Media Releases

 

From Booksellers NZ

The Board of Booksellers NZ is delighted to announce the appointment of Dan Slevin to role of Association Manager, Booksellers NZ.

Dan has over 25 years experience working in all areas of the New Zealand media, having worked in live entertainment, arts, events and the motion picture industries.

Dan is the former Marketing & Communications Manager at Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School, and prior to that, he was Managing Editor of Fishhead Magazine.

Over the years Dan has been the grateful recipient of Booksellers NZ book tokens as a regular reviewer on RNZ National’s Nine to Noon programme and is excited to soon be helping shape the next chapter of the Association.

Chair of Booksellers NZ Juliet Blyth says, ‘Dan struck us immediately as the perfect fit for this role; his wealth of experience in adjacent sectors, his obvious book love and most of all his fundamental belief in the instrumental role Booksellers NZ plays in supporting a vibrant bookselling sector made him the clear contender for this role.’

Dan will begin at Booksellers NZ in October following the retirement of CEO Lincoln Gould.

ENDS

For further information please contact Juliet Blyth, Chair, Booksellers NZ (027) 444 5062

A dynamic collaborative organisation has formed to make a tangible difference to the literary landscape of Aotearoa, supported by seed funding from Creative New Zealand (CNZ).

During its initial year, the Coalition will be a collaborative venture beneath the umbrella of the Auckland Writers Festival. Other significant founding organisations include the Booksellers Association, the Society of Authors, the Publishers Association, Tautai Pacific Arts Trust, the New Zealand Book Awards Trust, the Michael King Writers Centre and the Academy of New Zealand Literature.

The Coalition for Books has a clear mandate: to complement the work of existing organisations, identify gaps in activities and develop initiatives that serve authors, publishers, booksellers and festivals. Through strategic activity and by mobilising the literary sector, it will enhance the visibility, sales and overall opportunities for New Zealand books and their writers.

Interim Chair Melanie Laville-Moore says, “A year in the making, the Coalition for Books feels like a watershed moment. It’s the very first time that so many representatives from across the literary sector have come to the same table to initiate important change. The potential to enable greater success for all of our organisations is huge. We’re immensely grateful to Creative New Zealand for believing in our vision and allowing us the opportunity to put plans into action.”

Auckland Writers Festival Director Anne O’Brien says the Coalition is a critical step in enhancing the health of the sector in challenging times. “The Festival shares the Coalition’s kaupapa of supporting and strengthening engagement for and with New Zealand writers and readers, and looks forward to working with sector colleagues to make a real difference to this country’s literary well-being.”

The inaugural meeting of the Coalition for Books will be held later this month during the Booksellers Association Conference to be held in Auckland. A new incorporated society will be established immediately afterwards.

Ends

For further information, please contact Melanie Laville-Moore, Interim Chair and Director of Allen & Unwin NZ on melaniel@allenandunwin.com  T: 021 593 555

A sparkling story of courage and transformation has been judged the best book for young readers at this year’s national children’s book awards. The Bomb by Sacha Cotter, illustrated by Josh Morgan, was awarded the highest prize in children’s publishing – The Margaret Mahy Book of the Year – during a ceremony at Te Papa in Wellington to celebrate the 2019 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.

The judges were captivated by the spell this book cast. They described it as a summery, waterlogged, quintessentially Kiwi story about a child growing in self-confidence while striving to achieve the perfect “bomb”, supported every step of the way by the reassuring presence of his Nan.

“Joy and humour permeate the story and illustrations of The Bomb, and the reader is rewarded with each encounter – they see a new layer, another detail is revealed, fresh energy bubbles up,” says convenor of judges Crissi Blair. The judges also commended the language, which naturally incorporates te reo Māori, and the illustrations which celebrate our multicultural community.

The win rounded out an action-packed few months for the author and illustrator team of Cotter and Morgan, who have a winning partnership off the page as well, having recently become engaged and welcomed their first child into the world.

Seven other significant awards were also presented at the ceremony, held in Te Papa’s atmospheric Te Marae and attended by the country’s top children’s authors, illustrators, translators and publishers.

The Bomb also won the Picture Book Award. The judges said the books in this category “defied gravity” – being both simple and sophisticated in their message and illustration with serious child appeal but the ability to also delight adults.

The Dog Runner by Bren MacDibble, an enthralling eco-drama about a future without grasses, was awarded the Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction, marking the second year in a row this category has been won by MacDibble. The judges found the unique voice and characterisation ensured the reader was emotionally invested while debating alternatives to the sometimes-violent measures taken to ensure survival.

Teenagers are very hard to please, said the judges in announcing the Young Adult Fiction Award, but the panel was confident the winner of this category, Legacy by Whiti Hereaka, was a book teens would love. They were unanimous in their appreciation for this novel, with its assured writing, cleverly constructed story and pitch-perfect historical rendering, which teaches much about life as a WWI Māori soldier.

An instantly engaging, slyly educational book peppered with a sense of humour won the Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction. Art-tastic by Sarah Pepperle is a rare book that makes art – in this case the iconic works in the Christchurch Art Gallery – accessible and fun for young readers and shows how it can touch all aspects of our lives.

With such high praise from the judges, it’s no surprise Art-tastic also took out the Best First Book Award, a fiercely contested prize in a field of books which all cut straight to the heart of what being a young person is about in very different ways.  But the judges couldn’t go past Pepperle’s “out-of-this-world talent” for presenting information – both factual and abstract – in a digestible, hilarious, approachable way, and praised her rare instinct for understanding how children work.

When it’s done well, children’s book illustration is a high form of art combining technique, taste and vision with the ability to tell a story. The judges found the art exceptional in Russell Clark Award for Illustration winner Puffin the Architect by Kimberly Andrews. They cited Andrews as an early-career treasure trove of talent, saying New Zealand children are lucky to have the rest of her career to look forward to.

The Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for te reo Māori was awarded to Te Haka a Tānerore by Reina Kahukiwa, illustrated by Robyn Kahukiwa, translated by Kiwa Hammond. The panel of judges convened by Te Rōpū Whakahau said the book enhanced readers’ understanding of Māori performing arts by telling the origin story of haka. They praised the way its close connection to identity and heritage was illustrated with exceptional artwork.

The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are a unique celebration of the contribution that New Zealand’s children’s authors and illustrators make to building national identity and cultural heritage. The awards are made possible through the generosity, commitment and vision of funders and sponsors: Creative New Zealand, HELL Pizza, the Wright Family Foundation, LIANZA, Wellington City Council, Nielsen Book and Te Papa. They are administered by the New Zealand Book Awards Trust.

The full list of winners for the 2019 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults:

Margaret Mahy Book of the Year Award $7500

The Bomb, Sacha Cotter, illustrated by Josh Morgan (Huia Publishers)

 

Picture Book Award $7500

The Bomb, Sacha Cotter, illustrated by Josh Morgan (Huia Publishers)

 

Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction $7500

The Dog Runner, Bren MacDibble (Allen & Unwin)

Young Adult Fiction Award $7500

Legacy, Whiti Hereaka (Huia Publishers)

Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction $7500

Art-tastic, Sarah Pepperle (Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū)

Russell Clark Award for Illustration $7500

Puffin the Architect, written and illustrated by Kimberly Andrews (Penguin Random House)

Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for te reo Māori $7500

Te Haka a Tānerore, Reina Kahukiwa, illustrated by Robyn Kahukiwa, translated by Kiwa Hammond (Mauri Tū)

Best First Book Award $2000

Art-tastic, Sarah Pepperle (Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū)

ENDS

Social Media Links

Website: www.nzbookawards.nz/new-zealand-book-awards-for-children-and-young-adults/

Facebook: /NewZealandCYABookAwards/

Twitter: /nzcya

Hashtag: #NZCYA

 

For interview opportunities, images and further information please contact:

Gemma Finlay, Notable PR

P: 027 628 9695                E: gemma@notablepr.co.nz

Notes for Editors:

The judges of the 2019 awards were:  Crissi Blair (convenor), a long-time promoter and champion of children’s books; Jane Arthur, an editor, commentator and poet; Raymond Huber, a children’s author and editor, Tania Roxborogh, an educator and author; and Simie Simpson, a librarian.

They were joined by a panel appointed by Te Rōpū Whakahau to judge the te reo Māori entries, which was led by Moana Munro (convenor), kaitiaki pukapuka Māori for the Hastings District Libraries, Anahera Morehu, president-elect of LIANZA, and Jacqueline Joyce Snee, senior librarian Māori Research at Auckland Central Library.

The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are governed by the New Zealand Book Awards Trust (a registered charity). Members of the Trust are Nicola Legat, Karen Ferns, Paula Morris, Catherine Robertson, Jenna Todd, David Bowles, Anne Morgan and Melanee Winder. The Trust also governs the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards and Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day.  www.nzbookawards.nz

Creative New Zealand is the national arts development agency of Aotearoa and has been a key partner of New Zealand’s book awards for decades. Creative New Zealand encourages, promotes and supports the arts in New Zealand and internationally for the benefit of all New Zealanders through funding, capability building, and advocacy initiatives. It offers financial support for emerging and established artists, art practitioners, groups and organisations, and provides training and online resources to help artists and practitioners develop professionally, grow audiences and markets, and manage their organisations. In addition, it supports internships and national touring activities to enhance the development of New Zealand arts. Creative New Zealand provides a wide range of support to New Zealand literature, including funding for writers and publishers, residencies, literary festivals and awards, and support of organisations which work to increase the readership and sales of New Zealand literature at home and internationally. www.creativenz.govt.nz

HELL Pizza was established in 1996 and now has 75 outlets throughout New Zealand. HELL has reinforced its commitment to getting more kids hooked on books by sponsoring the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. The HELL Reading Challenge, initiated in 2014, continues to grow. HELL says it has ‘always challenged the norm, and with kids now becoming so engrossed with modern technology, we are bucking that trend and making reading cool again. We want pizza to be the gateway to reading addiction!’ The programme rewards students with a free ‘333 HELLthy pizza’ once they have read seven books and had their achievement approved by a local librarian with a stamp in each segment of their HELL pizza wheel. In 2018, 684 schools and 195 public libraries around New Zealand took part, and 300,000 pizza wheels were distributed, which means that some 2 million books were read by Kiwi kids as a result.www.hellpizza.com/nz/

The Wright Family Foundation is dedicated to making a positive difference by advancing education and spreading knowledge, supporting individuals to achieve their full potential. Its goal is to “grow the good” in New Zealand. Supporting literacy and a passion for words and reading is a key focus of the foundation. Its CEO, Chloe Wright, is Patron of both the Kids’ Lit Quiz and the New Zealand Spelling Bee. By supporting the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, the foundation hopes to champion New Zealand writers who will inspire the imagination of children.  www.wrightfamilyfoundation.org.nz

LIANZA, the association for library and information professionals in New Zealand, introduced the first award for children’s fiction in New Zealand, establishing the Esther Glen Junior Fiction Award in 1945. LIANZA added other awards over the years including the Russell Clark Award for Illustration in 1975 and the Elsie Locke Non-fiction Award in 1986. The Te Kura Pounamu Award for literature written in te reo Māori was established in 1996, in partnership with Te Rōpū Whakahau. In 2016 the LIANZA Children and Young Adult Book Awards were merged with the Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, strengthening the 60-year legacy of the LIANZA Awards. www.lianza.org.nz/

Nielsen Book provide a range of services to the book industry internationally, aiding the discovery and purchase, distribution and sales measurement of books. www.nielsenbook.co.nz

Wellington City Council‘s arts and culture strategy positions the city as a place where both Wellingtonians and visitors are able to actively explore its culture and experiment with their own creativity. It values heritage arts, culture and traditions and focuses on contemporary ways of expressing what is happening now and experiences that result from collaboration, both within the professional arts sector and with communities. The Council believes in the importance of literacy and imagination in the development of New Zealand children, and it supports a wide range of arts for and by children. wellington.govt.nz

As the national museum of New Zealand, Te Papa houses many of the nation’s taonga (treasures) reflecting New Zealand’s society and culture through the ages.  Renowned for the unique way in which it tells these stories, Te Papa has welcomed more than 30 million visitors since it opened 21 years ago.  The museum also connects with people outside the museum through its touring exhibitions, collections online, learning programmes, and award-winning books produced by Te Papa Press.  www.tepapa.govt.nz

 

 

 

 

6 August 2019
For immediate release

Penguin Random House New Zealand announce Carrie Welch to depart

Julie Burland, CEO Penguin Random House Australia & New Zealand (PRH ANZ), announced today that Carrie Welch, Director Penguin Random House New Zealand, has resigned from her position, effective 23 August 2019.

Burland said: ‘I am sorry to see Carrie leave. She has been a long-standing, committed leader and a great advocate of local publishing and our books. She is highly respected externally and a valued colleague. It has been great to have Carrie as part of the PRH ANZ Leadership Team and we wish her all the very best for her next move. ’

Welch first joined Penguin NZ in 2002 for two years, and returned in 2007, leading roles in Business Development and Sales. In 2015, Welch became Sales Director for PRH NZ and in 2017 was appointed as leader of the NZ business, overseeing the most recent relocation of the office to Smales Farm, amongst other successful initiatives.

Burland concludes: ‘I will work closely with the New Zealand team as we continue partnering with our highly valued authors, illustrators, customers and readers, in our commitment to, and belief in local New Zealand publishing and the New Zealand market.’

ENDS

Media Enquiries

Karen Reid

Publicity Director – Penguin Random House Australia

PH: 02 8923 9832 / 0417 496 719

E: kreid@penguinrandomhouse.com.au

Climate change and the plight of refugees are the focus of some of the 150+ events in this year’s Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day, taking place on Friday August 23.

Our annual celebration of writing and reading poetry embraces both the personal and political in a dynamic programme of events and competitions nationwide – from parks, beaches, pavements and public transport to cafés, bars, bookshops, schools, university campuses, libraries, RSAs, community centres, marae and more.

The record number of events include:

• Auckland’s ‘I Feel at Home, Away from Home – Blackout Poetry Workshop’ – that gives voice to our migrants and refugees; and the Theoradical Hobohemians hosting ‘An Interview with Charles Bukowski’.
• Wellington’s ‘Show Ponies: A National Poetry Day Extravaganza’ – a late-night gig, featuring award-winner Chris Tse and other poets posing as popstars for the evening.
• Wairarapa’s ‘Climate Positive’ – poetry, song and stories of positive action against the climate crisis with performance poets Extinction Rebellion.
• Christchurch’s ‘Poets in Our Tūranga’ – a six-hour poetry marathon at the new Tūranga Central Library, featuring more than 40 local poets and writers, and 2019 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards poetry category finalist Erik Kennedy.
• Dunedin’s ‘Changing Minds: Memories Lost and Found’ – a poetry competition for adults inspired by their experience of dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease.

Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day includes appearances by the winner of the Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry in the 2019 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards, Helen Heath, who will deliver a workshop at Hagley Writers’ Institute in Christchurch on Saturday, August 24. Poetry category finalist, Therese Lloyd, will take part in the launch of Paula Green’s magnum opus, Wild Honey: Reading New Zealand Women’s Poetry at Unity Books in Wellington.

In the lead up to August 23, Phantom Billstickers will bring poetry to our communities with an epic street poster campaign. All four 2019 Ockham poetry category finalists, including Tayi Tibble, will feature in Phantom Billstickers’ national super-size Poetry on Posters campaign.

Nicola Legat, Chair, The New Zealand Book Awards Trust, says ‘One of the themes of this year’s events is a focus on social issues. Events focussed on climate change and the issues facing refugees are among them, and this shows how relevant and useful poetry is as a way of confronting and addressing some of our wicked problems.’

Held annually on the fourth Friday in August, #NZPoetryDay sees poetry royalty join forces with poetry fans from all over Aotearoa in an action-packed programme of slams and rap, open mic and spoken word performances, pop-up events, book launches and readings. There are 24 poetry contests to enter. Many of the programmed events will be open to the public and free to enjoy.

Established in 1997, National Poetry Day is a popular fixture on the nation’s cultural calendar and one that celebrates discovery, diversity and community. For the past four years, Phantom Billstickers has supported National Poetry Day through its naming rights sponsorship.

For full details about all the events taking place on Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day, including places, venues, times, tickets and more, go to:

http://www.nzbookawards.nz/national-poetry-day/calendar-of-events/.

#NZPoetryDay / facebook.com/NZPoetryDay / twitter.com/NZPoetryDay

 

WORD Christchurch is pleased to announce its spring season of events, Shifting Points of View, which runs 18 August – 14 September.

Fifteen events over four weeks cover topics as diverse as the Trojan War, racism and activism, the New Zealand Wars, politics, engineering, crime fiction and the history of New Zealand comedy.

Headlining speakers include Simon Winchester, author of such books as Pacific, The Surgeon of Crowthorne and The Map That Changed the World, and his latest book Exactly: How precision engineers created the modern world; Natalie Haynes, host of the BBC radio show Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics, with a feminist retelling of the Troy story; DeRay Mckesson, American activist and a founder of the Black Lives Matter movement; Val McDermid, Scottish crime writer; New Zealand historian Vincent O’Malley and scholar Marilyn Waring.

