Miller wins Katherine Mansfield Award

2009 BNZ Katherine Mansfield Awards youth category winner, Emma Robinson.

Twenty-six-year-old Wellington writer, Alice Miller has won the country’s top short fiction award, confirming her place as one of the nation’s most talented emerging writers.

Far-North resident, Karen Phillips won the Novice category and Emma Robinson, a year 12 student at Awatapu College, Palmerston North, won the Youth category of the 50th BNZ Katherine Mansfield Awards at a ceremony held in Wellington earlier this month.

Ms Miller took the $10,000 premier prize for The Windmill, a love story that award judge, Dame Fiona Kidman says ‘tripped her heart’.

“This story could be described as a contemporary love story but it seemed much more than that. It captures beautifully the essence of young student life, apparently casual love affairs set against the intensity of study and creativity, while at the same time illustrating that the choices made are never as random as they may appear on the surface.

“If the heart does play a role in the choice of a winner, this is the story that tripped mine,” said Dame Kidman.

One of the youngest-ever Katherine Mansfield award recipients, Ms Miller’s story stood out in a tough competition with a record number of almost 1,800 entries.

Mrs Phillips, a school administrator living in Ahipara, Northland won the Novice category for The Visit, a story category judge Carl Nixon said ‘brings a tear to the eye and a smile to the lips’.

“The Visit is a deserving (novice category) winner that could hold its own with some of the best of NZ fiction,” said Mr Nixon.

Ms Robinson won the young writer’s prize for her story Skipped the Censor ahead of more than 550 entries from secondary school students around the country.

Youth category judge, Kate De Goldi says Ms Robinson’s winning story has an arresting structure and voice.

“The correspondent’s voice is very skilfully wrought; it conveys personality, place, relationships, a sense of displacement, and an irrepressible enthusiasm for life. This writer has a sophisticated sense of concision.”

Mrs Phillips wins $1,500 as does Ms Robinson and her school.

The BNZ Katherine Mansfield Awards, which aim to foster the country’s literature, were established in 1959. They are NZ’s longest-running short story awards.

Katherine Mansfield’s father, Sir Harold Beauchamp, was a director of BNZ, a position he held for 38 years. He was also the chairman of the board for 17 years.