2025 Frank Sargeson Memorial Lecture and Sargeson Prize

Mark your calendars for the evening of Saturday 11 October, when the University of Waikato will host the 22nd annual Frank Sargeson Memorial Lecture. This popular event is open to the public and honours the life, legacy and Hamilton birth of the short story writer and novelist Frank Sargeson.

This year we are delighted to welcome the esteemed poet Chris Tse as our guest speaker. He will present a lecture entitled Imaginatively true: Poetry, personal mythology and legacy, which will explore the tension between personal mythology and legacy, drawing from his writing career to date and his time as New Zealand’s thirteenth Poet Laureate.

The lecture is co-hosted by the Friends of Hamilton City Libraries.

Sargeson Prize

At the lecture we will announce the winners of the 2025 Sargeson Prize - Aotearoa's biggest short story competition. The Sargeson Prize, sponsored by the University of Waikato, is coordinated by writer Catherine Chidgey and offers a prize pool of $20,000, with the overall winner receiving $15,000. The winning stories will be published by Newsroom in its literary section, ReadingRoom. This year the competition attracted more than 1,400 entries and is judged by Elizabeth Knox.

The Sargeson Lecture presents a unique opportunity for the Waikato writing community to engage with a leading literary figure, enjoy light refreshments, and network with fellow writers, industry professionals, and academics.

Light refreshments are served from 5pm.

Photo credit: Michael Gibson

Also check out other Arts events in Hamilton, Literary Art events in Hamilton, Contests in Hamilton.