Some of comedy’s movers and shakers, including Madeleine Sami, will appear live on stage to discuss the history of New Zealand comedy as portrayed in the current television documentary series Funny As, and the new book of the same name.

The season closes with a special celebration of the 2019 Ngaio Marsh Awards for crime writing on 14 September. Finalists Liam McIlvanney, JP Pomare and Fiona Kidman will appear alongside fellow crime writers Val McDermid, Paul Cleave and Vanda Symon in The Great Ngaio Marsh Game Show, where two teams will compete for the title of Sharpest Knives. The show will be followed by the presentation of the awards in the categories of Best Novel, Best First Novel and best Non-Fiction. The full list of finalists will be announced by the organisers tomorrow (1 August).

“Shifting Points of View is about challenging audiences to look at things a little differently,” says WORD Christchurch Programme Director Rachael King. “While there is plenty of entertainment in this season, there is also the opportunity to feed your brain, and maybe even change your mind about the world around you. We have a fantastic array of internationally acclaimed speakers to engage you on a number of issues.”

WORD Christchurch thanks its major funders: Christchurch City Council, Creative New Zealand and the Rata Foundation; platinum partners Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu and Heartland Bank; and Shifting Points of View partners the New Zealand Listener, The Arts Centre, UC Arts and TEDx Christchurch.

Last week NZSA Canterbury announced the winners, runners -up and specially commended writers who had been selected by our judges in the Heritage Literary Awards.  The competition was nation-wide and attracted entries from leading publishers and writers throughout New Zealand. All the judges – Prof Tom Brooking (nonfiction books), Fiona Farrell (novels), Owen Marshall (short prose) and Bernadette Hall (poetry) spoke of the high standard of the entries and the difficulty of making a decision.

The most popular section was for non-fiction books and there were nearly 40 of these -probably most of those that were published during the past year. The fiction category attracted around 20 entries and again they were of a high standard.

The function which was part of the Christchurch’s Heritage Week celebration was held in St Michael’s Church, a magnificent wooden building dating back to the 1870s and a very fitting venue.

Ngāi Tahu led by Sir Tipene O’Regan welcomed guests from all over New Zealand – nearly 100 attended. They also rose to celebrate the non-fiction winner Tāngāta Ngāi Tahu: People of Ngāi Tahu.  This is a selection of biographical studies of various members of the iwi.

As judge Tom Brooking wrote:

This is a wonderful book. The fifty lively biographies bring these tipuna vibrantly to life. The quality of the entries is consistent throughout and credit must go to the highly qualified contributors and expert editors. And what a fascinating cast occupies the pages of this exceptional biographical dictionary. They range from well-known national figures through soldiers and even singers who became popular in London, to local community leaders little known outside their often remote localities.  Despite their different lives in time and place each ancestor shared in common deep knowledge of southern Māori culture and tradition and fought long and hard to preserve it.

Helen Brown and Tarekei Norton, eds. Tāngāta Ngāi Tahu: People of Ngāi Tahu. Volume One. Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu/Bridget Williams Books, Wellington/Christchurch.

 2017

The runner-up in this section was John Wilson with his study Local Lives: A History of Addington, Addington Neighbourhood Association/Caxton

Again the judge said:

John Wilson’s excellent suburban history of Addington is … another welcome addition to our rather sparse collection of studies of the places where the majority of people in cities live – the suburb.

The fiction prize went to Fiona Kidman for her new novel This Mortal Boy. Fiona Farrell who presented the award said that ‘it has been a real privilege to read such  a wonderful book.’  This is the story of Albert Black, known as the ‘jukebox killer’.  He, was only twenty when he was convicted of murdering another young man in a fight at a milk bar in Auckland on 26 July 1955. His crime fuelled growing moral panic about teenagers, and he was to hang less than five months later, the second-to-last person to be executed in New Zealand.

The runner us was David Hill for his Young Adult novel Finding and there was a special mention for Tree Worship by Jack Ross.

The short prose section was won by Caroline Barron of Auckland for her entry ‘Linette and Montague’. Owen Marshall said of the winner:

It has first person, present tense narration and this together with the crisp, contemporary language gives the piece pace and draws the reader in.  The story is based on the narrator’s search in Archives NZ, Auckland, for evidence of a paternal grandfather, his relationship with Linette and their illegitimate child.  The factual basis gives credibility and relevance, but the account of the search is enhanced by elements of surmise and speculation.  As well imaginative touches add to the story, as when the narrator visualises the court room scene in which Montague Stanaway is ordered to pay expenses related to the birth of his child… A balanced, impressive short piece.

The runner up was Susan Cambridge with Dea’s Story – a tale of colonial society.

The poetry section was won by Lucy D’Ath:  fight / flight.  This suggested the horrific rhythm of the Christchurch earthquakes and  the runner-up was Into the Audit  by John Ewing

 The full list of prize winners is as follows:

Poetry

The winner is:    fight / flight by Lucy D’Ath

The runner-up is:  Into the Adit by John Ewen

Short Form – prose

WINNER

Linette and Montague by Caroline Barron

RUNNER UP

Dea’s Story by Susan Cambridge

Non-fiction book

First Prize

Helen Brown and Takerei Norton, eds. Tāngāta Ngāi Tahu: People of Ngāi Tahu. Volume One. Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu/Bridget Williams Books, Wellington/Christchurch, 2017. 352pp

Runner Up

John Wilson, Local Lives: A History of Addington, Addington Neighbourhood Association/Caxton, Christchurch, 2017. 320pp

Highly Commended

John Newton, Hard Frost: Structures of Feeling in New Zealand Literature 1908-1945, Victoria University Press, Wellington, 2017. 368pp

Lachy Paterson and Angela Wanhalla, He Reo Wāhine: Māori Women’s Voices from the Nineteenth Century, Auckland University Press, 2017, 372pp

Grey Ryan and Geoff Watson, Sport and the New Zealanders: A History, Auckland University Press, 2018. 390 pp.

