2013 Pikihuia Awards Judges Confirmed

14th February 2013
2013 Pikihuia Awards Judges Confirmed

The 2013 Pikihuia Awards are now in their 10th year promoting Māori stories and writers and the judges for this year’s Awards have now been confirmed.

The judges for the five categories are:
• Sir Mason Durie - Emeritus Professor at Massey University - will judge the Best Short Story written in English;
• Hana O’Regan - Director Māori & Pasifika and Director of Student Services at the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology - will judge the Best Short Story written in Māori;
• Larry Parr - producer, writer and director of films and television - will judge the Best Short Film Script written in English;
• Reina Whaitiri - writer, researcher and editor - will judge the Best Novel Extract written in English;
• Brian Morris - teacher, former principal of Te Aute College and Māori Language Publishing Manager at Huia Publishers - will judge the Best Short Story written in Māori or English by a Secondary School Student.
Judge Sir Mason Durie (pictured) is keen to see the entries for the Best Short Story in English category. ‘A good short story is captivating from start to finish’ says Sir Mason. ‘It has an engaging theme, a rhythmic flow of words, and a capacity to make the ordinary seem quite extraordinary. And, importantly for the Pikihuia Awards, it must be able to resonate with Māori’.

Entrants will be in with a chance to win $2000 in each category except the Best Short Story written in Māori or English by a Secondary School Student. Secondary school students are eligible to win a cash prize of $500 and $250 worth of HUIA books for their school.

‘The aim of the Pikihuia Awards is to help tell the vast number of Māori stories that aren’t being told and to recognise outstanding work by Māori writers’, says Huia Publisher’s managing director Robyn Bargh.

Together with the Māori Literature Trust, the sponsors of this year’s awards are Huia Publishers, Te Puni Kokiri, Creative New Zealand, The NZ Film Commission, Wickliffe Solutions and D’sign Nation.

The competition closes on 15 April 2013. Entry forms are available online at www.huia.co.nz/pikihuia2013.
ENDS

© Scoop Media