Blog
Enjoy Lisa Scott's reviews and blogs: guest blogger for NZBM 2009 as well as past blogs from NZ writers and commentators.
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Six Pack Winners
Our Six Pack 2006 winners are, from left to right: Briar Grace-Smith, Phoebe Wright (front), Brian Turner, Kingi McKinnon, Henry Feltham and Philippa Swan.
Read more about our 2006 winners here.
 It was months in the making but the results of the inaugural Six Pack competition in 2006 was pretty special. The Six Pack was designed by award-winning designer Neil Pardington of BaseTwo and produced by the publishing team at Whitireia Community Polytechnic. Soon after the winners were announced at the launch of Book Month 2006 and handed their $5,000 cheques, the book was winging its way to bookstores around the country, and thousands of copies were sent free to 300 high schools and 700 libraries.
Its arrival generated huge media interest, and when 30,000 copies hit the streets, the title went straight to number one in the national fiction Bestsellers list. It stayed there until well after Christmas, proving that New Zealanders are indeed keen to read our own writers.
The Dominion Post review said, “Six writers for six dollars. It’s a good deal all right ...The overall feel is of freshness and lingering images and with just six stories it’s easy to polish off.”
Thanks to our panel of judges for the inaugural Six Pack, the quality of writing was excellent. John Campbell was one of them, along with David Kirk, Maggie Barry, Tom Beran and Sarah-Kate Lynch.
John, who also wrote the foreword for The Six Pack 2006, said the judging had been hard work. “Each of the judges found their appetites whetted by a slightly different collection of writers. We were judging blind so had no idea at the time who we were reading... each of the judges gave high marks to at least one writer who did not make the final six.” If that intrigues you, you can still read the rest of the 25 shortlisted writers’ submissions here. As for you, the readers – the overwhelming Readers Choice vote was for Henry Feltham's Lung.
However, the best thing about The Six Pack is that six – some established, such as poet Brian Turner, and some brand-new, like 15-year-old Phoebe Wright – found themselves an overnight sensation. Their work, whether written especially for the competition or rescued from a desk drawer, arrived on bedside tables from Cape Reinga to Bluff. The writers were flown up and down the country, photographed for national magazines; they featured in radio and newspaper interviews, and appeared on television. And they were $5,000 better off.
Here’s what some of them had to say about their Six Pack experiences:
Brian Turner “The money came at exactly the right time for me: new tyres for my car, some new wheels for my bike, and a chance to pay off a couple of bills. But more than that, a guarantee of a far bigger and wider readership than usual for my work.”
Henry Feltham “How was it winning The Six Pack? It made my year. Undoubtedly the best thing that’s happened to me as a writer.”
Phoebe Wright “Being a winner in The Six Pack has been a life-changing experience. It’s obviously been very rewarding and encouraging, but for me nothing beats the incredible feeling of knowing that my writing is out there and being read.”
Briar Grace Smith “Being part of The Six Pack is like getting the key to a very special door. You unlock it and behind it is a room buzzing with amazing New Zealand writers, past and present. Books are everywhere. And if you weren’t part of that room before, you are now.”
Six Pack 2006 winners
Important note: Tragically, Kingi McKinnon passed away unexpectedly on Monday 11th September. Book Month Director Phil Twyford has said, “Kingi was an accomplished NZ writer and a wonderful man. NZ Book Month is diminished by his absence, but we celebrate his talent with the publication of The Six Pack." The NZ Book Council has posted an obituary for Kingi here.
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 Phoebe is our youngest winner at just fifteen years of age. Remember, this was a totally blind judging, so it's remarkable that Phoebe now finds herself in the company of much more experienced writers. Congratulations, Phoebe!
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 Brian is a very well-respected craftsman and a true veteran of poetry in New Zealand. He managed to submit to our photo-taking and question-asking with very good grace, even though it was far from what he would rather have been doing! We're very proud that Brian's superb work is part of the inaugural NZ Book Month Six-Pack.
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 Henry feigned nonchalance but we knew he was stoked to be part of this talented bunch, especially as you voted his story the official Readers Choice. Like the rest of our Six Pack winners, we think Henry's going to go far. Hearty congratulations, Henry.
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 Very sadly, Kingi McKinnon passed away suddenly on Monday 11 September. Being one of the winners of the Six Pack competition was a final highlight in a great career, and our thoughts are with Kingi's family as we celebrate his talent with his inclusion in The Six Pack book.
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 Briar has been well-rewarded for her scriptwriting and acting, so it was about time her short story writing skills came under the spotlight. She cites her mother-in-law, Patricia Grace, as being hugely inspirational in her life as a writer.
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 Philippa has worked in local government and as a design tutor, and runs her own landscape architecture practice. She writes for for New Zealand Gardener and Cuisine, but Life Coach is her first piece of published fiction. This could be the start of something good...
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