Fiction Book

The winner is This Mortal Boy by Fiona Kidman. Penguin/ Random House

Runner up is Finding by David Hill Penguin/Random House

Special mention: Tree Worship by Jack Ross

I would like to thank our sponsors: the Christchurch City Council, Scorpio Books and Wily Publications Ltd.

One of New Zealand’s best-loved writers, Dame Joy Cowley is a finalist in this year’s Ashton Wylie Mind Body Spirit Literary Awards’ Book category for her non-fiction work Veil Over Light.

She joins four other authors from all over the country writing about issues as wide-ranging as global ethics, living cooperatively, mystical and shamanic practise and Māori healing wisdom.

The Awards’ convenor of judges Joan Rosier-Jones says this year’s Book category entrants were particularly strong.

“It was a difficult decision deciding on a shortlist of five from 42 book entries, many from household name writers.

“This year’s finalists were selected for their understanding of the Mind Body Spirit genre, the compelling and accessible way they each convey their stories and their books’ excellent production values. Each of these books are worthy winners and hold much wisdom for our world,” says Ms Rosier-Jones.

The 2019 Mind Body Spirit Literary Awards Book category finalists are:

Veil Over Light: Selected Spiritual Writings by Joy Cowley (FitzBeck Publishing)

Standing Upright Here: Global Ethics for the 21st Century by Gwen S Francis (Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd)

The Infinite Game by Niki Harré (Auckland University Press)

Into the World: A Handbook for Mystical and Shamanic Practise by Leila Lees (Lasavia Publishing Ltd)

He Atua Wahine at the Source of Ancient Māori Healing Wisdom in Aotearoa, New Zealand by Charlotte Mildon (Tamariki Ora Books Ltd)

A record number of 57 entries were received in this year’s Unpublished Manuscript category.

“This year’s manuscript entries were tremendously broad in their subject matter, scope and genre. We received poetry collections, memoirs, novels and academic non-fiction works. In the end the five selected works pulled us in from the start.

“Each of the five manuscript finalists are from writers that hold great promise and we sincerely hope they are published and received by a wide audience.”

The 2019 Mind Body Spirit Literary Awards Unpublished Manuscript category finalists are:

The Time Lizard’s Archaeologist by Trisha Hanifin

The Language of Yin by Gabrielle Harris

You Are Loved by Anca Sarah Joicey

Deva: The Song at the Heart of the Matter by Jacquelyn E Lane  

The Love Path by Averil Nichole Richardson

The Book category winner and the Unpublished Manuscript category winner each receive a $10,000 prize.

The awards are unique in the country for their encouragement of writing in the Mind, Body, Spirit genre. The awards were established in 1999 thanks to a bequest from the late businessman, Ashton Wylie.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony at Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, Westhaven Marina, in Auckland on Friday 16 August, 2019.

 

 

New Zealand’s flourishing children’s book market is in the spotlight with the release of the finalists for the 2019 PANZ Book Design Awards.

Innovative design combined with impeccable production standards made the task of whittling down a shortlist challenging for this year’s judging panel and in the end a record nine books were selected as finalists in the children’s category alone.

As well as demonstrating an impressive pool of talent in children’s books, the shortlist reflects excellence in design across all eight categories, confirming that New Zealand book design is in very good heart.

Convening judge David Coventon said: “Our four judges, from varied fields enjoyed a day of discussions and deliberation over this year’s entries. Competition categories were familiar, yet judges agreed it’s good to see a number of new names appear across the colophons and categories. Some beautiful design solutions were both discovered and discussed – with the children’s category in particular full of strong entries – the design community is clearly nurturing a support of, and strength in, the publishing industry.”

David led a four strong team of judges who represented diverse facets of the publishing and bookselling industry. Together they spent a day pouring over beautiful books to create a shortlist of 33 finalist titles.

The winners will be announced at a special ceremony in Auckland on Thursday 25 July when the Gerard Reid Award for Best Book sponsored by Nielsen Book will also be revealed.

The industry’s design talent will assemble the next day for the PANZ Book Design Workshop sponsored by Hachette New Zealand, which provides the opportunity to dissect the awards, enjoy panel sessions led by leading book designers and network with peers.

The PANZ Book Design Awards were established by the Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ) to promote excellence in, and provide recognition for, the best book design in New Zealand. 

The 2019 PANZ Book Design Awards Finalists are:

Penguin Random House New Zealand Award for Best Illustrated Book

As You Will: Carnegie Libraries of the South Pacific by Mickey Smith (Te Tuhi), designed by Kalee Jackson, Studio Kalee Jackson

Fiona Clark: Living With Aids 1988 by Fiona Clark (Michael Lett), designed by Arch MacDonnell & Alexandra Turner, Inhouse Design

Tatau: A History of Sāmoan Tattooing by Sean Mallon and Sébastien Galliot (Te Papa Press), designed by Arch MacDonnell, Inhouse Design

Theo Schoon: A Biography by Damian Skinner (Massey University Press), designed by Aaron McKirdy; typesetting by Kate Barraclough

Us v Them: Tony de Lautour (collector’s edition) by Peter Vangioni with Giovanni Intra, Peter Robinson, Zarah Stanhope, Lara Strongman and Alice Tappenden (Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū), designed by Aaron Beehre

Wanted: The search for the modernist murals of E. Mervyn Taylor by Bronwyn Holloway-Smith (Massey University Press), designed by Anna Brown

Upstart Press Award for Best Non-Illustrated Book

Bonsai: Best small stories from Aotearoa New Zealand edited by Michelle Elvy, Frankie McMillan and James Norcliffe (Canterbury University Press), designed by Aaron Beehre

