Sargeson Prize

Short story competition

Details here

First offered in 2019, the Sargeson Prize is New Zealand’s richest short story prize, sponsored by the University of Waikato. Named for celebrated New Zealand writer Frank Sargeson, the Prize was conceived by writer Catherine Chidgey, who also lectures in Writing Studies at the University.

There is no entry fee, and entries are limited to one per writer, per division.

Entries for the 2024 competition open on 1 April 2024 and close on 30 June 2024.

If you have any questions that aren’t answered on this page or in the terms and conditions, please follow us on Facebook or Twitter or email sargeson.prize@waikato.ac.nz

Open Division

The Open Division is open to New Zealand citizens or permanent residents aged 16 and over who are writing in English. Published and unpublished writers are welcome to enter. Entries must be single stories of no more than 5000 words. They must be original, unpublished pieces of work.

• First Prize: $10,000
• Second Prize: $1,000
• Third Prize: $500

The winning stories will be published by Newsroom in its literary section ReadingRoom.