Feana Tu’akoi writes:
“I entered the Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon Award to kick-start my trade-writing career after a ten-year break. It gave me a focus, a deadline and a way to get my manuscript read by Scholastic, without having to brave the slush pile.
“Just sending it in meant I had achieved my objective, so I was shocked when Storylines rang to say that I’d won. The friend I was having coffee with was shocked, too. Apparently, I gasped so loudly that he thought someone had died!
“The timing was serendipitous, as I’d just found out I was to be the 2022 Massey University Writer In Residence. The Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon Award, with its stellar cast of previous recipients, felt like a massive endorsement of my writing ability, so it helped me take up my residency with confidence – no mean feat, after ten years out.
“It gave me guaranteed publication and an instant level of recognition, not to mention invitations to present writing talks and workshops. It contributed to my appointment as a judge for the 2023 NZCYA Book Awards and gave me the opportunity to launch Lopini the Legend as part of Hamilton Book Month.
“The Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon Award is the gift that keeps on giving.
“Thanks, Storylines and Scholastic!”
Feana Tu’akoi
2022 Winner, Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon Award
