Crocodile Prize - Writers

Ol sitori bilong yumi hia

Initiated by PNG Attitude & the PNG Post-Courier

Now into its second big year:
the national literary contest
for Papua New Guinean writers

GET YOUR 2012 ENTRY FORM HERE

THE CROCODILE PRIZE was initiated to provide an opportunity for Papua New Guinean writers to publish their work, and for Papua New Guinean readers to have access to that work.

In its first year - which culminated on 15 September 2011 with a Writers' Workshop, an Awards Ceremony and the launch of an Anthology of the best writing - some 400 entries were received from 80 writers and prizes awarded in four categories.

In 2012, cash prizes of K5,000 each, together with a handsome Crocodile Award trophy, will be awarded in each of the following categories.  To be eligible for an award, entries must be written by citizens of Papua New Guinea.

STEAMSHIPS PRIZE FOR SHORT STORIES

Not more than about 1,500 words on a theme of interest to a general readership

MOORE PRINTING PRIZE FOR POETRY

Not more than about 300 words on a theme of interest to a general readership

PNG CHAMBER OF MINES AND PETROLEUM PRIZE FOR ESSAYS & JOURNALISM

Not more than about 1,000 words on a factual theme of interest to a general readership

CLELAND PRIZE FOR HERITAGE LITERATURE

Not more than 1,500 words on a theme that delves into traditional customs, beliefs and stories, and discovers and promotes Papua New Guinea's cultural heritage

CHALKIES' YOKOMO PRIZE FOR STUDENT WRITING

Not more than 500 words on a general theme by school students

Contestants can submit entries in more than one category (except for the students' prize which is restricted to people still at school) and may submit multiple entries.

In addition, the judges will award the K5,000 Ok Tedi Mining Prize for Women's Literature, with the winner being drawn from one of the other categories, and the K5,000 British American Tobacco (PNG) Prize for Lifetime Literary Achievement.

Read more about our awards....

Steamships Short Story Prize
PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum Prize for Essays & Journalism
Cleland Prize for Heritage Literature
Ok Tedi Mining Prize for Women's Literature
British American Tobacco Prize for Lifetime Literary Achievement
Chalkies' Yokomo Prize for Student Writing

LAYOUT

It is desitrable that entries are in Times New Roman, font size 12 with 1.5 spacing set on the left margin.  Entries must be in DOC format, not PDF.  PDF entries with elaborate artwork are great but the work involved in transferring them to a standard document is cumbersome.

TIMETABLE

Stories must be submitted by Thursday 31 May 2012. The winners will be announced at the Awards Ceremony on Friday 14 September 2012, just before Independence Day. (The birthday of Vincent Eri, whose book, The Crocodile, the prize celebrates was 12 September 1936.)

Download Entry Form

PUBLICATION

The PNG Post-Courier will publish a number of the best entries.  An anthology of the better works submitted will be published for wide distribution throughout PNG.  All stories worthy of publication will also be reproduced in PNG Attitude.

JUDGES

The judges will comprise a number of Papua New Guinean and Australian writers.

DOWNLOAD KEITH JACKSON'S GUIDE FOR WRITERS HERE

THE CROCODILE

The Crocodile, by Vincent Eri, was the first novel to be written by a Papua New Guinean, and was first published in 1970 by Jacaranda Press.

“Crocodile is a well-written and enjoyable novel. It is, however, more than this. It is impossible to review the book without being conscious of two things: first, that it is the first novel by a Papuan writer and, second, that whether intentionally or not it is to a certain extent a political document, as it is a major contribution to the growing body of writing which expresses a specifically Papua New Guinean identity.” [Ron May, State and Society in Papua New Guinea, 2004]

Sir Vincent Serei Eri (1936-93) was born in Moveave in the Gulf Province and attended the University of Papua New Guinea, working as a school teacher after graduation. He became Director of Education, PNG’s first Consul General in Australia, founder of the People's Action Party, a Member of Parliament, and Governor-General.

