Celebrating stories in our two official written languages
The NZSA Top of the South Branch has successfully run a short story competition since 2007.
In 2022, the competition evolved into Te Tauihu Short Story Awards in recognition of the fact Aotearoa New Zealand has two official written languages: te reo Māori and English.
Our Te Tauihu Short Story Awards are open to writers throughout New Zealand. The competition runs annually and offers both Māori- and English-language sections, with their own awards.
Previously known as the Page & Blackmore Short Story Competition, the awards have been judged by a diverse range of acclaimed New Zealand writers each year, including Elizabeth Knox ONZM, Gavin Bishop ONZM, Paula Morris MNZM, Rajorshi Chakraborti, Mandy Hagar, Stacey Morrison, Carl Nixon, Fiona Kidman and Renee.
In 2025, our te reo Māori judge is cultural exponent, teacher, weaver, researcher, editor, translator and writer, Nuki Takao. This year's English language judge Lee Murray received the New Zealand Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement in Fiction in 2023 and is a five-time Bram Stoker Award® winner. Read more about this year's judges here.
Our small NZSA TOS committee are volunteers from the Te Tauihu writing community, who are committed to the success of the awards and dedicate numerous hours of mahi to making them happen.
We acknowledge the cultural guidance that Wakatu Incorporation provides to these awards and the support of:
Funder
GOLD sponsor
SILVER sponsors
Congratulations to the Winners of Te Tauihu Short Story Awards 2024
English Language Section
Finalist Judge: Paula Morris
First Prize ($1000): My Alice by Jillian Robinson Judge Paula Morris said: This story stood out for me because of its tone, which managed to avoid sentimentality even while the narrator describes a much-loved grandmother. The narrator’s dry humour makes the difference here, particularly with characterisation and with the story’s ending.
There’s fluency to the writing here and a style in evidence from the opening: this drops us straight into the story without preamble. I particularly liked the author’s handling of scene, with just the right pace in the pikelet-making section, managing to balance point of view, action and dialogue at the same time. Click here to read the story. (Opens in a new window.)
Second Prize ($500): Rosie and the Wolf by Tania Norfolk Judge Paula Morris said: A number of the submitted stories dealt with trauma and death, and this subject matter can ensnare a story writer. In such a compressed form, some writers will tilt into melodrama, sentimentality or abstractions. This story avoids those traps by combining the story of a childhood friend lost to illness with the (topical) trauma of dealing with a flood, and by dealing with both subjects with a light and sure touch. Click here to read the story.(Opens in a new window.)
Third Prize ($300): The Thief by Angela Barnett Judge Paula Morris said: This story takes a familiar situation – a woman attending a funeral – and subverts it with an imaginative narrative about theft and coincidence. The author is adept with dialogue and also with maintaining tension in the story through subtle hints at conflict. Click here to read the story. (Opens in a new window.) Other shortlisted stories:
A Father's First Steps by Josie Laird
Bloodbath by Kieran Stone
Braemar Seniors Parkour Club by Roly Andrews
Rainman by Pam Henson
Supi Run (Mate Whakaahuru) by Steph Le Gros
Taciturnity by K-T Harrison
The Ice-breaker by Pip Pam HensonHarrison
Te Reo Māori Section
Finalist Judge: Vaughan Rapatahana
First Prize ($500):Ko te Haerenga by Atakohu Middleton Judge Vaughan Rapatahana said: I think that, without any doubt, our first prize winner is Ko te Haerenga. Well-written, well-paced, suspenseful, as dark as the night on which the activity takes place. Click here to read the story. (Opens in a new window.)