News

Eboni Waitere (Ngāti Kahungunu, Rangitāne) has made history as the first Māori President of the Publishers Association of New Zealand Te Rau o Tākupu (PANZ), following her appointment at the organisation’s 49th Annual General Meeting.

Highlighting the strength of Māori leadership at the highest levels of the sector, this milestone marks an important shift in Aotearoa’s publishing landscape.

“I’m genuinely thrilled that Eboni is stepping into the role of PANZ President. She brings strategic excellence, mana, unwavering integrity, and a lived understanding of the power of publishing to shape culture,” says Courtney Sina Meredith, PANZ Association Director. “Eboni’s leadership is courageous, considered, and grounded in a vision that reflects the richness and diversity of Aotearoa. I can’t wait to work alongside her as we continue to grow and advocate for a sector that holds our stories at its heart.”

Eboni is Executive Director of HUIA Publishers, which under her leadership won the prestigious 2024 Bologna Prize for Best Children’s Publisher of the Year (Oceania) – international recognition for their bold, rangatahi-focused publishing and unwavering commitment to Te Reo Māori and Māori creatives.

Over the past decade Eboni has helped shape HUIA into a respected name in publishing worldwide with a focus on growing talent, elevating Māori voices, and forging partnerships that centre equity and excellence.

Now, as PANZ President, she’s bringing that same vision to the wider sector.

“I am excited to be of service back to the publishing community,” Eboni says. “We have an extraordinary depth of talent across Aotearoa, and I believe New Zealand’s trade and education publishers are world-class. We’re already exporting stories, voices, and ideas globally – my vision is to build on that foundation through collective strength, collaboration, and bold, strategic action,”

Eboni is known for her kaupapa-driven leadership style. She holds a degree in Education and Māori from Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington and is a 2024 graduate of the Advanced Publishing Institute at New York University. She leads HUIA alongside co-director Panaia Tahau-Hodges (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Tūtemohuta, Tūhoe), and together they are committed to nurturing the next generation of Māori storytellers.

“Literacy rates and our education space are priorities for me,” says Eboni. “Valuing our local content and seeing our stories is important. New Zealand is an international leader in educational resources, we need to reignite that – through stronger investment and cross-sector collaboration.”

Eboni also believes the publishing industry has a critical opportunity to help shape a copyright framework that truly reflects Aotearoa.

“In the age of artificial intelligence, laws must protect creators, uphold indigenous rights, and enable fair access in a digital world. This is a chance to create copyright settings that are future focused, a system that values mātauranga Māori, supports local publishers, and ensures the voices of our storytellers are protected and respected.”

Independent book shops across the motu will celebrate their pivotal roles as community hubs with fanfare events on Aotearoa New Zealand Bookshop Day Saturday 12 October as they continue to trade strongly in a tough retail environment.

Bookstore sales volumes increased by three percent in August on the month prior according to Nielsen BookData. This compares with an increase of just 0.2 percent in New Zealand retail sales overall for the same period, following decreased activity over the previous six months*.

In addition, Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand (BSANZ) membership is growing, with four new bookshops joining in the last three months.

BSANZ association manager Renee Rowland says the fact that physical bookstores are holding firm and increasing in number is largely due to their role in communities as places that bring people together.

“Independent bookstores are community and cultural powerhouses.

“They are much more than just a retail space. Bookstores enrich the cultural lives of communities. They are helping to keep retail in high streets alive, promoting a positive sense of place and bringing foot traffic to town centres – many of which are struggling.

“Bookstores provide an array of activities and events that reach across generations, bridge rural urban and online communities, help to combat social isolation and loneliness, and support the needs of diverse and sometimes historically marginalised groups,” she says.

A recent BSANZ Pulse Survey found 80 percent of its members held at least one public event a month, with one third of respondents holding more than 20 events a year. These events, curated according to the needs of the community, include book clubs, author talks, book launches across a wide variety of genre, poetry readings, and panel debates on issues of the day.

All booksellers in the survey said they supported community groups and organisations with fundraising, donations and volunteering efforts.

Further evidence of the health of physical bookstores is highlighted in the NZ Publishing Market Size Report (2023) commissioned by the NZ Publishers Association (PANZ). It showed physical bookstores returned a flat trading result, while there was an overall value drop in the NZ book publishing industry’s net book sales of 3.7% against 2022.

