Judges Announced for the Ronald Hugh Morrieson Literary Awards 2026!

The wait is over! The Lysaght Watt Trust Ronald Hugh Morrieson Literary Awards 2026 Judges have been announced.

Glenn Colquhoun is returning once again as the Poetry judge for this year’s competition. He is an award-winning Poet and Children’s Writer with his debut collection, The Art of Walking Upright, winning the Jessie Mackay Award, while Playing God took out the Montana Book Awards poetry section and Reader’s Choice Award. He received the Prize in Modern Letters in 2004 and a Fullbright Scholarship to Harvard in 2010, and has represented New Zealand internationally, including at the Frankfurt Book Fair and the Commonwealth Poets United project. His latest collection, The Ballad of Joe Taihape, was published in 2026.

Tracey Slaughter is also returning to South Taranaki this year to judge the Short Story section of the awards. Tracey is a poet, fiction writer and essayist from Aotearoa. Her work has received numerous awards including the Manchester Poetry Prize 2023, the Fish Short Story Prize 2020, and the Bridport Prize 2014. She is the founding editor of Mayhem Literary Journal and current editor of Poetry Aotearoa, New Zealand’s longest-running poetry journal, whilst currently teaching at University of Waikato. Her recent books are Devil’s Trumpets (2021) and Conventional Weapons (2019), from Te Herenga Waka Press, and her latest collection The girls in the red house are singing (2024).

The judges will be joined by Taranaki Daily News Editor Matt Rilkoff, who will be judging the True Story section.

“We are very excited to welcome back three highly regarded Aotearoa judges to South Taranaki’s premiere literary competition this year,” says council’s Community Outreach Cadet Charlotte Stark.

The competition opens on Wednesday 10 June with the kickoff of the secondary school workshops. As always, the Open Writing and Poetry workshops taken by the judges are available to the public for free.

Both open workshops will be held on Saturday 20 June at Hāwera LibraryPlus | Te Ramanui o Ruapūtahanga in Hāwera. Morning tea is provided.

• Open short story workshop with Tracey Slaughter at 9am – 12noon
• Open poetry workshop with Glenn Colquhoun at 12.45pm – 3.45pm

Council is now taking bookings for the open workshops held on Saturday 20 June. Please contact your local LibraryPlus, email entries@stdc.govt.nz or phone 0800 111 323 to secure your space.

Further information about the Judges can be found here: www.southtaranaki.com/rhm