2023 Literary Award Judges Announced

The wait is over! The Lysaght-Watt Trust Ronald Hugh Morrieson Literary Awards 2023 judges have just been announced.

Award organiser, South Taranaki District Council community outreach librarian Katherine Bosworth said it was exciting that all of this year’s judges live in Taranaki.

“We are so proud of the calibre of judges we’ve been able to attract to these awards over the last 36 years,” she says. “This year is no exception, and it’s such a coup that they’re all locals too – it’s a wonderful thing to be able to showcase some of our local literary superstars.”

Short Story judge, Emma Hislop (Kāi Tahu), is part of Te Hā Taranaki, a collective for Māori writers. She was shortlisted for the Pikihuia Award, awarded the Louis Johnson New Writers Bursary, a New Zealand Society of Authors Mentorship and was named the Emerging Māori Writer in residence at the Michael King Centre. Her debut collection of short fiction, Ruin, was published this year and she is currently working on her first novel.

This year's Poetry judge, Mikaela Nyman, writes poetry, fiction and non-fiction in English and Swedish. She was a Writer in Residence for Massey University, Palmerston North City and Square Edge Arts Centre. Her debut poetry collection was shortlisted for the Nordic Council Literature Prize and her second poetry collection is coming in August. She's judged the Given Words National Poetry Day competition for five years. Her debut novel SADO (‘Shadow/Shadows’) was published in 2020. She is a co-editor of the critically acclaimed Sista, Stanap Strong! A Vanuatu Women’s Anthology and works in collaboration with writers in Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands.

The judges will be joined by Taranaki Daily News editor Matt Rilkoff, who will be judging the True Story section (previously known as the research section).

The judges will be taking free Short Story and Poetry workshops on Saturday 17 June at Te W'anake | The Foundry in Hāwera. Please email librarycontact@stdc.govt.nz if you would like to register. Numbers are limited.