The Landfall Tauraka Young Writers’ Essay Prize is an annual award open to writers aged 16 to 25. The winner receives $1500 and a year’s subscription to Landfall.
The 2026 prize is now open and entries close on 31 March 2026.
The prize is judged by the editor of Landfall.
The winner will be announced and published in each May issue of Landfall.
Conditions of entry
- Essays must not exceed 1500 words.
- Essays must be fully developed, independent and original works, not generated by AI at any stage.
Open to New Zealand citizens or permanent residents aged between 16 and 25 years old in the year of competition. - Entries must be accompanied by proof of age.
- Essays can be on a topic of the author’s choosing.
- Essays must not have been published elsewhere or be under consideration by any other competition or publisher during the competition period.
- One entry per person.
- The judge will assess the merits of the essays and reserve the right not to award a prize. No correspondence with the judge will be entered into.
- Landfall reserves the right to publish the winning and shortlisted entries at the editor’s discretion.
- The winning writer’s name and photograph may be used by Landfall for publicity purposes.
How to enter
- Email your essay as a Word or .rtf file to landfall@otago.ac.nz
- Use ‘Landfall Tauraka Young Writers’ Essay Prize’ in the subject line.
- Do not include your name on the essay itself.
- Include your name, address and telephone number, proof of age and a 30-word bio in your email.
The prize is sponsored by Otago University Press, the University of Otago Department of English and Linguistics, and Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature.