It's on again as Crocodile Prize announces 5th year of awards
24 November 2014
KEITH JACKSON
THE Crocodile Prize is once again open for business.
From today, Papua New Guinea’s writers – and, for the first time, artists – can enter a national contest that culminates in September each year with recognition of the very best in creative endeavour.
In launching the 2015 contest, chairman of the Crocodile Prize Organisation, COG, Jimmy Drekore, said the organisation was proud to introduce an award for artists, the SP Brewery Award for Illustration.
He also said the Prize still needs more sponsors (see following story).
Crocodile Prize entrants can select from a range of creative categories. There is no limit on the entries that can be made although Prize organisers emphasise that “quality will always triumph over quantity”.
Mr Drekore said the sponsors’ roster for 2015 includes the PNG Government, Ok Tedi Mining, Kina Securities, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, the PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum, the PNG Association of Australia, and the family of former colonial Administrator Sir Donald Cleland and his wife Dame Rachel.
Mr Drekore also announced that SP Brewery is funding the first Award for Illustration which he said “extends the Crocodile Prize to PNG’s artistic community”.
He also said the Prize is still seeking sponsors for other awards including drama and writing for children.
“We expect that total prize money this year will be of the order of K50,000,” he said.
“Additional funds will be spent on the production of the fifth annual Crocodile Prize Anthology of the best PNG creative writing, which Phil Fitzpatrick is editing again.”
Mr Drekore said full details of the 2015 awards program can be found on the Crocodile Prize website and the popular PNG Attitude blog.
The full list of awards is:
PNG Government Award for Short Stroies
Ok Tedi Mining Award for Book fo the Year
Kina Securities Award for Poetry
Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Award for Writing on Tourism, Arts and Culture
PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum Award for essays and Journalism
Cleland Family Award for Heritage Writing
SP Brewery Award for Illustration
PNG Association of Australia Publishing Program
Entrants are also advised to read through the Crocodile Prize website here so they fully understand what they need to do to enter the contest.
The new award for illustration requires entries with a PNG theme which may take the form of a portrait, urban or village scene, cartoon or caricature.
The competition guidelines say that, in COG’s definition, “an illustration is a visualisation used to clarify, explain or decorate and it will probably be drawn with a point of view and carry with it some kind of pictorial message”.
Many entries submitted to the Prize will be published in PNG Attitude and the best of these will be considered for inclusion in the Crocodile Prize Anthology 2015.
John K Kamasua, I had been in that situation too. Keith's got the answer.
Posted by: Mathias Kin | 24 November 2014 at 11:45 PM
Thanks Keith for the clarification.
Posted by: John Kaupa Kamasua | 24 November 2014 at 06:56 PM
I have noticed that the word limited for many of the categories has been further reduced to 1,000 words. (Essay, Short Story, Heritage), from 2,000 words previously.
This will bring in the element of discipline and need for brevity.
Personally I find that I can tell a good story if I can be allowed to write within a 2,000 word limit. I have a short story that can be read well and understood if it can be allowed to be under the 2, 000 word limit but I will now be forced to trim down.
Just thinking aloud.
________
The judges will exercise some flexibility around the word limits - KJ
Posted by: John Kaupa Kamasua | 24 November 2014 at 05:45 PM