2024 Judges

Kaiwhakawā 2024

David Hill - Short Story Judge

Taranaki based writer David Hill is the Short Story Judge. David Hill is a prolific and highly regarded New Zealand writer, playwright, poet, columnist, and critic. Best known for his highly popular and award-winning body of work for young people, ranging from picture books to teenage fiction, his novels have been published all around the world and translated into several languages. His short stories and plays for young people have been broadcast here and overseas.

Tracey Slaughter - Poetry Judge

Tracey is a poet, fiction writer and essayist from Aotearoa New Zealand. Her work has received numerous awards including the Manchester Poetry Prize 2023, the Fish Short Story Prize 2020, and the Bridport Prize 2014. She teaches at University of Waikato, where she edits the journals Mayhem and Poetry Aotearoa. Her recent books are Devil’s Trumpets (2021) and Conventional Weapons (2019) and her latest collection The girls in the red house are singing comes out later this year. She is currently working on a collection of personal essays and collaborating with Liam Hinton on a screenplay adaption of her novella The Longest Drink in Town.

Matt Rilkoff, Taranaki Daily News Editor, will once again be judging the Reasearch Article section of the Lysaght Watt Trust Ronald Hugh Morrieson Literary Awards. Matt and the Taranaki Daily News have been great supporters of the Awards for several years now.