Sargeson Prize terms and conditions

Short story competition

The Sargeson Prize

By participating in The Sargeson Prize (“Competition”), entrants agree to be bound by these terms and conditions.

Who can enter

  1. Entry to the Competition is open to New Zealand citizens or permanent residents living in New Zealand. Proof of citizenship or residency may be required.
  2. Entrants in the Open Division of the Competition must be at least 16 years of age on the date that Competition entries close. There is no upper age limit.
  3. Entrants in the Secondary Schools Division of the Competition must be enrolled at a New Zealand secondary school and aged between 16 and 18 years of age on the date that Competition entries close. Home-schooled students who have a Certificate of Exemption from Enrolment at a Registered School from the Ministry of Education may also enter, providing that schooling is their primary occupation.
  4. The individuals excluded from entry into the Competition are:
    1. members of the Competition screening panel;
    2. official judge(s) of the Competition;
    3. permanent staff members of the English and Writing Studies programmes at the University of Waikato;
    4. the Sargeson Prize Assistant;
    5. the editor of ReadingRoom.

How to enter

  1. Entries into the 2024 Competition open on 1 April 2024 and close at 11.59pm (NZST) on 30 June 2024. Entries received after the closing date or not otherwise in accordance with these terms and conditions will not be accepted. The University of Waikato takes no responsibility for lost, damaged, misdirected, late, illegible or incomplete entries.
  2. Entrants may submit online or by post.
  3. To enter the Competition online, entrants must complete the official online entry form for either the Open or Secondary Schools Division (available via the 'Enter online now' buttons when entries open in 2024) and attach their entry as a Word document or PDF (.doc, .docx, or .pdf).
  4. To enter the Competition by post, entrants must download and complete the official postal entry form for either the Open or Secondary Schools Division and send it with their entry to: Sargeson Prize, ℅ English Programme, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton 3240.
  5. Story manuscripts submitted for entry must be typed in English, and 1.5-spaced (and for postal entries, typed and printed on one side of A4 paper only). The story title and page number must appear on each page of the manuscript (as a header or footer). Postal entries will not be returned.
  6. For online entries, the file name must be the story name.
  7. Entries may not contain any photographs or illustrations.
  8. The author’s name or other personal information must not appear anywhere on the story manuscript. All personal information must be listed only on the entry form.
  9. Once an entry is submitted, the manuscript is final. The entry cannot be withdrawn and no alterations can be made to it.

General terms

  1. There is no fee to enter the Competition.
  2. Only one entry per person is permitted (ie an entrant who meets the requirements for both the Secondary Schools and Open Divisions may enter a story in one of these categories, but not both.)
  3. Entries in the Open Division must be single stories of no more than 5000 words, excluding the title and any page headers and footers.
  4. Entries in the Secondary Schools Division must be single stories of no more than 3000 words, excluding the title and any page headers and footers.
  5. Stories must be original works of fiction written by an individual author. No entry may have been published or broadcast or won a prize in a previous competition. Entries must not be submitted for publication or broadcast elsewhere or entered into any other competition until after the winners of the Competition have been notified. Appearance online on a blog or in an anthology constitutes prior publication.
  6. Entries that are found to infringe upon anyone’s copyright or are deemed (in the sole discretion of the University) to be works of plagiarism will be disqualified from the Competition.
  7. Manuscripts will not be returned to entrants and must be submitted by the author (except Secondary Schools Division entries, which can be submitted by teachers on behalf of the author with the author’s consent).

Judging

  1. The Competition judge for 2024 will be announced at a later date.
  2. Stories will be subject to screening by a panel selected and overseen by the Competition organisers. Judging is conducted blind (ie the judge and screening panel will not see the name of the author during the judging process).
  3. The judge's decision regarding the winners is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Winning entries

  1. Prize-winning and highly commended entrants in each division for the 2024 competition will be notified by phone or email by 15 September 2024 using the details provided by the author at the time of entry. 

    Prizes will be awarded at the Frank Sargeson Memorial Lecture at the University of Waikato on Saturday 19 October 2024. The University will cover one night's accommodation and travel within New Zealand for the winner of the Open Division and the winner of the Secondary Schools Division. Unsuccessful entrants will not be contacted.

  2. Following the Frank Sargeson Memorial Lecture, a list of the prize-winning and highly commended entrants will be published on the University of Waikato news page, the Sargeson Prize Facebook page and distributed in a media release.
  3. The names, entry details, biographical information and photographs of the first, second and third prize-winners of both Divisions will be required by the University of Waikato and may be used for promotional purposes without compensation. You consent to this use and disclosure of your details by entering the competition and agree to the use and disclosure of your personal information by the University of Waikato to the extent reasonably necessary to publish the outcome of the Competition and to promote the Competition in any form or media without further notification to you.

Prizes

  1. The prizes for the Open Division of the Competition are as follows:
    1. 1st: $10,000
    2. 2nd: $1,000
    3. 3rd: $500
  2. The prizes for the Secondary Schools Division of the Competition are as follows:
    1. 1st: $2,000
    2. 2nd: $1,000
    3. 3rd: $500
  3. The winner of the Secondary Schools Division will also be offered a one-week writing residency at the University of Waikato, which may be taken up in January or February of the following year. The residency will include accommodation and meals at one of the University of Waikato halls of residence, mentoring from postgraduate writing students and/or Writing Studies lecturers of the University of Waikato, and a writing space in the School of Arts. If the winner chooses not to take up the residency, no alternative compensation will be provided. If the winner is younger than 18 on the date the residency starts, signed permission from a parent or guardian will be required. The University will cover travel within New Zealand.
  4. Prizes are not transferable, nor exchangeable.

Publication

  1. The three winning stories in the Open Division will be published by ReadingRoom. In addition to the prize money, authors will receive a small contributor's fee from ReadingRoom.
  2. The story placed first in the Secondary Schools Division will be published by ReadingRoom. In addition to the prize money, the author will receive a small contributor's fee from ReadingRoom.
  3. All placing stories will be published on the Sargeson Prize website. Stories may be removed from online publication after 12 months, at the author's request.
  4. Intellectual property rights in all entries submitted remain the property of the entrant. However, in the event you win the Open or Secondary Schools Division of the Competition, you grant the University of Waikato and ReadingRoom the exclusive and royalty-free right to publish your work.