19 September 2025
Dan Davin Literary Awards 2025
About the judge for 2025 awards
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Michelle Elvy is a writer and editor in Ōtepoti Dunedin. Her books are the everrumble and the other side of better, and her latest anthologies are Te Moana o Reo | Ocean of Languages (edited with Vaughan Rapatahana, The Cuba Press 2025) and Poto! Iti te kupu, nui te kōrero| Short! The big book of small stories (edited with Kiri Piahana-Wong, Massey University Press 2025). She edits short form writing at Flash Frontier and At the Bay | I te Kokoru, and teaches creative writing online at 52|250 A Year of Writing. In 2025 she is finishing two new hybrid collections thanks to the Mike Riddell Residency in Oturehua and the Auckland Regional Parks Residency in Huia.
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Deadline: By 5 PM, Friday, 1st August 2025 ENTRIES NOW CLOSED
Categories:
Students – Creative Writing
Adults – Short Story
Awards:
Conditions of Entry:
Formatting Guidelines:
Awards Ceremony:
Winners will be announced at the Awards Ceremony to be held, Kelvin Hotel, Level 6, Friday 12th September 2025
Categories:
Students – Creative Writing
- Participants may submit up to three entries, each in a different genre.
- Word limits:
- Prose: 1,000–1,500 words per entry
- Poetry: Up to 1,000 words
- Senior Students: Year 11–13 secondary students, under 19 years old as of 31st December 2024.
- Junior Students: Year 7–10 secondary school students.
Adults – Short Story
- Participants may submit up to three entries.
- Maximum word count per entry: 3,000 words.
- Entry fee: $5.00 per submission.
Awards:
- First Prize in all categories: $250
- Second Prize in all categories: $150
- Third Prize in all categories: $100
Conditions of Entry:
- Entries must be original and unpublished.
- Writers must reside in or have a home address in Southland province, or in Queenstown, Glenorchy, Arrowtown, Tapanui, or Heriot.
- Writers must register to enter by clicking "Enter Here", filling in their details, and uploading their entry by 5 PM, Friday, 1st August 2025.
- Students: No entry fee.
- Adults: Entry fee of $5.00 per submission, payable via internet banking to 03-1746-0078140-00 (Reference: Initial and Surname). A postal option is available at Box 29, Invercargill 9840.
- Entries must not defame any person or organisation, nor infringe any copyright.
- The Dan Davin Literary Foundation reserves the right to publish winning entries.
- The judges’ decisions are final.
Formatting Guidelines:
- Submit entries as a .DOC or .DOCX file.
- Use double line spacing and a clear 12-point font.
- Do not include your name on the document.
- Ensure the title of your composition is included on the actual entry.
Awards Ceremony:
Winners will be announced at the Awards Ceremony to be held, Kelvin Hotel, Level 6, Friday 12th September 2025
Please read the terms and conditions before asking questions. Common queries about eligibility, formatting, deadlines, and submission guidelines are already covered there.
To ensure fairness, we won’t respond to emails about information found in the competition rules. If you are unsure, double-check the terms before contacting us.
To ensure fairness, we won’t respond to emails about information found in the competition rules. If you are unsure, double-check the terms before contacting us.
4 March 2025
Winners of the 2024 Literary awards have been announced
