The Elsie Locke Writing Prize is offered by the Elsie Locke Memorial Trust. It provides a wonderful opportunity for young writers ages 5-13 to develop an original piece of writing for publication inspired by New Zealand history and Elsie's work for peace, the environment, women’s issues, and our community.
Submissions can be any writing on a topic - past, present or future - that you think would have been of interest to Elsie. For example: personal narratives, poems, articles, essays, speeches or plays. We welcome entries in English and te reo Māori.
The winner will receive $250 and their story will be published in Toitoi. They will also receive a copy of Toitoi’s Jillion 2.
Submissions for this year's writing prize have now closed! Thank you to everyone who submitted their work.
The winner will be announced in Term 4.
Toitoi and the Elsie Locke Trust are proud to announce the 2023 winner of the Elsie Locke Writing Prize is Sophie Vare, age 12, from Berkley Normal Middle School in Hamilton. Sophie has won with her incredible poem, Ahumai Te Paerata, which has been published in Toitoi 33 with illustrations by Max Carter, age 15.
In this 1987 interview, Elsie Locke tells interviewer Eileen Cook about her career as a children’s writer, and expresses her views on New Zealand history and environmentalism.
Image and interview courtesy of Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
Toitoi and the Elsie Locke Trust are proud to announce the 2022 winner of the Elsie Locke Writing Prize is Emma Geddes, age 12, from St Andrews College in Christchurch. Emma won with her beautiful poem, Boy and the Grasshopper, which has been published in Toitoi 29 with illustrations by Max Senior, age 13
Elsie Locke lived an extraordinary life and continues to inspire many young writers.
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Elsie Locke was a writer, broadcaster, social historian, environmentalist, and an activist for peace and civil rights. She campaigned for women’s rights, nuclear disarmament, social justice, and the environment.
Learn more about Elsie's life here.
Elsie was also a writer. She wrote stories and books about New Zealand and its history for children and for adults, and enjoyed writing by young people as much as writing for them. Elsie was a contributor to the School Journal for more than 40 years.
You can read some of her stories here.
Elsie learned to speak te reo Maori as an adult and used her analytical skills to support iwi to research the history of their land. She was also a keen tramper and swimmer, and brought up four children.
See some photos from Elsie's life here.