“Given the overall drop in value and units sold across the NZ publishing industry in 2023, the fact that physical bookstores are holding firm speaks to the resilience of the local sector,” says PANZ director Courtney Sina Meredith.

Ms Rowland adds that independent bookstore owners go out of their way to create welcoming and safe spaces for all.

“Booksellers are match makers of sorts, skilled at curating events and offering book titles according to the wishes of their communities. They’re nimble and innovative.

“Much of the work undertaken by independent bookshops is at a small scale but collectively it is extremely powerful. These stores, run by hardworking and enthusiastic community-minded people are hubs of activity with a ripple effect of increased social cohesion and positive impacts on attendees’ intellectual and emotional health,” says Ms Rowland.

Physical bookstores account for an average of 64% of all print sales annually in New Zealand.

* Source: https://www.interest.co.nz/business/129699/electronic-card-spending-rose-august-first-time-seven-months-statistics-nz-says

Copyright Licensing New Zealand (CLNZ) is excited to announce that applications are now open for the 2024 round of Contestable Fund Grants. We have $75,000 available to support strategic projects that demonstrate New Zealand publishing sector growth. The Contestable Fund Grants are made possible through the CLNZ Cultural Fund.

Applications are invited for projects that have clearly defined and measurable project outcomes, including projects that:

• Develop the professional skills of writers, including those who write for an education audience.
• Seek to grow export markets for New Zealand published content.
• Demonstrate innovation in the creation and distribution of NZ published content.
• Diverse content that encourages Māori, Pacifica and other minority and ethnic groups to submit within New Zealand Aotearoa.
• Use online platforms to enhance the profile of New Zealand publishing and/or published content, including to international/export markets.

The amount applicants can apply for depends on the project, with the number of successful recipients varying each year depending on the individual merits of the applications received. In 2023, there were 15 successful recipients.

Successful 2022 grant recipient Damien Levi said:

“The grant helped not only to produce our first book ‘Spoiled Fruit: Queer Poetry from Aotearoa’ which was the original goal, but has managed to help me kickstart a

micro-press (Āporo Press) and add new voices to the publishing landscape in Aotearoa.”

Read the full interview with Damien Levi about why to apply for a Contestable Fund grant here.

Applications must be made online and submitted before 4pm Friday 11 October 2024. For more information, and to apply visit the CLNZ Contestable Fund Grants webpage.

Questions about the application process can be sent to awards@copyright.co.nz.

Global audiobooks platform Libro.fm has launched in New Zealand and is set to be a major disruptor in an industry that is seeing year-on-year double digit growth.

The Seattle-based social purpose corporation is the only audiobook e-tailer in the world that directly supports local bookstores, with consumers given an option to select a local bookstore of their choice to receive a commission from every Libro.fm audiobook purchased.

Nick Johnson, a co-founder of Seattle-based audiobooks social enterprise Libro.fm is in NZ this month.

Libro.fm co-founder Nick Johnson is in New Zealand this month meeting with booksellers and publishers.

Mr Johnson says the idea of partnering with bookstores has been an integral part of Libro.fm’s business from the get-go.

“As avowed readers, we knew the model we created had to be friendly to independent bookstores. We’ve seen 21 percent growth in audiobook sales in the last financial year and we’ve been able to increase the amount we share with bookstores.

“Over the last five years, revenue from audiobooks has more than doubled, making it the fastest growing book market globally.

“This is great for bookstores for two reasons. Firstly, the bookstore selected by Libro.fm buyers receives up to 30% commission on every audiobook sold. Secondly, we do not see the sales of audiobooks cutting into the physical book market. People read audiobooks at times when they wouldn’t be reading physical books, like when they are commuting, doing housework, or walking the dog.

“Libro.fm is growing the market for book sales overall,” says Mr Johnson.

Launched 10 years ago in the US and Canada, Libro.fm’s international launch gives consumers in the UK, Australia and New Zealand access to more than 450,000 audiobooks.

“Around 99% of new releases are available to audiobooks’ consumers on Libro.fm,” says Mr Johnson.

Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand association manager Renee Rowland welcomes Libro.fm’s introduction to the local market.

