Congratulations to Holly Willis, runner up in this year's award. There were more than 200 entries from senior high school students.

This award is sponsored by Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington's IIML with the support of Creative New Zealand with sponsorship and promotional support from Wonderlab.

The poetry was judged by poet, Tayi Tibble who had this to say about Holly's poem: 

'Laughing' by Holly Willis is full of off-beat observations of how nervousness and anxiety manifest in the body, demonstrating the kind of keen observation that is essential to writing poetry.  'I mouth my sentences after I say them.  Nervous tick mmm' and 'I hate my room and everything it stands for / when it is messy I cannot go there.'  It's an intentionally reserved and quieter poem that I gained more from each re-reading.

Holly will be invited to join the winner and other finalists in a masterclass with Tayi Tibble, as well as receiving $100 and some other prizes.  You can read Holly's poem here.