From 2006 to 2008, NZ Book Month ran a national competition calling for any New Zealand writer – published or unpublished – to submit their best piece of new writing (fiction, non-fiction, essay or poetry) for inclusion in
The Six Pack; a collectable book that saw the six best pieces of work put together in an annual anthology. Each winner also received $5,000. Five of the winning entries were chosen by a panel of judges and the sixth winner was chosen by New Zealand readers in an online poll. The Six Pack retailed for 6 and thousands of copies were distributed free to libraries and schools all over the country.
Winners The 2006 winners were: •
Brian Turner, poet. •
Briar Grace-Smith, playwright. •
Kingi McKinnon. • Philippa Swan, landscape artist and journalist. • Henry Feltham. • Phoebe Wright, high school student. The 2007 winners were: • Dave Armstrong, scriptwriter and 2008 writer in residence at
Victoria University of Wellington. •
Charlotte Grimshaw, shortlisted for the 2008
Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award. •
Jennifer Lane. •
Faith Oxenbridge. •
Tracey Slaughter, emerging novelist and poet. •
Elizabeth Smither, poet, novelist and former
Te Mata Estate Poet Laureate. ==References==