Short story prizes best in NZ

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 259, 18 October 1988, Page 12

Short story prizes best in NZ

New Zealand's richest short story competition was launched in Wellington last week

and is open to all New Zealanders to compete. The Farmers Mutual Group short story competition is for stories which depict the modern everyday experiences of New Zealand rural life. Stories can be written for either primary school children or secondary school pupils. The winners of these two sections will receive $3000 and the best overall story will win another $2000. The second prizes for

each section are $1000. The competition is organised by Federated Farmers Bay of Plenty province and President Graeme Shirley said the stories would give young people a realistic understanding of agriculture. It would also help bridge the gap in understanding between rural and urban New Zealand. The competition is sponsored by the

Farmers Mutual Group and Mr Shirley said they had enthusiastically helped to develop the idea. He welcomed Margaret Mahy as a judge for the competition and said her ability as a writer and her warmth of feeling for children and rural New Zealand made her an ideal choice for judge. Winning stories will be offered for school

publications, magazines and for short story anthologies. Entries must be accompanied by the official entry form which will be available from public libraries, and the offices of Federated Farmers and Farmers Mutual Group throughout New Zealand. They should be sent to "Farming Life Competition," Federated Farmers of New Zealand, 10 2-104 Spring St, Tauranga.