Story set in Nazi-controlled Saarland wins creative writing prize

Karen won the $5000 prize, the richest university creative writing prize in New Zealand, for her novel-in-progress 'The Shadow Road' set in Nazi-controlled Saarland on the French-German border. It explores the devastating effects of the war on a divided family and region and was inspired by the author’s visit to a German military cemetery in Normandy.

The Faculty of Arts judging team, coordinated by Convenor of the Master of Creative Writing, Dr Paula Morris, described the novel-in-progress "as very accomplished, written with style, control and pace."

Karen Holdom grew up in Taranaki, studied journalism in Auckland and worked for seven years as a reporter at the New Zealand Herald. She later became a freelancer, writing for a range of newspapers and magazines including Sunday Star Times, Metro, North & South, The Listener in New Zealand and The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph and The Melbourne Age abroad. She has written two non-fiction books and researched a number of documentaries and television series.