Short Story Awards for Maori and English writers

E tuhi! Get writing! is the call to aspiring Maori authors, who have the chance to participate in what is fast becoming one of the key events in the New Zealand Aotearoa literary calendar - the 2003 Maori Literature Awards. Short Story Awards for Maori and English writers

E tuhi! Get writing! is the call to aspiring Maori authors, who have the chance to participate in what is fast becoming one of the key events in the New Zealand Aotearoa literary calendar - the 2003 Maori Literature Awards.Judges include internationally acclaimed author and long time supporter of the Awards, Keri Hulme who will be judging the novel extract category. Rhonda Kite, award winning documentary maker, will be judging the short film category, and TV personalities Scott Morrison and Te Hamua Nikora who will be judging the Maori language categories.

For the inaugural 1995 Awards the response was immediate: 'On January 1st, the day the Awards were first announced the phones just start to ring and have kept ringing since ... it seems that everyone wants to know how to enter,' said Robyn Rangihuia Bargh, managing director of Huia Publishers. 'They have also raised the awareness of Maori writing among both Maori and Pakeha New Zealanders, provided the incentive and motivation for Maori writers to practise their writing skills and helped to overcome some of the misconceptions about what Maori writing is'.

Formerly the Huia Short Story Awards, they were established by Huia Publishers in 1995 to identify and encourage Maori writing talent in both the English and Maori languages. This year's Awards invite people to submit short stories, novel extracts, short film scripts and childrens stories in English or Maori. There is also a secondary school students category.

Attracting the interest and support of The New Zealand Film Commission, Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Maori, and Te Puni Kokiri, the 2003 Awards will mark the 10th anniversary of the biennial Awards. Since their inception the Awards have helped focus Maori on the need to write; to tell our own stories. The quality and diversity of entries has enabled Huia Publishers to produce nine collections of writing by Awards finalists, and will be a key event of the Maori Writers Festival expected later this year.

For further information re 2004 entries contact:
Huia Lloyd
Publicist
Huia Publishers
Phone: 04-473 9262
Email: huial@huia.co.nz or visit the E tuhi! website fore details at
www.etuhi.co.nz