“We’re thrilled Libro.fm is here and showing interest in New Zealand. As a ‘support local’ enterprise, Libro.fm is a significant and viable alternative to purchasing audiobooks from faceless global conglomerates.

“These mega-corporates currently have 70 percent of NZs audiobook market share. It is in all of our best interests to pull this right back, and instead give business to Libro.fm.

“With its bookstore commission model, large range and competitive pricing, buying from Libro.fm is a win-win for everyone,” says Ms Rowland.

There are already 40 independent bookstores across the motu signed up with Libro.fm.

“We anticipate that the number of bookstores registered with Libro.fm increase significantly by the end of Nick’s visit. Given that there is no charge to a bookseller for doing so, joining is a no-brainer,” says Ms Rowland.

Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ) president Claire Murdoch says Libro.fm’s launch here is a significant opportunity for local publishers.

“It’s expensive to produce audiobooks for NZ titles. We are a small market, so in order for our local authors’ books to succeed, we need to maximise the platform’s economies of scale.

“Making local audiobooks visible – so buyers here and overseas can find them – is absolutely central to this. We know our authors’ books are as good, if not better, than those of large countries, but they need to be seen to be bought in the quantities that make this medium cost effective.

“As a smart and nimble social enterprise, Libro.fm has the ability to offer this visibility for our audiobooks. We’re really excited about that,” says Ms Murdoch.

Independent research carried out by PANZ corroborates with Libro.fm’s assessment that audiobooks do not cut into the physical market. It found commuters were the biggest audiobook buyers; leaving their hands free to drive while listening to a book, or multitasking if taking public transport.

The research found that self-help, business and language learning (particularly te reo Māori) were the most popular genres in audiobooks in New Zealand, in addition to fiction titles.

Penguin Random House New Zealand (PRHNZ) is the biggest publisher of audiobooks in New Zealand, with 30 titles published in two years.

PRHNZs publisher Grace Thomas says the audiobook is their fastest growing book format, so Libro.fm’s launch into the local market is timely.

“We’re keen to work with Libro to amplify our fantastic local authors’ books in this format. There’s huge potential.

“We are finding that books that do well as E-books tend to do well in audio. And audiobooks are growing audiences for books overall, with sales skewing to men under 45 years of age. The core demographic for print books is women over the age of 50,” says Ms Thomas.

She agrees with Ms Murdoch that the biggest hurdle for local audio titles is distribution at scale.

“PRHNZ, like most local publishers, has drawn from the Ministry of Culture and Heritage’s audio fund, administered by PANZ, to produce audio books for the market.

“Costs vary for each book, but generally include narration, broadcast quality sound recording and editing. We hope that Libro.fm can become a key player in this market, offering greater visibility of our books so that we can produce more in this genre more profitably. It’s a win – win – win – win for authors, audiobook listeners, publishers and our local booksellers,” says Ms Thomas.

Nick Johnson will present the inaugural Libro.fm Audiobook Award for best local audiobook at the NZ Book Industry Awards to be held at the Crowne Plaza, Auckland from 6pm on Saturday 3 August.

He will be meeting with booksellers and publishers in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland and is available for media interviews.

 ‘Disturbing, smart, and funny as hell’ novel wins country’s richest writing prize 

Internationally acclaimed New Zealand writer Emily Perkins MNZM has won the $65,000 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the 2024 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards for Lioness – a smart, multi-layered, laugh-out-loud novel exploring wealth, class and female mid-life reckoning.

Ms Perkins received the award ahead of Booker-Prize winning author and screenwriter Eleanor Catton (Birnam Wood); and Pip Adam (Audition) and Stephen Daisley (A Better Place) – both previous winners of the Acorn Prize for Fiction.

Published by Bloomsbury UK, Wellington resident Emily Perkins last won New Zealand’s top fiction prize in 2009 with Novel About My Wife.

The Fiction category’s convenor of judges, Juliet Blyth, says Lioness is a searing and urgent novel crackling with tension and intelligence.

“Lioness starts with a hiss and ends with a roar as protagonist Therese’s dawning awareness and growing rage reveals itself. At first glance this is a psychological thriller about a privileged, wealthy family and its unravelling. Look closer and it is an incisive exploration of wealth, power, class, female rage, and the search for authenticity.

