This year’s panel brings formidable talent to the judging table. The team of three combines experience as writers, editors, educators, critics, mentors, and — with industry experience too — they have a wealth of architectural knowledge.

Jeremy Hansen is a journalist, author, architecture podcaster, literary mentor and the guy who puts the ‘art’ into Britomart in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.

Hansen says he’s interested in writing that explores the “human side of architecture” and the experiences of architecture from a wider audience, saying: “Lots of people think they don’t understand architecture, but we all intuitively understand how spaces make us feel. Any writing that unpicks this little knot of issues immediately attracts my attention.”

Based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, Danyl McLauchlan is an author, book reviewer and political commentator — you’ll hear his insights on RNZ and read them in publications such as The Listener, The Spinoff and The Herald.

Katie Braatvedt is an architectural designer at Glamuzina Architects in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland and teaches at Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau, Auckland University of Technology – Huri Te Ao School of Future Environments. She is also a contributor to Island Magazine, a quarterley print-publication of literary works focusing on original ideas, writing and culture in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Last year, Braatvedt won Highly Commended in the Warren Trust Writing Awards for her thought-provoking and personal piece This is Not a Gender Issue. As a member of the panel this year, Braatvedt says “I’m really excited to read interpretations of how stories relate to the built environment. This might play out as a polemic on the wider issues writers are grappling with, or more personal reflections on experiences or aspirations.”

To view all categories (including youth categories) and their corresponding prizes click here.

The Warren Trust Awards are open for entry, with submissions closing at midnight Friday 26 July.