Creative writing collection and 2025 competition launched
By University of Otago | Posted: Friday Jul 25, 2025
Entries close Wednesday 10 September 2025.
Creative writing collection launched | University of Otago
The University of Otago’s creative writing competition celebrated two exciting milestones yesterday – the launch of a special publication celebrating five years of the competition and the launch of this year’s contest.
Past winners, judges, organisers, sponsors and supporters came together at University Book Shop last night, to celebrate the launch of Writer – A publication celebrating five years of the University of Otago’s creative writing competition.
The publication was put together by the competition organisers Lisa Dick and Nicola Cummins, along with University Designer Glen Ross, and brings together the winning works from the first five years of the competition along with the prompts from each year and the judges’ comments.
Nicola, a Senior Teaching Fellow in the English and Linguistics Programme, says the collection is a tangible way to honour the creativity of the University community, where individual voices are gathered together in one place.
“For some of our writers, being published, perhaps for the first time, validates their efforts, boosts their confidence, and may well encourage them to keep writing. Being part of this process that fosters talent is very rewarding.”
The competition, which is open to students, staff and alumni, was launched in 2019 as part of the University’s 150th celebrations. With a different prompt and different judge each year, the winners’ responses to that prompt function as a snapshot of changes that have occurred in the world over the time the competition has run.
Lisa, University Publications Editor, says from the 2019 prompt “Daring to be Wise”, to the 2020 prompt “Only Connect” following the arrival of the global Covid-19 pandemic, to the 2024 prompt which matched the University’s newly gifted name, Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka, “a place of many firsts”, the contest offers a glimpse into changing times.
“They’re also clever, witty and beautiful. We hope people enjoy reading them, and we thank our winners so much for writing them and our judges for selecting them.”
Copies are available for free from UBS or get in touch with lisa.dick@otago.ac.nz.
Meanwhile, at the launch, the 2025 competition was also opened.
Writer 2025 is open to Otago staff, students and alumni, with each invited to submit one entry – either a poem or a short story – inspired by the prompt “Being and belonging”.
Nicola says this year’s prompt invites writers to reflect on the connections between identity (being) and community or place (belonging).
“Exploring questions such as where do I fit in? What shapes my sense of self? And how do the environment, culture or relationships define me?” she says.
“We expect themes such as inclusion, exclusion, land, family and friendship to emerge and hope that the prompt allows for both personal reflection and exploration of wider, societal issues.”
This year’s judge is Breton Dukes, a Dunedin author of three collections of short stories, and a novel, Party Boy, which will be released in early 2026.
He says it is always a thrill to be asked to act as a judge.
“Selfishly, it's always helpful as a writer. You are reminded of what makes good writing good and what makes bad writing bad. I studied at the University of Otago many years ago, doing a phys ed degree, so it's nice to be back in the fold.”
While he doesn’t know what ideas this year’s prompt will inspire, he says that’s what makes writing magical.
“I will be looking for the truth in terms of the human experience. Humour, tension, surprise. I will be looking for the big stuff and the tiniest details. What exactly is in your main character's pocket? I want risk and clarity. Good writing is about letting go while also holding on. It's love, hate, danger. It's going all in.”
Lisa says it is an honour to run a competition which inspires creativity and brings the University community and alumni together.
“We’re always impressed by the depth of writing talent that we have within these communities. We can’t wait to see the ideas inspired by this year’s prompt.”
The winning entries will be published across multiple platforms, including print and radio, as well as social media.
The competition opened for entries yesterday [23 July] and closes at midnight on Wednesday 10 September. Winners will be announced on Thursday 9 October.
The competition is supported by University Book Shop, Otago University Press, Dunedin City of Literature, Otago Access Radio, and the Otago Daily Times – with prizes for each of the category winners.
Further information can be found below or on the English and Linguistics programme website: Writer 2025: Creative writing competition for staff, students and alumni