“Emily Perkins deftly wrangles a large cast of characters in vivid technicolour, giving each their moment in the sun while dexterously weaving together multiple plotlines.  Her acute observations and razor-sharp wit decimate the tropes of mid-life in moments of pure prose brilliance, leaving the reader gasping for more.

“Disturbing, deep, smart, and funny as hell, Lioness is unforgettable.”

Christchurch-raised poet, writer and academic Grace Yee has won the Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry for her first collection: Chinese Fish (Giramondo Publishing).

The award marks a great year for Ms Yee, who now lives in Melbourne and won both the $100,000 Victorian Prize for Literature – the first poet to do so in more than a decade – and the $25,000 poetry category for Chinese Fish at the 2024 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards.

Ockhams Poetry category convenor Erik Kennedy says Chinese Fish blurs genres, dances around the page and crosses languages by fusing Cantonese-Taishanese and English, both official and unofficial.

“Yee’s craft is remarkable,” he says. “She moves between old newspaper cuttings, advertisements, letters, recipes, cultural theory, and dialogue. Creating a new archival poetics for the Chinese trans-Tasman diaspora, the sequence narrates a Hong Kong family’s assimilation into New Zealand life from the 1960s to the 1980s, interrogating ideas of citizenship and national identity.

“It displaces the reader, evoking the unsettledness of migration. In Chinese Fish, Yee cooks up a rich variety of poetic material into a book that is special and strange; this is poetry at its urgent and thrilling best.”

Writer, poet, artist and curator Gregory O’Brien MNZM has won the Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction for Don Binney: Flight Path (Auckland University Press). 

Category convenor Lynn Freeman says even as an experienced biographer, Gregory O’Brien has achieved a near impossible task in Don Binney: Flight Path.

“He has encapsulated the artist’s full life, honestly portraying his often contrary personality, and carefully interrogating a formidably large body of work and its place in Aotearoa New Zealand’s art history.

“O’Brien’s respect for Binney includes acknowledging that he could be both charming and curmudgeonly, and as a result he offers a complete picture of this complex and creative man. Equally compelling are the book’s faithfully reproduced artworks, exemplifying the best in design, layout and reproduction.

“From the cover onwards, the images of the paintings take us to the place where Binney observed the land and the birds, capturing the qualities of whenua that meant so much to him,” she says.

Auckland University of Technology vice chancellor, interdisciplinary scholar and critically acclaimed author Damon Salesa has won the General Non-Fiction Award for his work, An Indigenous Ocean: Pacific Essays (Bridget Williams Books).

Category convenor of judges Jim Tully ONZM says Toeolesulusulu Damon Salesa’s seminal work asserts the Pacific’s ongoing impact worldwide, despite marginalisation by New Zealand and others, and will maintain its relevance for generations.

“An Indigenous Ocean weaves together academic rigour, captivating stories and engaging prose to reframe our understanding of New Zealand’s colonial history in the South Pacific,” he says.

“This scholarly but highly accessible collection of essays carves out space for indigenous voices to tell their own narratives. Grounded in a deep understanding of Pacific history and cultures, Salesa addresses the contemporary social, political, economic, regional and international issues faced by Pacific nations.”

 Esteemed academic, Waitangi Tribunal member, and Kīngi Tūheitia’s ‘Council of Twelve’ member Tā Pou Temara KNZM (Ngāi Tūhoe) was presented with the 2024 Te Mūrau o te Tuhi Māori Language Award for Te Rautakitahi O Tūhoe ki Ōrākau (Auckland University Press).

Judge Paraone Gloyne (Raukawa ki Wharepūhunga, Ngāti Maniapoto) says the book is a valuable account exploring the big questions about the Tūhoe men and women who went to fight with Ngāti Maniapoto in the battle of Ōrākau during the New Zealand Wars.

Raised in Ruatāhuna, where most of the Tūhoe who went to Ōrākau came from, Tā Pou offers a unique insight of this key episode, written entirely in te reo Māori. Te Rautakitahi O Tūhoe ki Ōrākau is a rare, vividly executed and deeply considered book based on oral sources through the stories told to Tā Pou by his grandfather, great-grandmother and other kuia and koroua when he was young.

