2023
Anna Killick (AKA Lyrix) has written her whole life. She has received several international writing and language awards but has not had the health to express these through voice for many years - until her first slam. She describes her poetry as gently hard-hitting, edgy and inspired by her own experiences and of those around her. Her influences are Eminem (carefully selected non-misogynistic, non-murdering songs!) and other rap artists.
She loves people, tea, reading, having multiple streaming platforms, Agatha Christie, the sound of rain on the roof and living with her husband and small (well, smaller than usual) Chihuahua. |
2021 & 2022

The thriller from Manila, Ronna Grace Funtelar is a graphic designer and dancer living in Whakatāne. She describes her writing as those hard conversations we don’t know how to start, pieced together with metaphors and hip-hop inspired rhythm.
Sometimes she just misses romance and writes about that too. She published her book, Stuck: Friends, Lovers and the Obscurity of In Between in 2017 and is currently writing her second.
You can follow her life adventures at fivefootronna.com
Sometimes she just misses romance and writes about that too. She published her book, Stuck: Friends, Lovers and the Obscurity of In Between in 2017 and is currently writing her second.
You can follow her life adventures at fivefootronna.com
Spirit of the Slam Award
2023
Te-Aroha
"This award was most unexpected. A real privilege. I’ve enjoyed writing for years, but spent much of life procrastinating. Who knows I might’ve been published. However, rather than sitting around singing my “coulda, Shoulda, woulda’s I decided to put my work out there and see what happens. Entering this competition was part of that. This year I felt my ‘Standing In For The G.G.’ would be a fun departure from my previous more serious entries, and look what happened. I can’t wait to see what other writing ops are out there." |
2022
Anna Killick (AKA Lyrix) has written her whole life. She has received several international writing and language awards but has not had the health to express these through voice for many years - until her first slam. She describes her poetry as gently hard-hitting, edgy and inspired by her own experiences and of those around her. Her influences are Eminem (carefully selected non-misogynistic, non-murdering songs!) and other rap artists.
She loves people, tea, reading, having multiple streaming platforms, Agatha Christie, the sound of rain on the roof and living with her husband and small (well, smaller than usual) Chihuahua. |
2021
Papua New Guinea born, Aotearoa raised Melody Tuck has enjoyed writing her whole life. Her passion for the art of Spoken Word was ignited during her time at Excel School of Performing Arts. She’s currently studying a Diploma of Creative Writing and has hopes to self publish children’s books in the near future.
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