Folly wins something!
28 May 2025
FOLLY WINS BIG. FINDS OUT VIA SPAM
In a plot twist no one saw coming (least of all the editorial team), Folly Journal - New Zealand’s fastest-selling literary journal and occasional menace to the nation’s cultural gatekeepers - has just won an international book award.
The problem? No one told them.
Editor Emily Makere Broadmore only discovered the news while combing through her spam folder and finding multiple emails saying your book is an award-winner with one of the top worldwide awards. “I didn’t click the link for days,” she admits. “I assumed it would steal my passwords or offer me crypto advice. I guess I’m getting old and risk averse.”
As it turns out, the email was real. Despite not responding or turning up at the awards, Folly still received a silver medal in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards - the largest international awards program for indie authors and independent publishers. Now in its nineteenth year, the program recognises exceptional books across more than 80 categories, and is presented by the Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group.
Folly was recognised in the “Specialty Book” category - a description that feels like a wink. “We assume they mean specialty in the same way someone’s browser history might be described as... niche,” says Broadmore. “We’ll take it.”
For those unfamiliar with Folly, it’s been described as a journal that’s pissed off the local lit scene and a strange publication by the likes of Steve Braunias, who is coincidentally the publications core demographic. Featuring stories too sexy for Newsroom to publish and too good to ignore, Folly champions bold, funny, and deeply human writing – particularly by people who don’t consider themselves writers.
Broadmore says the team will now be referring to themselves exclusively as ‘international award winners’ in all bios and awkward literary introductions around Aotearoa.
Issue 003 of Folly is currently in production, expected to be released in November this year.
ENDS
Emily: 0211075071
www.follyjournal.com