“Aotearoa is fortunate to have in its canon a book of this significance written by one of Aotearoa’s leading Māori public intellectuals,” says Mr Gloyne.

The Poetry, Illustrated Non-Fiction, General Non-Fiction and Te Mūrau o te Tuhi category award recipients were each presented with $12,000 in prize money.

Four Best First Book Awards, sponsored by the Mātātuhi Foundation, were also presented at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards ceremony.  

Hubert Church Prize for Fiction

Ruin and Other Stories by Emma Hislop (Kāi Tahu) (Te Herenga Waka University Press)

Jessie Mackay Prize for Poetry

At the Point of Seeing by Megan Kitching (Otago University Press)

Judith Binney Prize for Illustrated Non-Fiction

Rugby League in New Zealand: A People’s History by Ryan Bodman (Bridget Williams Books)

E.H. McCormick Prize for General Non-Fiction

There’s a Cure for This by Emma Wehipeihana (Ngāti Tukorehe, Ngāti Porou) (Penguin Random House)

Each Mātātuhi Foundation Best First Book Award winner received $3000 and a 12-month membership subscription to the New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa.

New Zealand Book Awards Trust Te Ohu Tiaki i Te Rau Hiringa chair Nicola Legat says this year’s winners fully demonstrate the relevance of books to the issues of our times.

“Drawn from an extraordinary group of shortlisted titles in a very competitive year, all these books truly deserve the honours bestowed on them. They are by turns witty, timely, insightful, searing, scholarly, political and loving. They have each, in their own way, moved the dial.

“The Trust congratulates the publishers of these impressive and beautifully produced titles,” she says.

The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are supported by Ockham Residential, Creative New Zealand, the late Jann Medlicott and the Acorn Foundation, Mary and Peter Biggs CNZM, Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand, the Mātātuhi Foundation, and the Auckland Writers Festival.

The awards ceremony was hosted at the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre in Aotea Centre, as part of the 2024 Auckland Writers Festival programme.

To find out more about the winners’ titles go to https://www.nzbookawards.nz/new-zealand-book-awards/2024-awards/winners/

PANZ Association Director Courtney Sina Meredith. Photo credit Janet Lilo

The Publishers Association of New Zealand Te Rau o Tākupu is delighted to announce that Courtney Sina Meredith has been appointed as Association Director.

PANZ President | Tumuaki Claire Murdoch says, “Courtney needs no introduction to Aotearoa’s literary community as a writer. However, what blew our panel away in a seriously competitive field of candidates were her strategic vision, her exceptional relationship-management and communications skills, her sound administrative and financial chops and her impressive grants, fundraising and advocacy experience.

Courtney’s skills are a perfect match for the challenges and opportunities facing PANZ and its partners in 2024 and beyond.

Speaking on behalf of PANZ Council, I can’t wait to work with her and look forward to welcoming her and introducing her to all our members and stakeholders this May, when she will formally take up the role.”

Meredith is a globally recognised cultural leader whose work across the arts, education, culture and media draws on her Sāmoan and Mangaian roots through a proudly queer lens. Cited by CNZ as the top sixth spokesperson for the arts in national media, she is a trusted advocate for the creative sector and a voice for change.

She was the Executive Director of RainbowYOUTH where she led a critical restructure and the Director of Tautai Contemporary Pacific Arts Trust that she financially future-proofed through to 2026.

Courtney is the author of two poetry collections, two children’s books and one book of short stories. Her work is taught internationally from schools across the Pacific to graduate studies at UCLA and written into academia from Stanford to Oxford. Her academic acknowledgements include an Honorary Fellowship from the University of Iowa in 2016 and the Young Alumna of the Year award by the University of Auckland in 2021.

Courtney has been awarded prestigious opportunities around the world from being invited by the BBC to the House of Lords in London to discuss Britain’s cultural future, to sharing her writing in the gardens of Frida Kahlo in Mexico. Her residencies and delegations include the Island Residency in Alaska, delegate to the British Council as part of London’s cultural olympiad, the Bleibtreu residency in Berlin, Queensland’s Poet in Residence, and as New Zealand’s representative to the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa. She has judged many local and global literary competitions across poetry and prose including the Commonwealth Short Story Competition as judge for the Oceania continent.

