Love Letter to the World poetry competition 2026
Information and terms and conditions
Categories and prizes: There are two categories, Junior and Open.
Junior: 1st prize Steve Mushin’s amazing “Ultrawild” plus a 12-pack of Chia Sisters beverages 2nd prize: 12-pack of Chia Sisters beverages.
Open: 1st prize: Peter Brannen’s astonishing book “The Ends of the World” plus a 12-pack of Chia Sisters beverages. 2nd prize: 12-pack of Chia Sisters beverages.
About the prizes
Ultrawild: “If this book does not fire your imagination, nothing will.” (Professor James Renwick, climate scientist). It has deservedly won top awards in NZ and Australia. “Mindbendingly original” say publishers, Allen and Unwin.
The Ends of the World: Here’s what I wrote to friends when I discovered it: “it amazes me that it took 8 years for such an astonishing piece of writing to make it onto my radar….’The Ends of the World’ is a geological and ecological tour de force that reads like a thriller, with a storyline and evocative language that any mystery writer would be proud of.”
Chia Sisters: Pioneering health beverage company, Nelson-based Chia Sisters ticks almost every environmental box you can think of, and likely some you can’t . Check out their story.
Judges:
We’re delighted to have Bruce Gilkison and Will Stovall as our judges.
Bruce Gilkison is a chartered accountant who has had a lifetime engaging with climate and wider environmental issues, including writing the pioneering book “Accounting for a Clean Green Environment,” and many articles on accounting and climate change. Plus Bruce was a prizewinner in CM’s first Valentine’s Day poetry competition.
Dr. Will Stovall has a PhD in Culture and Sustainability, has been active in numerous environmental and climate initiatives in New Zealand and the US, and is the founder and director of Lighthouse Aotearoa (you can see Will in CM 144 in the item on that terrific group).
Poetry competition T&C:
Entry is free. Poems must be the original work of the entrant, with a maximum length of 30 lines. There is no limit on how many entries a person can make.
There are two categories, each with a first and second prize: a) junior (up to and including 13 years old on Valentine’s Day 2026), and b) open.
Poems must be as a PDF attachment to an email with the subject line “poetry competition” and to Lindsay@resilienz.co.nz . Each entry must be clear as to which category it is in, and must be received by Saturday 14th February 2026. Please give the full name of the entrant, and birthdate for junior entrants. Winners will be contacted by email.
While entrants retain copyright in their entries, by entering they grant Resilienz Ltd unlimited free rights to publish the entry in Climate Matters and/or otherwise.
And here’s the beautiful poem that inspired the first competition in 2019.
