Michael Gifkins Prize 2023 shortlist announced
Text Publishing and the New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc) have announced the shortlist for the 2023 Michael Gifkins Prize for an unpublished novel.
The shortlisted manuscripts are:
- ‘How to Stop a River’ by G M Allen, an inventive and atmospheric novel connecting past, present and future stories, linked by a winding river
- ‘A Foundling’s Sin’ by Jane Bitomsky, a lively historical novel full of humour, drama and romance, following an orphan named Repentance as she searches for love and navigates domestic service in Jacobean England
- ‘Dolores’ by Danielle Heyhoe, an absorbing portrayal of a precocious young woman searching for clarity and significance in the wake of intense loss, set across Auckland and modern-day France
- ‘My Rose’ by Tina Shaw, a quietly gripping story of a mother–daughter relationship, as the mother battles her unreliable memory to unravel a mystery from her past
- ‘I Am the River…’ by Helen Waaka, the story of a family, examining the intergenerational trauma of family violence, but also hope, belonging and whānau reconnection.
The winner, to be announced in July, will receive a contract for world rights from Text, along with an advance of NZ$10,000.
The shortlist was chosen by Text Publishing from a longlist of 15 high-quality manuscripts selected by writer and editor Michelle Elvy and inaugural Michael Gifkins Prize winner Ruby Porter, who said it was ‘a strong and surprising collection of manuscripts that delighted with each re-reading’.
In its sixth year, the prize honours Michael Gifkins’ contribution to writers and New Zealand literature. Last year’s winner Backwaters by Emma Ling Sidnam will be published in September 2023.
Category: Awards Local news
