Group founder and competition co-ordinator Caroline Early said 29 entries by southern writers, some from Dunedin, were submitted in the competition funded by United Water and the Central Lakes Trust.
The writers were invited to submit a short fictional story on the theme of Earth and Water, with the entries judged by Carl Nixon, of Christchurch.
Nixon, a best-selling author who has just released his second novel, Settlers' Creek, has also won the Katherine Mansfield short story contest, and the Sunday Star Times short story competition twice.
Of the three best stories, Nixon said they all exhibited consistency.
"Through the course of the story, each of the final three made very few missteps in what were fully realised works of fiction.
"I'd like to congratulate all the entrants - the very fact you got a story down on paper defines a writer."
Nixon awarded the $300 first prize to Alan Whittaker for The Lesson, which he described as "moving without being too sentimental".
A story by Martin Klines was second.
After the prizegiving the group of about 30 heard from Gibbston wine-maker Alan Brady about his recently published book Pinot Central, and from anthropologist Leslie van Gelder.
