The Search for NZ’s Next Literary Stars

Media Release: For immediate release
Date: 23 November 2006

Six Pack ’07:
The Search for New Zealand’s Next Literary Stars

New Zealand Book Month is on the hunt for literary talent – all writers are asked to submit their best piece of new writing to the Six Pack Competition 2007.

NZ Book Month is seeking to build on the runaway success of this year’s first NZ Book Month publication. In September of this year 30,000 copies of The Six Pack were published to celebrate NZ Book Month and has consistently remained on the Booksellers New Zealand Bestsellers List for New Zealand Fiction ever since.

A barometer of the state of New Zealand creative writing, The Six Pack gives six established and/or aspiring writers the chance to be published in a high profile anthology. Not only will the 2007 winning authors receive $5,000 each in prize money, but they will also see their work in every secondary school, public library and bookstore around the country.

The competition is open to all New Zealanders and Project Director Phil Twyford hopes that a broad spectrum of published and unpublished authors will enter, “New Zealanders really got behind the first the first Book Month. One of the ways to get involved next year is to start writing now and enter the competition. The success of The Six Pack this year demonstrated there’s a real hunger out there for New Zealand writing.”

“Reading The Six Pack (2006) was almost as good as eating foie gras or caviar and much cheaper.” Chef, writer and broadcaster Peta Mathias.

As with last year, the categories are: adult fiction, adult non-fiction and poetry. The length of the pieces must be between 5,000 and 10,000 words (or 10-15 poems). Twyford hopes for the 2007 publication that non-fiction writers will also step up the plate and send in travel articles, feature articles, essays etc and novelists will send in excerpts from larger, unpublished works. The competition is also open to poetry and short stories. The deadline for submissions is 07 March 2007.

All entries should be sent to:
The Six Pack Competition 2007
NZ Book Month
PO Box 52 016
Kingsland
Auckland 1352

To download entry forms and criteria visit www.nzbookmonth.co.nz

ENDS

http://www.nzbookmonth.co.nz

NZ Book Month is sponsored by ferrit.co.nz
And supported by Books in Homes, Booksellers New Zealand, Creative New Zealand, Dymocks, empire PR, Hachette Livre, Harper Collins, Mainfreight, Ministry of Economic Development, More FM, New Holland, NZ Book Council, Paper Plus, Penguin Group, Random House, Reed Books, Sunday Star-Times and Whitcoulls.

© Scoop Media