Pasture and Flock: New and Selected Poems by Anna Jackson (Auckland University Press), cover designed by Keely O’Shannessy, interior designed by Katrina Duncan

Sport and the New Zealanders: A History by Greg Ryan and Geoff Watson (Auckland University Press), cover designed by Spencer Levine, interior designed by Katrina Duncan

That Derrida Whom I Derided Died: Poems 2013–2017 by C.K Stead (Auckland University Press), cover designed by Greg Simpson, interior designed by Katrina Duncan

Wild Journeys by Bruce Ansley (HarperCollins New Zealand), designed by Julia Murray

Women, Equality, Power by Helen Clark (Allen & Unwin NZ), designed by Kate Barraclough

Scholastic New Zealand Award for Best Children’s Book

ART-TASTIC by Sarah Pepperle (Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū), cover designed by Aaron Beehre, interior designed by Aaron Beehre with Raquel Joseph, Emma Kevern and Ryan Patrick

The Bomb by Sacha Cotter (Huia Publishers), designed by Te Kani Price, illustrated by Josh Morgan

Cook’s Cook: The Cook who Cooked for Captain Cook by Gavin Bishop (Gecko Press), designed by Vida Kelly

Dear Donald Trump by Sophie Siers (Millwood Press), designed by Vida Kelly

I Am Jellyfish by Ruth Paul (Penguin Random House), designed by Rachel Clark with Ruth Paul

Jillion: By New Zealand’s Young Writers and Artists edited by Charlotte Gibbs, designed by Kelvin Soh and Sam Wieck, DDMMYY and Grace McFarlane and Cait Kneller, Toitoi

Kia Ora, You Can Be a Kiwi Too by June Pitman-Hayes (Scholastic NZ), designed by Minky Stapleton

Oink by David Elliot (Gecko Press) designed by Vida Kelly

Secret World of Butterflies by Courtney Sina Meredith & Giselle Clarkson (Allen & Unwin NZ), designed by Kate Barraclough, Kate Frances Design

Edify Award for Best Educational Book

Anzac Animals: 20 Animal Friends from WW1 and WW2 by Maria Gill (Scholastic NZ), designed by Vida and Luke Kelly Design

ART-TASTIC by Sarah Pepperle (Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū), cover designed by Aaron Beehre, interior designed by Aaron Beehre with Raquel Joseph, Emma Kevern and Ryan Patrick

Te Kōparapara: An Introduction to the Māori World edited by Michael Reilly, Suzanne Duncan, Gianna Leoni, Lachy Paterson, Lyn Carter, Matiu Rātima and Poia Rewi (Auckland University Press), cover designed by Neil Pardington Design, interior designed by Katrina Duncan

Why is That Lake So Blue?: A Children’s Guide to New Zealand’s Natural World by Simon Pollard (Te Papa Press), designed by Kate Barraclough, Kate Frances Design

1010 Printing Award for Best Cookbook

Always Delicious Favourite recipes from the New Zealand Listener by Lauraine Jacobs (Potton & Burton), designed by Floor van Lierop, This is Them

Cuba Street: a cookbook by Liane McGee, Niki Chu and Anna Vibrandt (Fortyfive Design Limited), designed by Liane McGee, Anna Vibrandt and Niki Chu, Fortyfive Design

My Indian Kitchen by Ashia Ismail-Singer (Potton & Burton), designed by Floor van Lierop, This is Them

HarperCollins Publishers Award for Best Cover

Feverish by Gigi Fenster (Victoria University Press), designed by Keely O’Shannessy

People from the Pit Stand Up by Sam Duckor-Jones (Victoria University Press), designed by Sam Duckor-Jones

The New Ships by Kate Duignan (Victoria University Press), designed by Keely O’Shannessy

Pasture and Flock: New and Selected Poems by Anna Jackson (Auckland University Press), cover designed by Keely O’Shannessy

The Bomb by Sacha Cotter (Huia Publishers), designed by Te Kani Price, illustrated by Josh Morgan

Whatever It Takes: Pacific Films and John O’Shea 1948-2000 by John Reid (Victoria University Press), designed by Keely O’Shannessy

Wanted: The search for the modernist murals of E. Mervyn Taylor by Bronwyn Holloway-Smith (Massey University Press), designed by Anna Brown

A Tale of Three Cities by Arlette Mizrahi (RUN), designed by Laura Cibilich

Mary Egan Publishing Award for Best Typography

ART-TASTIC by Sarah Pepperle (Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū), cover designed by Aaron Beehre, interior designed by Aaron Beehre with Raquel Joseph, Emma Kevern and Ryan Patrick

Tatau: A History of Sāmoan Tattooing by Sean Mallon and Sébastien Galliot (Te Papa Press), designed by Arch MacDonnell, Inhouse Design

Theo Schoon: A Biography by Damian Skinner (Massey University Press), designed by Aaron McKirdy; typesetting by Kate Barraclough

Us v Them: Tony de Lautour by Peter Vangioni with Giovanni Intra, Peter Robinson, Zarah Stanhope, Lara Strongman and Alice Tappenden (Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū), designed by Aaron Beehre

Wanted: The search for the modernist murals of E. Mervyn Taylor by Bronwyn Holloway-Smith (Massey University Press), designed by Anna Brown

Swim A year of swimming outdoors in New Zealand by Annette Lees (Potton & Burton), designed by Floor van Lierop

Allen & Unwin Young Designer of the Year 2019 Shortlist

Katie Kerr for Big Ideas for Curious Minds: An Introduction to Philosophy by School of Life (Alain de Botton), Sportsman of the Year: A Suburban Philosophy by Jan Hellriegal, Make Every Day by Rebecca Commisaris, Bee Curious by Kantar & the School of Life, Dirt by Gemma Walsh & Katie Kerr.