She is the Co-Director of Kim Meredith Gallery, the first Pacific owned and operated dealer gallery in New Zealand. Previous roles she has held include Partnerships Manager at Manukau Institute of Technology, Newsreader and Arts Reporter for PMN, Commercial Accounts Executive ICAEW (UK), Arts and Culture Advisor with Auckland Council, and Contributing Editor for Paperboy at Bauer Media.

Courtney lives with her partner and constant collaborator, renowned artist Janet Lilo (Te Rarawa, Sāmoa, Niue), and their three beautiful sons and spoilt pooch, in Tāmaki Aukilani.

She says,  “I grew up watching my grandfather fire through stick-em-up westerns, he was transported out of Glen Innes and into  American deserts. Decades later, and with the support of my wonderful mother, he helped PANZ translate a section of Luteru Ross Taylor’s book into Gagana Sāmoa.

The power of the written word cannot, ironically, be captured in words. All I can offer is my small truth that a year after the loss of my Pa, he has a sparkling moment in the canon that I treasure deeply.  I was drawn to this directorship for the kaupapa and excellence of membership – and the opportunity to work alongside Claire Murdoch and PANZ Council.

My vision in this role is founded on aroha, advocacy, and advancement – all with a good dose of my Pā’s cheeky grin behind me!  O le ala i le pule, o le tautua – the pathway to leadership is through service. Fa’afetai tele lava, I can’t wait to get started in May.”

Booker Prize-winning author Eleanor Catton faces off against critically acclaimed former national award winners Emily Perkins, Pip Adam and Stephen Daisley for the $65,000 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction, as finalists in the 2024 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards announced today.

The four novelists are joined by a further 12 acclaimed and debut finalist authors of memoir, poetry, history, art, and te ao Māori in one of the country’s strongest-ever years for book publishing.

The 16 finalists were selected from a longlist of 44 books by panels of specialist judges across four categories: fiction, poetry, illustrated non-fiction, and general non-fiction.

Catton, who won the Booker Prize in 2013 for The Luminaries, is a finalist for her novel Birnam Wood; Perkins, who won the Montana Medal for Fiction or Poetry in 2009 for Novel About My Wife is shortlisted with Lioness; Adam, who won the Acorn Foundation Fiction Prize in 2018 for The New Animals is in the running with Audition; and Daisley, who won the first awarded Acorn Foundation Fiction Prize in 2016 for Coming Rain is a contender this year with A Better Place.

Juliet Blyth, convenor of judges for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction, says there is much to celebrate amongst this year’s shortlisted novels, and readers will be rewarded by the richness contained within their pages.

“These four singular and accomplished titles encompass pertinent themes of social justice, violence, activism, capitalism, war, identity, class, and more besides. Variously confronting, hilarious, philosophical, and heart-rending, these impressive works showcase Aotearoa storytellers at the top of their game.”

Best-selling British author, writer, broadcaster and former Booker Prize judge Natalie Haynes will assist the three New Zealand judges in selecting the fiction winner.

The finalists in the Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry include three debut authors: Megan Kitching (At the Point of Seeing), Grace Yee (Chinese Fish) and Isla Huia (Talia); and poet and map maker, Bill Nelson (Root Leaf Flower Fruit).

Erik Kennedy, convenor of judges for the Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry, says the four finalist collections are grounded in the experience of life in Aotearoa but through their restless, ambitious poetics are capable of taking readers almost anywhere.

“These volumes blur genres and disrupt preconceptions of poetic form, they re-vision landscapes and histories, and they deploy languages other than English in distinct ways that encourage multiplicity,” he says.

The finalists in the Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction are multi-award-winning art historian, poet and painter Gregory O’Brien MNZM (Don Binney: Flight Path); co-author curators Lauren Gutsell, Lucy Hammonds, Bridget Reweti (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi) (Marilynn Webb: Folded in the Hills); debut author and fungi and forager enthusiast Liv Sisson (Fungi of Aotearoa: A Curious Forager’s Field Guide); and historian and first-time author Ryan Bodman (Rugby League in New Zealand: A People’s History).

Lynn Freeman, convenor of judges for the Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction, says our past, present and future live within the four gloriously illustrated finalist books, in which words and images sit in perfect harmony.