The Crocodile is set in PNG before and during World War II and is a coming of age story about Hoiri, a boy of about seven when the story starts, whose life poses a continuing contradiction between tradition and modernity.

May writes: “Hoiri is essentially a tragic figure. Already partially alienated from the traditional society by his schooling and the church association of his father, he does not fully comprehend the balance between the material and supernatural worlds of a culture which has no real concept of natural death; still less is he able to come to terms with the reality of a dominant European culture which seems to be reaching out to him yet offers him neither respect nor the gift of understanding. Eri portrays this confusion with sympathy, elegance and power.”

 DOWNLOAD  LAURIE  MEINTJES'  WRITING TIPS HERE

Comments

[Ian Hetri]

Excellent initiative. Missed the past contest. Definitely entering contest this time.

[Motsy Kenull David]

Great idea and the development is so amazing, I just want to ask one question.Can I submit short drama based on PNG social, economic and political development issues. Please advise me.
___________

I'm sure the judges would find that drama would fit into one of the existing categories, Motsy. Please submit your work - KJ

[Shane Ailu]

Hi KJ, please confirm if my poem has been received along with my entry form. Thanks so much!
___________

Received Shane - KJ

[Dominica Are]

Hi, I am very interested in taking part in the Crocodile Prize ,however some of my poems have already being published in The National Writers Forum and I submitted some of my Stories to the Tapa Prize 2011 but have been unsuccessful.

Is it okay if I submit my stories and poems to the Crocodile Prize 2012 with a little bit of editing?
__________

No problems Dominica; you are free to submit them to the Crocodile Prize - KJ

[Richard Magei]

Mr Jackson - I've noticed that the link for the entry form gives us last years enrty form. Can you please revise this?
I would really like a copy of this years entry form ASAP.
_________

Eagle eyes, Richard. The entry form has now been updated - KJ

[Turea Wickham]

Hi - To the founders of the Crocodile Prize. Bikpla tenkyu stret for a wonderful initiative.

My son is 12 and has written a fictional story set in Greece.... can this still be submitted?
_____________

The 2012 contest closes at the end of May. I should add that stories are expected to have a theme related to PNG - KJ

[Regina Dorum]

Leonard - Do you mean the established writers or the new writers are just as good as barking in the wild?

If you mean the new writers, it's very discouraging. Not everyone is the same, this shouldnt be generalised.

[Leonard Roka]

KJ, I think established PNG writers just cannot help out mentoring, for I did attempted so many years ago but never achieved that.

They are just good at barking in the wild! May be, today they might have changed?

Bai yumi lukluk sapos ol orait nau.

[Michael Dom]

Criticism can be useful.

[Phil Fitzpatrick]

Offering comments and/or criticism to writers is a tricky business Regina because we don't want to be seen to be advantaging one writer over another.

What I do when an entry arrives is read it and sometimes do a light edit, correcting spelling mistakes and some grammar.

I realise that for many Papua New Guineans English is a second language. Occasionally I will see a great piece of writing with terrible spelling and grammar. On those occasions I'll offer some advice and suggestions.

The judges are only human after all and we are here to encourage and promote PNG writing.

This tends to pay off because I've seen dramatic improvements in some writers in a short amount of time. I guess not having a healthy literary scene doesn't alllow for writers to get much advice on their work.

We get a lot of work from university students and I'm particularly concerned that they don't seem to have access to teachers who can proof their work and advise them how to improve it. I suspect that some teacher's literary abilities are also limited.

That said, their are writers who submit work that is absolutely perfect and awe inspiring. I often think 'I wish I could write like that'. Other writers submit work that is absolutely out of the square and so innovative as to be scary.

So the short answer to your question is that we are happy to offer advice as long as it doesn't disadvantage other students.

The only problem at the moment is that I'm snowed under with entries and still working through a backlog so it might take some time to get to each individual writer. I guess I'm being buried in a sea of talent.

Perhaps we should ask some of PNG's more established writers in the competition whether they would like to mentor new and aspiring writers.