Te Kani Price for Mataatua Wharenui by Hirini Mead, Pouroto Ngaropo, Te Onehou Phillis, Layne Harvey (Huia Publishers), Ngāti Kahu: Portrait of a Sovereign Nation by Margaret Mutu (Huia Publishers), Treasures of Tāne by Rob Tipa (Huia Publishers), Legacy by Whiti Hereaka (Huia Publishers), The Bomb/Te Pohū by Sacha Cotter (Huia Publishers)

ENDS

For more info and book images please visit: www.bookdesignawards.co.nz

High-res images are available here

FOR INTERVIEWS OR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Gemma Finlay on behalf of PANZ, gemma@notablepr.co.nz

THE JUDGING PANEL

A graduate of the Masters in Graphic Design at Central Saint Martins, David Coventon has over twenty-five years’ experience in London and Auckland. Co-founder of two:design London, he later went on to be course leader of the Bachelor in Graphic Design at Camberwell College. Whilst in that role he was a key member of the staff and student team that re-started the Camberwell Press. After migrating to Aotearoa in 2011, David worked as graphic designer at Auckland Museum in the Brand and Customer Engagement team for four years. But it was his ‘calling’ that saw him return to tertiary teaching in March 2018, when he took a Senior Lecturer position teaching graphic design on the Bachelor of Design — Communication Design at AUT School of Art & Design.

A freelancer based in Auckland, Jess Gommers has designed publications & exhibitions for clients throughout Australasia. She’s worked as in-house designer at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, National Gallery of Victoria, Auckland Arts Festival and Auckland Museum. Publisher of three titles (comma dot dogma, of gorse of course & process), her design work can also be seen in two recently built & award-winning museums: Te Kōngahu – Museum of Waitangi & Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom. Most recently her work has been seen within Auckland Museum’s Volume: Making music in Aotearoa, Are we there yet?: Women and equality in New Zealand & Carried away: bags unpacked.

Kiran Dass is the book buyer for Time Out Bookstore in Mt Eden, Auckland and has thirteen years of experience in the book trade. A writer and reviewer, Kiran has covered books and music for the NZ Herald, NZ Listener, RNZ, Sunday magazine, Sunday Star-Times, Landfall, Metro, The Spinoff, Pantograph Punch and The Wire (UK), and regularly reviews books on RNZ’s Nine to Noon and Auckland’s 95bFM. Kiran is co-producer and co-host of the literary podcast Papercuts, and has chaired sessions at Auckland Writers Festival, WORD Christchurch, LitCrawl, and Hamilton Book Month.

Simon Waterfield is a designer at Lift Education, with expertise in educational and literacy design and children’s publishing. He works on the School Journal, Ready to Read, and Connected. These series allow him to collaborate with an expansive range of writers, illustrators, and photographers. Simon holds a Bachelor of Design from Wellington Polytechnic/Victoria University and has previously worked at Wellington Media Collective, Base2, and Learning Media. He’s chaired sessions with children’s book creators Oliver Jeffers and Leo Timmers and twice judged The Arts Foundation’s Mallinson Rendel Illustrators Award (2015 and 2017). He’s passionate about comics, children’s publishing, and the use of design to explain the world to young, curious minds.

 

Thanks to our Sponsors

New Zealand’s children’s publishing is in fine health. That’s the verdict of the judges for the 2019 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults after they faced the daunting challenge of whittling down a shortlist for this year’s awards.

“The quality of submissions was impressive this year,” says convenor of judges Crissi Blair. “We had serious problems selecting the finalists for each category and it was heartening to see a healthy number of submissions from mainstream, indie and self-publishers, all of which are represented in the shortlist.”

Blair also praises the depth of the subject matter amongst the finalist titles with a strong focus on books about our world and what’s happening to it. From climate change to representations of diversity, this year’s books take readers on journeys into the past, the present and the future, providing a new look at the familiar or an insightful sojourn into another time.

 

“The finalist books don’t underestimate what children are capable of understanding – both intellectually and emotionally,” she says.

A total of 164 entries were received for the awards this year, with 29 books making the shortlist.  The winners of each of the main six categories – Picture Book, Junior Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, Non-Fiction, Illustration and te reo Māori – take home $7,500 and are then in the running to be named the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year, with a further $7,500 prize money. In addition, the judges will award a Best First Book prize of $2,000 to a previously unpublished author or illustrator.

Building on work started last year, children were included in the judging process. Judges took a category of books into schools, where the criteria for identifying a good quality book were discussed, before students selected titles to read.

Students responded in a variety of ways including voting for their favourites (and least favourite!), writing brief reviews, allocating star ratings and discussing what they liked and disliked about the books. These results were then shared with the whole judging panel and considered when making finalist decisions.

“Including the young readers in the judging process had the dual benefit of informing the judges about children’s and teens’ opinions, but also developing the knowledge of the readers, rendering them more capable of interacting with their books in a meaningful way in the future,” says Blair, adding that the students were very honest in their appraisals.

 

A core aspect of the NZCYA Awards’ mission is to foster literacy and a love of reading amongst New Zealand’s children and teenagers. This is achieved through programmes like the HELL Reading Challenge, where kids receive  pizza rewards for reading, and the newly revamped Books Alive programme of events, which will see finalist authors and illustrators bring the magic of books to life at sessions for school children in Hamilton, Christchurch, Dunedin and Wellington.

 

Turning to those finalists, the judges were impressed with the way the entries for the Picture Book Award were simultaneously universal while being very reflective of a New Zealand childhood. The books deal with rainbows, birthdays, the comforts of home and themes of kindness, bravery and sharing.

Fun, magic, mystery and history were the order of the day in the Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Junior Fiction category, with the rich abundance of stories submitted making for close calls when narrowing down to a final five.

