2022 Kathleen Grattan Prize And Judge Announcement

New Zealand poet Janet Charman will judge The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems later this year. The competition is being organised by International Writers' Workshop NZ Inc (IWW) for the fourteenth straight year.

Charman is one of New Zealand’s sharpest and most subversive writers. In 2008 she won the Montana Book Award for Poetry for her collection, Cold Snack. She released her ninth collection of poetry, The Pistils, to great acclaim earlier this year.

The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems is for a cycle or sequence of unpublished poems that have a common link or theme. In 2022, the winner will receive $1,000. The prize money is made possible due to an ongoing bequest from the Jocelyn Grattan Charitable Trust.

The competition is free for IWW members to enter. It is very easy for aspiring poets and writers to join IWW to be eligible to enter their poetry in the competition.

In 2021, the prize was won by Dunedin poet Robyn Maree Pickens for her sequence titled: High Clouds.

Charman said: “This competition is a great opportunity to affirm the wonderful diversity of voices in Aotearoa poetics. I look forward to reading fresh new work from IWW writers.”

President of IWW, Duncan Perkinson said: “As a writing group, we are proud to organise The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems. Janet’s poetry is amazing, she recognises the importance of this competition in New Zealand and we are thrilled to have Janet as this year’s judge. What’s more, her new book The Pistils is incredible.”

About the Judge

Janet enjoys poetry that reveals its writer’s distinctive point of view on life. She also likes work that seizes on a moment of experience and renders it with utmost accuracy. Very often she feels that’s more than enough to ask of a poem. But Janet also appreciates work that offers setting and character specific connections to particular theoretical ideas and/or the deep beliefs and values of others.

Preparatory Workshop

As well as judging the competition, Charman will conduct a workshop on Writing Poetry at IWW’s meeting venue, the Lindisfarne Room at St Aidan’s Church, 97 Onewa Road, Northcote, Auckland on Tuesday July 5th. Doors open at 10 am and the workshop runs from 10.30 am to 12.30 pm. While visitors are welcome to attend the workshop for a $10 visitor fee, potential entrants must have joined IWW before 19th July in order to enter the competition.

About the Competition and about IWW

The rules for the competition, details of how to join IWW, meeting times and other activities of the workshop, are available from the IWW website: www.iww.co.nz

IWW meets on the first and third Tuesdays of the month from February to November and runs several writing competitions every year.
 

2021’s Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems winner Robyn Maree Pickens joined a list of well-known New Zealand poets who have previously won including: Liz Breslin (in 2020) Siobhan Harvey (2019), Michael Giacon (2016) and Maris O’Rourke (2015.)

Siobhan Harvey was longlisted for the Poetry award at the 2022 Ockham Awards for her book Ghosts – the basis for which had been her 2019 winning sequence.

Key Dates for The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems in 2022

5th July: Workshop with Janet Charman on writing poetry.

19th July: Last day for new members to join IWW to be eligible to enter this year’s Prize.

4th October: Closing date for entries.

15th November: Announcement of the 2022 winner of The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems.

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