Laura Solomon was Joint-Winner of the inaugural Proverse Prize (2009) with her novella, Instant Messages, subsequently published by Proverse Hong Kong in 2010. Born in New Zealand, she spent nine years in London before returning to New Zealand in 2007. She has an honours degree in English Literature (Victoria University, 1997) and a Masters degree in Computer Science (University of London, 2003). She has published two novels in New Zealand, Black Light (1996) and Nothing Lasting (1997). Her short story collection Alternative Medicine was published in the UK in 2008. Her plays have been produced at the Wellington (New Zealand) Fringe Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (UK). Among other writing prizes, she has twice won a prize in the Bridport (UK) International Short Story Competition. Her short story, "Sprout", first published in the 2004 Bridport Anthology, and later in her short story collection, Alternative Medicine, with Flame Books in the UK, was translated into Czech by Olga Wallo and appeared in krasna in the Czech Republic in 2011. See also An Imitation of Life, Hilary and David, In Vitro, The Shingle Bar Sea Monster and Other Stories, and Vera Magpie.