Funding Research on New Zealand's First Two Literary Awards

The Hubert Church Prize for Fiction and The Jessie Mackay Prize for Poetry awards were established by NZSA (PEN NZ) and have been awarded since the 1940’s. Both awards are still part of the Ockham annual book awards. NZSA will research PEN archives and newsletters and Turnbull and Book Awards Trust records, back to the 1940’s and create a narrative history of these awards and their contribution to our cultural history.

These awards launched careers and form a crucial part of our literary heritage. One winner of the Hubert Church award was Janet Frame, and the story is well known that a letter sent from NZSA, informing the hospital superintendent that Janet Frame has won this award, caused her planned lobotomy to be abandoned, allowing Frame to create one of Aotearoa’s most important literary canons.

Writers whose careers were launched by these awards: Stephanie Johnson, Maurice Shadbolt, Glen Colquhoun, Becky Manawatu, Rachael King, Eleanor Catton, Frank Sargeson, Chris Tse, David Ballantyne, Hera Lindsey Bird, Pip Adam, Selina Tusitala Marsh, Karlo Mila, Tayi Tibble, James Courage and M K Joseph.

NZSA will develop and verify records for these longest standing literary awards that will amplify the history of NZ writers’, and demonstrate the importance of book awards in launching writing careers.