Shaw wins 2023 Michael Gifkins prize

Author and editor Tina Shaw has been awarded the 2023 Michael Gifkins Prize for an unpublished manuscript by an Aotearoa New Zealand writer.

Chosen from a shortlist of five, Shaw wins a publishing contract with Text and a NZ$10,000 advance against royalties for her manuscript A House Built on Sand, previously titled ‘My Rose’, and described by the publisher as ‘the gripping story of a mother–daughter relationship, with a mother who battles her unreliable memory to unravel a mystery from her past’.

On winning the Michael Gifkins Prize, Shaw said, ‘It’s a huge privilege to be published by Text Publishing and to see my work on a larger stage. This story is one that’s particularly close to my heart, and I know it’s in good hands with Text.’

The prize honours the late literary agent, writer, critic and publishing consultant Michael Gifkins and is funded through a sponsorship from Gifkins’ family and Text Publishing. It is administered by the NZ Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (PEN NZ) Inc.

The winner of the 2022 prize, Backwaters, will be published in September this year. Text will publish A House Built on Sand in September 2023.

Category: Awards Local news