Aspiring and established Papua New Guinean writers and illustrators are invited to be part of the 6th Crocodile Prize Awards launched today in Port Moresby.
The Crocodile Prize is PNG’s only national writing contest aimed to encourage creative and critical writing and to provide Papua New Guineans with access to home-grown literature.
Contestants must enter original written work and illustrations in categories including poetry, essay and journalism, heritage and children’s’ writing.
The Crocodile Prize was established in 2010 by Phil Fitzpatrick and Keith Jackson, both of whom had worked for many years in PNG.
PNG writer and chairman of the Crocodile Prize 2016 committee Baka Bina encouraged writers both young and old to be part of the competition to showcase their skills.
Crocodile Prize attracted over 800 entries last year and 166 were published in the annual anthology which is distributed to schools across the country.
“We hope that this year the number will increase even more and we are projecting that there’ll be a surge in contributors.
“We already have a list of over 100 contributors and most submit an average of three entries in various categories and we are sure this number will increase,” said Bina.
Winners will be awarded prize money and along with the best entries, their work will be published in the annual Crocodile Prize Anthology.
Entry is free and only Papua New Guinea citizens are eligible. Entries must be emailed to crocprize@gmail.com
Entries open today January 27 and closes on July 30 and the winners will be announced in November.