One think that I have noticed is that PNG writers are not preoccupied with their egos and are happy to take well-intentioned suggestions and criticism. That's something you don't see in many other places.

[Regina Dorum]

Good day - This is such a great opportunity for PNGeans. Thank you very much.

And i would like to ask if there is any possibility of personal feedback made by judges to the writers, as in criticisms about their style of writing?
___________

I'll leave this to chief judge, Phil Fitzpatrick, to respond to - KJ

[Angeline]

Hi - About the student category in the Crocodile Prize. Is the maximum wordcount really 500?
__________

This is a guide only, but we do not want entries that are too long in a contest that may be entered by hundreds of students - KJ

[Kabal]

A very great initiative.

[Harry Topham]

The original forest may have been somewhat neglected and denuded yet the seeds remain to re-emerge as young saplings.

I am reminded of a rather catchy tune which has reemerged and currently doing the rounds of the airways having the lyrics: “From little things, big things grow”.

Keep the thoughts going, for creativity is the last bastion of humanity that cannot ever be quashed.

[Lapieh Landu]

Thank you PNG Attitude for providing an avenue for our thoughts and writings.

This is an amazing initiative and one which I believe will bring out many great talent and wisdom.

I encourage all potential writers out three, keep the ink spilling and tell everyone of our beautiful island culture!
Thanks again :)

[Leonard Roka]

It's a shame when people from overseas sacrifice their time to help and promote PNG literature to the world.

What are those good-for-nothing politicians in Waigani, Port Moresby, doing for us struggling writers?

[Timothy Pirinduo]

Credit to the initiator of the long overdue initiative of The Crocodile Prize.

Writing is the modern source of all knowledge and writers hold the key to this treasure chest. The pen is mightier than the sword!

[Kari Poawai]

Hi - Is there a page for published work that I can go to and view?
_______________

Click on 'Crocodile Prize' under CATEGORIES a bit down the right hand column - KJ

[Gelab Piak]

I am very happy with the writing contest and will be entering the short stories and poems category.

I am pleased to announce to you that I have written a poetry-narrative book and am currently looking for genuine publishers to publish the book.

It's good to be back at Divine Word University and reading your blog page again.

[Russell Soaba]

More and more writers are becoming interested in this competition, and it is my pleasure recommending them straightaway to KJ's blog to download the entry form. Good one, PNG. The more the merrier!

[Maria Ono]

Wow! At last something interesting is on the net that can be so useful to those of us who are always happy to write stories and poems to show our talents.

I'm so proud of the opportunity given to us by people who love writing.

I hope most people will check out this website and write to you. Good luck Keith Jackson.

[Miriam Otto]

Hi, I am extremely pleased with this contest as it will definitely motivate a lot of people with the potential to write to write.

Just wondering about the short story category, can we write about anything or is there something specifically that we should write about?
__________________

There is no specific subject you must write about, but we are telling people that we would prefer contemporary (that is, present day) themes. Best wishes and good luck with your writing - KJ

[Russell Soaba]

This is looking real good. I am so excited about it I am already saying all sorts of things on my storyboard. Tell me when to stop.

[Meri PNG]

Awesome! this will encourage a lot of writers to show their talents and creativity.

PNG is bursting at the seams with writers, they just need opportunities like this to showcase their work.

Good on you Post Courier and PNG Attitude.

[Kaita Kunai]

That's a very great initiative!

[Henry Gioven]

How about age groups, or is it open to all citizens?
________________

Hi Henry - It's open to all PNG citizens, no age barriers - KJ

[Jennifer Sirias]

Hi - Are there any limits to the number of eligible contributions per category?
_____________________

No, Jennifer. You can contribute as many pieces as you like in any category. As the G-G said: 'Write, write, write!' - KJ

[Bernard Sinai]

Hi - I just wanted to know if work previously published in school magazines, newspapers etc can be entered into the competition.
______________________

Bernard - We prefer original work as there will be no copyright or other rights problems associated with its publication - KJ