Prize for Elegance and Economy

Wellington author Emma Martin has won the £5,000 Commonwealth short story prize for Two Girls in a Boat, which chair of judges Bernardine Evaristo described as “gorgeous, elegant and spare”. The story was chosen, Evaristo said for “its nuanced handling of time, place and relationships; its daring, provocative subject matter and clear-eyed exploration of the choice of heterosexual conformity in the face of sexual mutability. With her considerable talent we hope to see more of her work in the future.” Martin completed an MA in Creative Writing at Victoria University in 2010.