2026 Te Tauihu Short Story Awards
The annual Te Tauihu Short Story Awards are open to all New Zealand writers aged 16+, celebrating stories written in te reo Māori and English. In 2026, our judges are Renee Kahukura Iosefa (te reo Māori stories) and Ingrid Horrocks (English stories).
Celebrating short stories written in English and te reo Māori
For the past 20 years, the NZ Society of Authors Top of the South Branch has celebrated storytelling by running an annual short story competition. Since 2022, we have celebrated stories written in both English and te reo Māori, with equal prize money for prize winners in both categories:
First prize: $1,000
Second prize: $500
Third prize: $300
The 2026 Te Tauihu Short Story Awards are now open. Below you will find information about this year's judges along with the competition's terms and conditions and links to the entry forms.
Entries close at 11.59pm on Sunday 20 September 2026.
First prize: $1,000
Second prize: $500
Third prize: $300
The 2026 Te Tauihu Short Story Awards are now open. Below you will find information about this year's judges along with the competition's terms and conditions and links to the entry forms.
Entries close at 11.59pm on Sunday 20 September 2026.
Renee Kahukura Iosefa
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Ingrid Horrocks
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Shortlising judges
This year our shortlisting judges for the English category are Grant Smithies and Sylvan Thomson.
Grant Smithies is a writer, critic and reviewer who has written extensively on music, travel and popular culture over the past 30 years, with his journalism appearing in most major magazines and newspapers in New Zealand and several overseas. More recently, he has written short fiction, which has been published in literary journals in America and the South Pacific. He is the owner of Family Jewels Records in Whakatū Nelson.
Sylvan Thomson is a writer of fiction and non-fiction. He has taught creative writing at the University of Michigan. His fiction and essays have been published in New Zealand and the USA and his work can be found in Sport, Metro Magazine, The New Zealand Review of Books, Best New Zealand Non-Fiction, and A Public Space (USA), among others. He has an MA in Creative Writing from the IIML at Victoria University and an MFA from the University of Michigan. In 2020 he was awarded the Todd New Writer’s Bursary.
Grant Smithies is a writer, critic and reviewer who has written extensively on music, travel and popular culture over the past 30 years, with his journalism appearing in most major magazines and newspapers in New Zealand and several overseas. More recently, he has written short fiction, which has been published in literary journals in America and the South Pacific. He is the owner of Family Jewels Records in Whakatū Nelson.
Sylvan Thomson is a writer of fiction and non-fiction. He has taught creative writing at the University of Michigan. His fiction and essays have been published in New Zealand and the USA and his work can be found in Sport, Metro Magazine, The New Zealand Review of Books, Best New Zealand Non-Fiction, and A Public Space (USA), among others. He has an MA in Creative Writing from the IIML at Victoria University and an MFA from the University of Michigan. In 2020 he was awarded the Todd New Writer’s Bursary.
A big thank you to our 2026 sponsors
SILVER SPONSOR
BRONZE SPONSORS
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How to enter
There is an entry fee of $20 for writers aged 26 and over and $10 for those aged 16-25.
Optional extra: All entrants can request a detailed written assessment of their story for an additional $30. Previous entrants have spoken highly of the value of these assessments, for example:
'Several of the stories that I've had feedback on from this competition have either been published or, in one case, won a competition. So it's a key part of my calendar every year.'
Optional extra: All entrants can request a detailed written assessment of their story for an additional $30. Previous entrants have spoken highly of the value of these assessments, for example:
'Several of the stories that I've had feedback on from this competition have either been published or, in one case, won a competition. So it's a key part of my calendar every year.'
Terms & conditions
Eligibility
● Open to writers residing in Aotearoa New Zealand aged sixteen years and over.
● Stories must be original, previously unpublished works of fiction written by an individual author for Adult of Young Adult readers.
● Stories must not have been previously placed (i.e. winning or commended) in another competition.
● Generative AI must not be used in any capacity whatsoever.
● Stories must be 1500 words or less. Entries over this limit will not be accepted.
● Stories may be written in English or te reo Māori.
● Stories may be entered into other short story competitions but, in the event they are placed or published elsewhere, they must be immediately withdrawn from this competition by emailing [email protected].
Other terms
● NZSA Top of the South Branch committee members are not eligible to enter.
● By submitting an entry, the writer grants NZSA Top of the South Branch the non-exclusive rights to publish the work on the branch website if it receives a prize (first, second or third) in this competition.
● The judges' decision is final and no negotiations with entrants will be entered into.
● Judges reserve the right to decide not to award all or any places. If a place is not awarded, prize money will be reserved and reinvested in the running of the awards in the following year.
Submission and entry fee
● The entry fee for writers aged 26 and over is $20. The entry fee for writers aged 16-25 years is $10.
● Submit your entry details via the online form below: short stories written in English OR short stories written in te reo Māori
● Submit your story as a separate Word or PDF document by email only to: [email protected].
● Use the story's title as the file name and ensure this title is used exactly when entered in the entry form.
● Entries are judged blind (i.e. no identifying information about the writer is passed on to the judges). Therefore, the author's name must not appear in the file name or anywhere in the document.
● Entries should be in a standard, readable font (eg. Times New Roman, Arial, Verdana etc) and double-spaced.
● Pages must be numbered.
● Open to writers residing in Aotearoa New Zealand aged sixteen years and over.
● Stories must be original, previously unpublished works of fiction written by an individual author for Adult of Young Adult readers.
● Stories must not have been previously placed (i.e. winning or commended) in another competition.
● Generative AI must not be used in any capacity whatsoever.
● Stories must be 1500 words or less. Entries over this limit will not be accepted.
● Stories may be written in English or te reo Māori.
● Stories may be entered into other short story competitions but, in the event they are placed or published elsewhere, they must be immediately withdrawn from this competition by emailing [email protected].
Other terms
● NZSA Top of the South Branch committee members are not eligible to enter.
● By submitting an entry, the writer grants NZSA Top of the South Branch the non-exclusive rights to publish the work on the branch website if it receives a prize (first, second or third) in this competition.
● The judges' decision is final and no negotiations with entrants will be entered into.
● Judges reserve the right to decide not to award all or any places. If a place is not awarded, prize money will be reserved and reinvested in the running of the awards in the following year.
Submission and entry fee
● The entry fee for writers aged 26 and over is $20. The entry fee for writers aged 16-25 years is $10.
● Submit your entry details via the online form below: short stories written in English OR short stories written in te reo Māori
● Submit your story as a separate Word or PDF document by email only to: [email protected].
● Use the story's title as the file name and ensure this title is used exactly when entered in the entry form.
● Entries are judged blind (i.e. no identifying information about the writer is passed on to the judges). Therefore, the author's name must not appear in the file name or anywhere in the document.
● Entries should be in a standard, readable font (eg. Times New Roman, Arial, Verdana etc) and double-spaced.
● Pages must be numbered.