Literary prize tops off birthday celebration

Literary prize tops off birthday celebration

Dianne Starrenburg received many lovely gifts on her birthday, but the best was hearing she had been awarded the Sir James Wallace Master of Creative Writing Prize for 2015 for her portfolio Floating Earth.

The prize is awarded for the best portfolio of work from students taking the University of Auckland’s Master of Creative Writing course. The postgraduate programme is for writers working on a large-scale creative writing project – a novel, short story collection, full-length work of creative non-fiction, or poetry collection. The prize is worth $5000 and is New Zealand’s richest prize for a creative writing student.

Sir James Wallace will present Dianne with the prize at a ceremony in the University’s Fale Pasifika, 26 Wynyard Street, on Friday 18 December from 5.30-7pm.

Dianne was told of her success by the course convenor, novelist and short story writer Dr Paula Morris, on December 11, her 34th birthday.

“The news was a pretty fantastic birthday present. I felt extremely grateful and appreciative to receive this award.”

External examiner for Dianne’s portfolio was acclaimed New Zealand writer Anna Smaill, whose novel The Chimes was longlisted for the 2015 Man Booker Prize.

Anna said she found the Floating Earth stories fascinating to read.

"Dianne’s work is engaging, darkly accomplished and altogether original. These are stories with the sort of emotional and rhythmic conviction that simply can't be faked."

Dr Morris says, “Di Starrenburg is a huge talent – a natural writer with a unique voice and an instinctive grasp of story. It was a very competitive field for the prize, as we had a number of strong novels emerge from this year’s cohort on the MCW. But there’s something so compelling and fresh about Di’s work.”

Dianne’s portfolio, Floating Earth, contains three short stories and two novellas.

'In ‘Filming Giants’ a doormat sibling turns to blackmail to seek revenge on his high-flying, morally bankrupt sister. In ‘Floating Earth’ a woman’s marriage is thrown into turmoilby the discovery of a past romance concealed beneath glass. In ‘Wings’ an anxious teenager follows her father over exposed metal light rigging to escape a confrontation. In 'The Gift' a young loner spends the weeks of his summer attempting to devise the perfect gift for his grandmother, and in ‘Against the Sky’ a girl struggles to survive in a world that has become an enemy.'

Dianne holds qualifications in Primary Teaching, Graphic Design and English Literature.

But she says she was always drawn to creative writing, even though she only started to pursue it seriously about ten years ago.

“I spent hours drafting stories and poems as a youth and writing was about the only topic I received much recognition for at school,” she says. “But, to me, the writers of the books I loved weren’t everyday people, they were a unique breed—you couldn’t just become a writer.”

Now she has three novels on the go and is looking to complete one of them over the next few years.

She has also written about 15 short stories.

“I don’t ever really set out to write a particular theme, but my stories often end up featuring characters who are misfits in one way or another, or outsiders—they don’t fit comfortably within the world around them. So perhaps, by default, I write about identity or the lack of it, or characters who unconsciously seek it.”

Dianne intends to use the prize money to dedicate more time to her writing, including adding more short stories to the Floating Earth collection.

A book featuring samples from all the students on this year's Master in Creative Writing course and last year’s winner of the Sir James Wallace Price, Nicki Judkins, will be given to guests at the event.

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