Renowned Professor to judge $1000 poetry prize
International Writers’ Workshop NZ Inc (IWW) is delighted to announce that Professor Bryan Walpert, who teaches English and Creative Writing at Massey University in Auckland and was a co-judge of the 2019 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards Poetry Award, will judge The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems later this year.

The prize of $1000, which is made possible due to an ongoing bequest from the Jocelyn Grattan Charitable Trust, is for a cycle or sequence of unpublished poems that has a common link or theme.

This is the eleventh year IWW has had the honour of organising the Prize.

Previous winners are Heather Bauchop (2018), Janet Newman (2017), Michael Giacon (2016) Maris O’Rourke (2015), Julie Ryan (2014), Belinda Diepenheim (2013), James Norcliffe (2012), Jillian Sullivan (2011) Janet Charman and Rosetta Allan (joint winners 2010) and Alice Hooton (2009).

The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems is sometimes referred to as the ‘Little Grattan’ as the Jocelyn Grattan Charitable Trust also funds the biennial Kathleen Grattan Award, run by Landfall / Otago University Press.

The competition is free for IWW members to enter but it is very easy for aspiring poets and writers to join IWW to be eligible to enter their poetry into the Prize.
About the Judge

Professor Walpert is the author of three collections of poetry, Etymology (Cinnamon Press), A History of Glass (Stephen F. Austin State UP), and most recently Native Bird (Makaro Press); a collection of short fiction, Ephraim’s Eyes; and two scholarly books: Poetry and Mindfulness: Interruption to a Journey (Palgrave 2017) and Resistance to Science in Contemporary American Poetry (Routledge 2011).

His work has appeared in many countries and has been recognised by the Montreal International Poetry Award, the New Zealand International Poetry Competition and the James Wright Poetry Award (U.S.).

His website

Preparatory Workshop

Professor Walpert will conduct a workshop on Writing Poetry Sequences at IWW’s meeting venue, the Lindisfarne Room under St Aidans Church, 97 Onewa Road, Northcote, Auckland on Tuesday 21 May. Doors open at 10 am and the workshop runs from 10.30 am to 12.30 pm.

While the competition is restricted to IWW members, visitors are welcome to attend the workshop for a $10 visitor fee. Any visitor who attends the workshop and joins IWW by the third Tuesday in June will be eligible to enter The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems and will have the visitor fee deducted from their joining fee.
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, which meets on the first and third Tuesdays of the month from February to November and runs several competitions a year, are available from the IWW website: iww.co.nz.
Key Dates for The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems in 2019

21 May: Workshop with Professor Bryan Walpert on writing poetry sequences.

18 June: Last day for new members to join IWW to be eligible to enter this year’s Prize.

1 October: Closing date for entries.

19 November: Announcement of the 2019 winner of The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems.
Contact

For further information about the Prize or about IWW in general, contact Sue Courtney, email iww-writers@outlook.com or check out our website