Whiti Hereaka

JUDGE’S COMMENTS

WHITI HEREAKA

SHORT STORY - SECONDARY SCHOOL AND OPEN

It’s been a pleasure to be involved with this year’s Ronald Hugh Morrieson Literary Awards. I’m a big believer that stories and art help us all to navigate this often strange world — particularly in a world tipped off kilter by a global pandemic. Some of the entries into the short story competition this year reflected what is happening in our world: dealing with the realities of lockdown and the strains of mental illness. But there were also humorous stories and stories of hope. I thank every writer who entered their work into this year’s competition — I acknowledge your skills and your hard work in creating engaging stories. The stories I picked all created vivid characters and felt very grounded in Taranaki. Each of them stayed with me after I had read them the first time, and I still felt excitement on reading them the second or third time. I’d like to offer my congratulations to the winners and the runners up.