“This has been the year of the art book, lavishly illustrated, lovingly researched and written, insightful, profound and beautiful­ artworks in their own right. Here, too, are under-appreciated (until now) stories that provide invaluable contributions to our understanding of what it means to be a New Zealander,” she says.

The General Non-Fiction finalists are Auckland University of Technology Vice Chancellor, interdisciplinary scholar and award-winning author Damon Salesa (An Indigenous Ocean: Pacific Essays); celebrated novelist and memoirist Barbara Else (Laughing at the Dark: A Memoir); non-fiction author Jeff Evans (Ngātokimatawhaorua: The Biography of a Waka); and debut author, physician and memoirist Emma Espiner (Ngāti Tukorehe, Ngāti Porou) (There’s a Cure for This).

Jim Tully ONZM, convenor of judges for the General Non-Fiction Award, says this year’s entries treated judges to a wide array of narratives – rich life stories; biographies of birds, sea life and waka; and deep investigations into Kaupapa, from communes to ora (wellbeing).

“The judges came to the unanimous decision that the final four represent the best of the best – accessible yet robust academic inquiries; novel and unheard stories; and narratives that warm, sadden and unsettle all within the same cover,” he says.

Nicola Legat, spokesperson for the New Zealand Book Awards Trust Te Ohu Tiaki i Te Rau Hiringa, says that this year’s shortlist holds worlds of riches for all readers.

“There is a dazzling variety of outstanding writing including powerful personal stories, punchy and revealing poetry, and fresh reflections on contemporary issues. The fiction shortlist is one of the strongest in the award’s history. It’s remarkable that all four finalists are previous winners. In every category, each finalist title is ambitious in scope and offers vivid reflections on Aotearoa’s past, present and future.” Each finalist title is ambitious in scope and offers vivid reflections on Aotearoa’s past, present, and future.

“In these finalist books we can also see publishers at the tops of their games. There are 11 publishers shortlisted across 16 titles. What a knockout year,” she says.

The 2024 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards shortlisted titles are:

*represents debut authors

Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction

A Better Place by Stephen Daisley (Text Publishing)

Audition by Pip Adam (Te Herenga Waka University Press)

Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton (Te Herenga Waka University Press)

Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury)

Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry

At the Point of Seeing by Megan Kitching (Otago University Press) *

Chinese Fish by Grace Yee (Giramondo Publishing) *

Root Leaf Flower Fruit by Bill Nelson (Te Herenga Waka University Press)

Talia by Isla Huia (Te Āti Haunui a-Pāpārangi, Uenuku) (Dead Bird Books) *

Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction

Don Binney: Flight Path by Gregory O’Brien (Auckland University Press)

Fungi of Aotearoa: A Curious Forager’s Field Guide by Liv Sisson (Penguin, Penguin Random House)*

Marilynn Webb: Folded in the Hills by Lauren Gutsell, Lucy Hammonds, Bridget Reweti (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi) (Dunedin Public Art Gallery)

Rugby League in New Zealand: A People’s History by Ryan Bodman (Bridget Williams Books)*

General Non-Fiction Award

An Indigenous Ocean: Pacific Essays by Damon Salesa (Bridget Williams Books)

Laughing at the Dark: A Memoir by Barbara Else (Penguin, Penguin Random House)

Ngātokimatawhaorua: The Biography of a Waka by Jeff Evans (Massey University Press)

There’s a Cure for This by Emma Espiner (Ngāti Tukorehe, Ngāti Porou) (Penguin, Penguin Random House) *

The 2024 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards’ winners, including the four Mātātuhi Foundation Best First Book Awards recipients, will be announced at a public ceremony on 15 May during the 2024 Auckland Writers Festival.

The winner of the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction will receive $65,000 and each of the three other main category winners will receive $12,000. Each of the Best First Book winners, for fiction, poetry, general non-fiction and illustrated non-fiction, will be awarded $3000.

The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are supported by Ockham Residential, Creative New Zealand, the late Jann Medlicott and the Acorn Foundation, Mary and Peter Biggs CNZM, Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand, the Mātātuhi Foundation, and the Auckland Writers Festival.

To find out more about the shortlisted titles go to https://www.nzbookawards.nz/new-zealand-book-awards/2024-awards/shortlist/