Secondary School Teacher Wins NZ’s Biggest Short Story Competition

Christchurch secondary school teacher Rebecca Ball, screenwriter Wayne Hotu and year 11 student Eassin Wang are the winners of the prestigious Sunday Star-Times Short Story Awards, sharing in a total prize pool of $20,000.

Ball takes home $15,000 for winning in the open category for her story titled How It Is In Dreams.

The generous sponsorship and support of the Milford Foundation, Penguin Random House and Heft Communications made this year’s awards the richest in its history.

Sunday Star-Times Editor Tracy Watkins says there was a fantastic showing for the competition’s 40th year.

“For 40 years we’ve been offering budding and established authors the opportunity to share their writing with the country, and this year we received an impressive number of entries - almost 600. A huge congratulations to Rebecca, Wayne and Eassin on their wins this year. Their short stories truly stood tall.

“The winning stories will be published in the Sunday Star-Times over the summer and on our digital home on thepost.co.nz, along with the judges’ feedback. I know Sunday Star-Times readers will love reading these beautifully written Kiwi stories in between the beautifully written Kiwi journalism they enjoy in the Star-Times each week.”

Wayne Hotu (Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāti Ruanui) won in the Emerging Māori writer category for his story titled Birdwoman. He takes home that category’s $2500 prize thanks to the Milford Foundation.

In the secondary school writer category, judged by poet, educator and children’s author Jane Arthur, Eassin Wang from St Cuthbert’s College in Auckland takes home the $2500 prize for her story The Acquired Taste of Nostalgia. Secondary school entrants were asked to think about the competition’s 40th anniversary to inspire their stories with Wang skillfully and creatively reflecting this theme.

“The winning entries from this year were nothing short of exceptional and have demonstrated the true ingenuity that Kiwis have when it comes to storytelling,” says Milford Foundation Chief Executive Bryce Marsden.

Penguin Random House NZ Director Becky Innes was also impressed with the calibre of writing: “As publishers we are delighted to support emerging talent and the winning writers sure show talent - the whole team at Penguin Random House NZ extends their warm congratulations and we look forward to seeing where your literary journeys take you,” says Innes.

Emily Makere Broadmore, Director of Heft Communications, also congratulated the winners: “It’s been a pleasure to support an initiative that celebrates the art of storytelling.”

The competition was judged by novelist and previous Sunday Star-Times Short Story Award finalist Eileen Merriman in the open category, author Lauren Keenan (Te Ati Awa ki Taranaki) in the emerging Māori or Pasifika writer category and poet, educator and children’s author Jane Arthur in the

secondary school writer category. All entries were anonymised so judges did not know who had written them when making their decisions.

Sunday Star-Times Short Story Awards 2024 winners:

• Open award: Rebecca Ball, How It Is In Dreams, $15,000 prize thanks to the Milford Foundation and Penguin Random House. Rebecca Ball is a teacher and writer from Ōtautahi Christchurch. She has had poems and stories published in a range of places including Landfall, London Grip, Turbine | Kapohau, Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook, Flash Frontier and takahē, as well as special anthologies like More than a roof (Landing Press), No Other Place to Stand (AUP) and a liminal gathering (Elixir & Star Press).
• Emerging Māori or Pasifika writer award: Wayne Hotu, Birdwoman, $2500 prize sponsored by the Milford Foundation. Wayne Hotu (Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāti Ruanui) is a screenwriter/prose writer. He has written short stories, films, comedies and dramas such as Shortland Street and Ahikāroa. He was raised in Tāmaki Makaurau and Te Kuiti and has a Masters in Screenwriting. He previously won the 2021 Ngaio Marsh Short Story award and the 2023 Australasian Horror Writers Association award for Best Horror Short Story.
• Milford Foundation secondary school writer award: Eassin Wang, St Cuthbert’s College, The Acquired Taste of Nostalgia, $2500 prize. Eassin Wang is a year 11 student at St Cuthbert’s College in Auckland.

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