Happy Birthday Katherine Mansfield

Today, Wednesday, 14 October 2009 marks the anniversary of Katherine Mansfield's birthday. Katherine Mansfield Beauchamp was born on 14 October 1888 at 11 Tinakori Road, Thorndon Wellington, New Zealand to Sir Harold Beauchamp and Lady Beauchamp. Her birthplace, now 25 Tinakori Road receives thousands of visitors a year and is a museum to her legacy.

Growing up in Wellington at the turn of the 20th Century was hugely influential on Katherine Mansfield's development as a writer. Many of her childhood experiences and memories are recreated in some of her most famous short stories including The Aloe, Prelude, A Birthday, The Doll’s House, and The Wind Blows.

Katherine Mansfield's life was sadly brief (died at 34) but her contribution to the development of the short story was monumental. Virginia Woolf wrote following her death "she was the only writer of whom I was jealous."



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Katherine Mansfield Short Story Competition

On 5 October 2009 the annual BNZ Katherine Mansfield Awards were held in Wellington, New Zealand with prizes awarded in the Premier, Novice and Youth categories for the best short story. 2009 marked the 50th anniversary of this event and saw a record number of entries received from writers from around New Zealand.

The 2009 winner of the premier prize of $10,000 went to the youngest-ever winner, Wellington writer, Alice Miller for her short story entitled "The Windmill". Premier judge, Dame Fiona Kidman said of this contempory love story, “If the heart does play a role in the choice of a winner, this is the story that tripped mine.”

Notable past winners of this Katherine Mansfield short story competition include some very prominent New Zealand authors including Keri Hulme (author of "The Bone People" which won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction). Other prominent winners have been Maurice Shadbolt (1963, 1967 and 1995), C K Stead (1961), Frank Sargeson (1965), Vincent O’Sullivan (1979), Daphne de Jong (1981), and Kate de Goldi (1991).

Given that Katherine Mansfield’s father, Sir Harold Beauchamp, was a director of Bank of New Zealand for more than 30 years it seems a fitting tribute that BNZ should continue its sponsorship of this prestigous event.

For more on the winners and to download a copy of the winning stories BNZ Katherine Mansfield Awards 2009

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History of the BNZ Katherine Mansfield Awards
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NZ Herald Article - 2007 Winner Carl Nixon
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