Last year, the Goethe-Institut New Zealand (in association with the New Zealand Listener and the International Institute of Modern Letters) ran a short story competition to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Brothers Grimm’s book of fairy tales.  Competition entrants were invited to write a modern-day Grimm fairytale with a New Zealand flavour, beginning with the words “Once upon a time . . .”

There were over 300 entries which the Goethe Institut has been publishing on a blog – one story per day.  They are keen for feedback to help them identify the 12 most popular fairytales that will be included a print publication at the end of the year.  With this in mind, they have introduced a 5 star system to enable readers to rank the stories.

The blog is here and the story I entered (The Kind Fisherwoman and the King of the Fish) is here.  It was a fun idea for a competition and I’ve really been enjoying the many and varied stories.  I heartily recommend having a browse – and don’t forget to have your say!