Welcome Northland Writers

NZSA NORTHLAND

ANNOUNCEMENTS

GRANT APPLICATION APPROVED!

A massive thank you to the Whangārei District Council Creative Communities Scheme who will be supporting our NZSA Northland NorthWrite Indie Publishing Day on 9 May 2026.

Our committee worked hard to put in our very best application, and we were successful!

Save the date – Saturday 9th May, in Whangārei.

We have already locked in our special guest speakers, all very experienced at indie publishing and marketing.

We will be running workshop sessions on the self publishing process, with particular reference to e-books and audiobooks (as well as print, of course), marketing, publishing on Amazon and other platforms, cover and page design (especially for children’s books, too) and various other aspects. Learn more about the Whangārei District Council Creative Communities Scheme at: https://www.wdc.govt.nz/funding

#creativecommunitieswhangarei

#whangareidistrictcouncil

#whangareicommunity

FINAL RESULTS!

The winners of our Open Short Story Competition are:

FIRST: One Week to Live Michael Botur, Whangarei

SECOND: The Celebration Anna Granger, Whanganui

THIRD: The One that Got Away Emma Harris, Auckland

HIGHLY COMMENDED:

Counting Days Karen Phillips, Ahipara

Free Janine Williams, Hukerenui

One Hot Summer Afternoon Vivienne Bailey, Wellington

COMMENDED:

Unravelling  Adèle (AD) Anderson, Kerikeri

Chance Encounter  Celine George, Ngunguru

2025 Short Story Competition Open Short List

• Chance Encounter
• Counting Days
• Unravelling
• Free
• One hot summer afternoon
• The one that got away
• The celebration 
• One Week to Live

2025 Short Story Competition Open Long List

• One Week to Live
• Chance Encounter
• Counting Days
• Drought of the Heart
• Unravelling
• Free
• One Hot Summer Afternoon
• A Carver’s Love
• The One That Got Away
• On the Perils of Being Cast as a Minor Character
• Seventh Wave
• Cambrians
• The Celebration
• Tapu
• Held by Nothing

AND THE WINNERS OF THE 2025 HIGH SCHOOLS AND YEAR 7 & 8 SHORT STORY COMPETITION ARE…

High School Winners

• First: She Painted Over It, Milly Leong, Home School
• Second: I Had Watched, Brooke Chambers, Otamatea Christian School

Highly Commended:

• Frames of Destruction, Eunice Kim, Whangārei Girls High School      
• I Shouldn’t Have Ever, Ava Cohen, Whangārei Girls High School  

Commended:

• I Survived, Charlotte Robinson-Gooch, Ruawai College
• Offline, Ruby Simpson, Springbank School

SPONSORED BY CALDERS DESIGN AND PRINT

Year 7 & 8 Winners

• First: She Got Away, Rachel Tan, Huanui College
• Second: Not A Disaster After All, Holly McIntyre, Springbank School
• Third: White Feathers at Parihaka, Israel Wright, Harvest Christian School  

Highly Commended:

• The Forgotten Door, Amelia Kinnaird, Springbank School
• The Ride with Koro, Jodeci Whittaker-Masiutama, Mangawhai Beach School

Commended:

• Yellow Post-It Notes, Preston Yan, Huanui College
• Nighttime, Rose Nelder, Mangawhai Beach School
• SPONSORED BY JEFF OLIVER PRINT (JOP)

2025 SS Competition High Schools Short List

• Offline
• I Survived
• She Painted Over It
• I Had Watched
• I Shouldn’t Have Ever
• Frames of Destruction
• Winnie and Julia

2025 SS Competition Year 7 & 8 Short List

• The Ride with Koro
• The Forgotten Door
• She Got Away
• Not A Disaster After all
• White Feathers at Parihaka
• Night-Time
• Yellow Post-it Notes 

2025 SS Competition High Schools Long List

• Frames of Destruction
• Winnie and Julia
• She Painted Over It
• I Shouldn’t Have Ever        
• Good-bye
• I Had Watched
• The Wise Fool
• Prized Possession
• Everyone is Good at Something
• I Gave Them Permission
• Vigilante
• The Storm
• Do You Remember
• The Letter I Cannot Burn
• Snake Infested Holes
• I Survived
• This is NOT How I Picture My Birthday      
• Unknown Caller
• He Was Here
• Offline

2025 SS Competition Year 7 & 8 Long List

•  A Charred Lesson   
• They Will Always Be With You     
•  A Voice for Rumi      
• The Forgotten Door     
• Not A Disaster After All    
• The Whistling    
• Tent Trouble     
• The Ride with Koro     
• The Real Ronald McDonald    
• Painful Times     
• After    
• Nighttime     
• She Got Away     
• Yellow Post-It Notes   
• Sonder    
• Collecting The Wood    
•  Cycle   
• The Day the Bear Ate Our Lunch     
• White Feathers at Parihaka     
• The Surprise Birthday 

Following our AGM held on

Sunday 23 March 2025

we’re pleased to announce that all our office-holders have been re-elected unopposed

Chairperson: Sherryl Clark

Vice-chairperson: Deborah Jowitt

Treasurer: Justine Baddeley

Secretary: Patricia Fenton

Minute Secretary: Lesley Marshall

Communications Coordinator: Sue Barker

Newsletter Coordinator: Patricia Fenton

Other committee members: Zana Bell, Heather Whelan

LYNLEY DODD CHILDREN’S WRITERS AWARD

We’re delighted to share that Aotearoa New Zealand’s Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi has announced NZSA Northland member, Janine Williams, also known by her pen name, J L Williams, as the inaugural recipient of the $30,000 Lynley Dodd Children’s Writers Award.