 

Whether looking to the past, the present, or an imagined near future, each novel up for the Young Adult Fiction Award has superb writing, realistic interactions, insightful social commentary and satisfying dénouements in common.

There are no dull and dusty facts amongst the Elsie Locke Non-Fiction Award finalists. The judges found this category alive and kicking with books that connect youngsters with the richness of nature and the universality of the human spirit.

The Russell Clark Illustration Award finalists dazzle with their difference. From relaxed watercolours and quirky Kiwi settings to warm full-colour spreads, mixed-media mastery and emotive, pared-back graphics, the lack of homogeneity in this category proves just how diverse and creative our illustrators are.

 

The best storytellers know that words carve memories, and the titles nominated for the Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for books written entirely in te reo Māori all have tales that engage and captivate audiences. The judges were particularly impressed with books that exemplified Mātauranga Māori in their view of the world, including retellings of traditional Māori stories.

 

Competition was fierce to make the shortlist for the Best First Book with the judges finding nothing amateur about these debuts, which they say are indistinguishable in quality from books by more experienced writers. All of the finalists for this award have used their writing to cut deep to the heart of what being a young person is all about.

 

The formidable task of narrowing the field to a list of finalists was met by this year’s experienced judging panel: Crissi Blair (convenor) a long-time promoter and champion of children’s books; Jane Arthur, an editor and poet who co-founded children’s book site The Sapling; Raymond Huber, a widely published children’s author and editor; Tania Roxborogh (Ngāti Porou and Ngāti Mutunga o Wharekauri), a veteran educator and an award-winning writer; and Simie Simpson (Te Ati Awa), a librarian in the Kaipara District north of Auckland.

They were joined by a panel appointed by Te Rōpū Whakahau to judge te reo Māori entries, which was led by Moana Munro (convenor), kaitiakipukapuka Māori for Hastings District Libraries, Anahera Morehu, who is part of the team which supports the Mātauranga Māori and Tukua workshops for those working in the information industry and is the incoming president-elect of LIANZA , and Jacqueline Joyce Snee, senior librarian Māori Research at Auckland Central Library.

 

The winners of the 2019 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults will be announced at a ceremony in the atmospheric Te Marae at Te Papa in Wellington on the evening of Wednesday 7 August.

 

The New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults are made possible through the generosity, commitment and vision of funders and sponsors: Creative New Zealand, HELL Pizza, the Wright Family Foundation, LIANZA, Wellington City Council, Nielsen Book and Te Papa. The Awards are administered by the New Zealand Book Awards Trust.

 

The finalists for the 2019 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are:

Picture Book Award

Mini Whinny: Happy Birthday to Me, Stacy Gregg, illustrated by Ruth Paul (Scholastic NZ)

Puffin the Architect, Kimberly Andrews (Penguin Random House)

The Bomb, Sacha Cotter, illustrated by Josh Morgan (Huia Publishers)

Things in the Sea are Touching Me, Linda Jane Keegan, illustrated by Minky Stapleton (Scholastic NZ)

Who Stole the Rainbow? Vasanti Unka (Penguin Random House)

                                                                               

Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction

Search for a Kiwi Killer, Des Hunt (Tōrea Press)

The Dog Runner, Bren MacDibble (Allen & Unwin)

The Mapmakers’ Race, Eirlys Hunter, illustrated by Kirsten Slade (Gecko Press)

The Telegram, Philippa Werry (Pipi Press)

Whetū Toa and the Magician, Steph Matuku, illustrated by Katharine Hall (Huia Publishers)

                                                                               

Young Adult Fiction Award

Ash Arising, Mandy Hager (Penguin Random House)

Children of the Furnace, Brin Murray (The CopyPress)

Invisibly Breathing, Eileen Merriman (Penguin Random House)

Legacy, Whiti Hereaka  (Huia Publishers)

The Rift, Rachael Craw (Walker Books Australia)

                                                                               

Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction

Art-tastic, Sarah Pepperle (Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū)

Go Girl: A Storybook of Epic NZ Women, Barbara Else (Penguin Random House)

Ko Mauao te Maunga: Legend of Mauao, Debbie McCauley, illustrated by Debbie Tipuna and translated by Tamati Waaka (Mauao Publishing)

New Zealand’s Backyard Beasts, Ned Barraud (Potton & Burton)

Whose Home is This?, Gillian Candler, illustrated by Fraser Williamson (Potton & Burton)

 

Russell Clark Award for Illustration

Cook’s Cook: The Cook who Cooked for Captain Cook, written and illustrated by Gavin Bishop (Gecko Press)

Helen and the Go-Go Ninjas, illustrated by Ant Sang, written by Michael Bennett (Penguin Random House)

Oink, written and illustrated by David Elliot (Gecko Press)

Puffin the Architect, written and illustrated by Kimberly Andrews (Penguin Random House)

The Bomb, illustrated by Josh Morgan, written by Sacha Cotter (Huia Publishers)

                                                                               

Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for books written completely in te reo Māori

Ngā Whetū Matariki i Whānakotia, Miriama Kamo, illustrated by Zak Waipara, translated by Ngaere Roberts (Scholastic NZ)

Te Haka a Tānerore, Reina Kahukiwa, illustrated by Robyn Kahukiwa, translated by Kiwa Hammond (Mauri Tū)

Te Hīnga Ake a Māui i Te Ika Whenua, written and illustrated by Donovan Bixley, translated by Darryn Joseph (cultural adviser) and Keri Opai (Upstart Press)
                                                                               

Best First Book Award

Art-tastic, Sarah Pepperle (Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū)

Bullseye Bella, James T Guthrie (Scholastic NZ)

Children of the Furnace, Brin Murray (The CopyPress)

Slice of Heaven, Des O’Leary (Mākaro Press)

The Stolen Stars of Matariki, Miriama Kamo, illustrated by Zak Waipara (Scholastic NZ)

 

ENDS