition entries selected by Emma Neale, then editor of Landfall. It was selected by The Spinoff as one of the ten best non-fiction works of 2019.

Eligibility and conditions

As of 2022 there are a number of conditions of entry, including:

  • The competition is open to New Zealand citizens or permanent residents.
  • Essays must not exceed 1500 words.
  • Essays can be on any topic but must not have been previously published.

The winner is announced and published in each November issue of Landfall. The winner receives $3000 and a year’s subscription to Landfall.

List of winners by year

See also