Arts – Announcing the shortlist for the 2021 Michael Gifkins Prize

Tom Baragwanath’s Paper Cage is a gripping literary thriller about abducted children, a community in crisis— and a woman who may have to balance one against the other. Tom Baragwanath is a writer originally from Masterton, New Zealand, currently living in Paris. His short fiction has appeared in Headland, Amarillo Bay, Takahē, The Menteur, and elsewhere. He completed Paper Cage during his Masters in Creative Writing with the University of Kent in 2020.

Adrienne Jansen’s Light Keeping is a stunning and emotional portrayal of five generations of a grief-stricken family whose lives revolve around the disappearing profession of lighthouse keeping. Adrienne Jansen is a teacher and founded the Whitireia Creative Writing Programme. She is also a writer of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Most of her time currently goes into Landing Press, a small press which publishes accessible poetry.

Sue McCauley’s Landed is the sharp, incisive story of a woman who must rebuild her life after her husband’s suicide amidst a backdrop of political and social upheaval in 1980s New Zealand. Sue McCauley has spent most of her adult years either writing or mentoring writers. She has written drama for radio, TV and stage, worked as a journalist and columnist, and published five novels, two short story collections, and one non-fiction book. She has won awards for fiction and radio drama.

This year’s shortlist was selected by Text Publishing from an impressive longlist of twelve high- quality manuscripts curated by New Zealand writers Dr Paula Morrisand Vanda Symon. The judges said: ‘The three finalists are all strong on story, character and atmosphere, taking us from lighthouses to police stations to city flats, from mysteries and accidents to political battles and family conflicts. We’re delighted to see such strong contemporary novel manuscripts from writers both emerging and well known.’

Congratulations to the longlisted writers: Tanya Ashcroft, Catherine Cooper, Majella Cullinane, Rachel J Fenton, Saradha Koirala, Wendy Parkins, John Prins, Elaine Webster, Anna Woods.

Previous winners of the Gifkins Prize have included Ruby Porter, Tom Remiger and Gigi Fenster, whose literary thriller A Good Winter is slated for publication in September of 2021.
 
The Gifkins Prize is made possible by a generous financial commitment from the Gifkins family and from Text Publishing. It is administered by the NZ Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc). Entries for the 2022 prize will open in late July.

The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa PEN NZ Inc is the principal organisation representing writers in Aotearoa. Founded in 1934, it advocates for the right to fair reward and creative rights, administers prizes and awards, works closely with the literary sector liaison and runs professional development programmes for writers.
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