From Sudden Valley Press:

Earlier this month, we had the pleasure of sharing the titles of the six manuscripts longlisted for the John O’Connor First Book Award for 2026 – each one a glimpse into a body of work written and shaped with care, persistence, and imagination.

Now, with the judging process well underway, we’re delighted to celebrate the writers behind those manuscripts.

To these six poets: thank you for trusting us with your work. To be longlisted is no small thing – it represents not just the strength of a single manuscript, but the quiet accumulation of time, thought, and creative courage that brought it into being. We hope you’ll take a moment to mark this milestone and let others celebrate you, too.

Please join us in recognising these outstanding writers:

Dynamite by MEGAN CLAYTON

From Ōtautahi Christchurch, Megan Clayton (she/they, tangata Tiriti) writes lyric and narrative poems about family, feeling and memory, and performs regularly on the open mic at local poetry events. Poems and essays by Megan have been published in collections and journals in Aotearoa and Australia.

Looking through mist by SHIRLEY ENG

It’s taken a lifetime to get here. I’m a slow burner. Writing poetry lets me explore my truth. Not necessarily the factual truth but some other reality that I hope some readers may relate to from their own lives. Writing poetry allows my brain to grow new neurons.

Lugging the word kaputī by JOHN TUKE

John Tuke lives in Ōtautahi Christchurch and is of Welsh and English descent. Having been a teacher, firefighter and probation officer, John now works as a gardener. His poetry has appeared in Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook. In 2024, he attended the Victoria University of Wellington IIML writing programme.

Motion sickness by MICHELLE ELVY

Michelle Elvy is a writer, editor and creative writing teacher in Ōtepoti Dunedin. She edits at Flash Frontier and At the Bay | I te Kokoru. Her non-poetry books include the everrumble and the other side of better and the forthcoming ocean sky marble eye. michelleelvy.com

My Mum Stitches by ANA MULIPOLA

Ana Mulipola is a Christchurch-born Samoan poet and songwriter. A co-founder of FIKA Writers, she has published selected poems in anthologies and performed with the collective for over 20 years. Ana hails from the Samoa villages of Manono, Mauga, Safotu and Lalomanu.

some wild inland sea by ANDREA EWING

Andrea Ewing is a writer and lawyer living in Whakatū Nelson. Her poems and stories have been published in anthologies and journals including takahē, Mayhem, Poetry New Zealand Yearbook, Quick Brown Dog, a fine line and Flash Frontier: An Adventure in Short Fiction.

We’re proud to hold space for these voices, and to share in this moment with them – a pause in the process to acknowledge just how much it takes to get here. Congratulations to you all!

The shortlist will be announced on 1 April. We can’t wait to share what comes next.

Photo (top row, l to r): Megan Clayton, Shirley Eng, John Tuke; (bottom row, l to r): Michelle Elvy, Ana Mulipola, Andrea Ewing