6 days ago
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- Otago Daily Times
Waitaki writer's collection wins NZSA prize
Oamaru writer Susanna Elliffe will have her winning collection of short stories published in 2026. PHOTO: JULES CHIN
Oamaru writer Susanna Elliffe has received an "outpouring of love" after winning the New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA) Laura Solomon Cuba Press Prize, awarded for new writing with a "unique and original vision".
The prize was established by the NZSA and the Solomon family to honour novelist, poet, and playwright Laura Solomon, who died in 2019 at the age of 48.
Ms Elliffe's winning manuscript, Relic Party, is a short-story collection exploring themes of loss — intimate and global, human and non-human. The stories journey through eerie ghosts, false relics, dysfunctional family homes, and speculative futures affected by climate change.
The award includes a $2000 cash prize and a publishing contract with The Cuba Press, with the book set for release in 2026.
Elliffe, 29, said she was "so excited" to finally share the news after keeping it secret for two weeks.
"It was very difficult but very rewarding when I could tell everyone. I had such an outpouring of love. It's very exciting," she said.
She described the win as "deeply honouring" and "surreal".
The prize judges — Mary McCallum of The Cuba Press, Nicky Solomon from the Solomon family, and award-winning writer Cassie Hart — praised Relic Party for its originality and unique voice.
Hart said the quality of entries was exceptional, but Elliffe's work stood out.
"I know readers will fall in love with Susanna Elliffe's prose and storytelling just like we did," she said.
The runner-up was Christchurch writer Belinda O'Keefe, who won $1000 for her manuscript Trespassers Will Be Baked, Scrambled, Fried and Eaten.
Elliffe's writing has previously been shortlisted for competitions including the Sargeson Prize and the International Bridport Prize.
She describes her style as experimental, "throwing away the rules" to create stories that are strange, surreal, but deeply human.
Now in the final year of her master's degree in creative writing at Massey University, she said Relic Party was written over five years.
The collection includes tales of generational worship of possibly false relics, a future where only one shark remains alive in New Zealand, and a story about inheritance that blends body image struggles with ghostly presence.
Her studies in eco-fiction have inspired her to write about the natural world, often with nautical or ocean themes, blending speculative fiction about the future with both fear and hope.
Born and raised in Oamaru, Elliffe attended Waitaki Girls' High School before earning a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from Victoria University of Wellington.
She has worked as a librarian and teacher's aide in Oamaru and remains involved in local musical theatre, though writing is her "main love".
Elliffe credits Massey University's supportive faculty and her family — including her mother and sister who helped edit her work — for their encouragement.
Influential authors for her included Max Porter, K-Ming Chang, and New Zealand writer Louise Wallace.
With a new novel in mind, Ms Elliffe dreams of one day opening her own bookstore, but is focused now on building her writing career.
