Inaugural Headland Prize And Frontier Prize Awarded

16 December 2015

Inaugural Headland Prize And Frontier Prize Awarded

New Zealand-based literary e-journal, Headland, is proud to announce the recipients of the 2015 Headland prize for best story, and 2015 Frontier Prize for best story by an unpublished author:

2015 Headland Prize is awarded to Kathryn van Beek for ‘Frangipani’, Issue 2 ($200).

2015 Frontier Prize is awarded to Caoimhe McKeogh for ‘Lemon’, Issue 4 ($100).

Van Beek is “thrilled and honoured” to be the inaugural Headland Prize recipient, noting: “I may be better known for my rescue kitten Bruce than for my short stories, but I’ve been writing fiction in a serious kind of a way for the past two years. I took the 30 Week Fiction Writing Course at Auckland’s Creative Hub, where Director (and Commonwealth Writers’ Prize winner) John Cranna encouraged us to submit our work to Headland. Having my story ‘Frangipani’ published in Headland was a delightful experience from start to finish.”

Founding Editors Liesl Nunns and Laura McNeur noted of the two stories: “We chose to single out these two pieces because not only were both a good story well told, but they presented us with voices that we kept hearing. There was something meaty at their hearts, while maintaining a light touch. We think they're something special.”

In 2015 Headland published 58 stories, four issues, and 14 pieces by previously unpublished authors. “We set out to boost aspiring New Zealand writers, and it is a huge privilege to share works from first-time authors,” said Nunns and McNeur.

McKeogh’s story was her first submission to a literary journal: "Being published in Headland, followed by the news that my piece had been chosen for the 2015 Frontier Prize, has been so affirming and encouraging for me. Before sending ‘Lemon’ to Headland, I had never submitted writing to a journal, so I was steeling myself for the first of many rejections and was surprised and thrilled to receive a lovely email from the Editors saying that they wanted to include it in Issue 4. It is particularly heartening for me because ‘Lemon’ is the opening chapter of a book that I am working on at the moment, so to be told that people enjoyed reading it really is the best possible news."

Headland is a quarterly publication, featuring short stories and creative non-fiction from New Zealand and around the world, and aims to give aspiring writers a platform for publication alongside more established authors.

Headland is an activity of The Maisonette Trust.

ENDS

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