News Archive

The BPANZ Review Awards recognise the vital importance of articulate, responsible, informed criticism in maintaining a healthy literary culture.

The judges this year were writer, critic and former BPANZ Review Awards winner, David Eggleton, and publisher, Elizabeth Caffin.

Charlotte Grimshaw won the BPANZ Reviewer of the Year award ahead of finalists, fellow New Zealand Listener writer’s Jolisa Gracewood and Paula Morris.

The judges said, Charlotte Grimshaw reviews with a distinctive and welcome rigour.

‘She refuses to condescend to either author or reader, and we were impressed by her understanding that good fiction always worries away at serious moral issues. In sum, she demonstrates the analytical ability to carefully unpack a book, to show us its heart – or lack of it.’

A special acknowledgment was given to Iain Sharp’s, ‘cleverly-worded, knowledgeable and consistently emotionally-engaged’ sequences of short writing in the Sunday Star-Times. And a further special acknowledgment for the best long review was given to Jolisa Gracewood’s ‘sympathetic treatment of Elizabeth Knox’s complex novel, Dreamquake’.

The BPANZ Reviewer of the Year receives a $1,000 prize.

The overall winner of the BPANZ Best Review Page or Programme Award goes to the New Zealand Listener.

The judges said they were especially impressed by the New Zealand Listener for its regular eight pages of quality reviewing, always artfully arranged and carefully selected so as to establish a sense of, not just what issues are important in a rapidly evolving cultural landscape, but also to invite the reader’s involvement.

‘In the New Zealand Listener, books matter and are seen to matter.’

Special acknowledgment went to The Sunday Star-Times ‘for the calibre of its reviewers and for the stylish layout of the particular book pages submitted, calculated to draw the mainstream browser in.’

Jerry Rickman, Chair of state-owned enterprise Learning Media Limited, yesterday announced the resignation of its Chief Executive, Gillian Candler.

In doing so, and on behalf of the company’s board, he paid tribute to the significant contribution that Gillian Candler has made to the company during her employment with it, which has included almost six years as Chief Executive.

“Gillian brought a host of skills and attributes to her work, not the least of which has been her strong commitment to enabling teachers and students, in New Zealand and internationally, to achieve. Indeed, it is Gillian’s love of education and working directly with teachers, and on developing innovative resources, that has prompted her decision to shift to the new role of educational consultant and writer.

“She does so with the Board’s sincere appreciation for her principled leadership, and our very best wishes for the future,” concluded Jerry Rickman.

Gillian Candler will leave her current position in November 2008, by which time the Board expects to have appointed a replacement.

Gillian has been an active and supportive BPANZ Councillor and we wish her well. BPANZ President Tony Fisk has this to say:

“Gillian’s contribution to the BPANZ council has been tremendous. A councillor since 2006, Gillian’s knowledge and experience in the areas of educational and digital publishing both in terms of domestic and international sales has been invaluable. Her solid good sense and business acumen have also been a great asset to the council.

On behalf of all members we wish her every success and happiness in her new life and thank her for her unselfish contribution to BPANZ.”

 Allen & Unwin Book Publishers are thrilled to announce the appointment of their first New Zealand-based commissioning editor.  Nicola McCloy, previously of Random House New Zealand, joins the Allen & Unwin New Zealand team this week in the newly created role. Nicola brings with her experience not only as an editor but also as an author. She has written several books including the bestselling Whykickamoocow.

The new list will focus primarily on high quality non-fiction titles, the first of which will be published in 2009.

 Melanie Laville-Moore, New Zealand Manager for Allen & Unwin said “At Allen & Unwin we have always been blessed with an amazing array of titles and authors courtesy of our Australian colleagues – many of which have performed strongly in the New Zealand market. We’ve been given the chance to build upon this at a local level, a prospect that the entire team is hugely excited by. Allen & Unwin remains a fiercely independent publisher and this is one of the key qualities that we’ll be hoping to see shine through when our first books make it onto the shelves next year.”

At a meeting in Paris on Wednesday, the Jury of World Book Capital, which includes IPA (publishers), IBF (booksellers), IFLA (librarians), and UNESCO, appointed Ljubljana (Slovenia) as World Book Capital 2010 for the quality of its application, as well as for its diverse and complete programme, widely and enthusiastically supported by all players involved in the book industry.

The call for nominations for World Book Capital 2011 will be circulated later this year. Due a rotation system put in place 2 years ago, cities from Europe and North America will be excluded from the next call for nominations (given Ljubljana’s appointment for 2010). Cities from this part of the world will be able to apply in two years time for World Book Capital 2012.

BPANZ understands that Wellington put forward a very impressive bid for the event and the event had full support of the mayor and council so the result is disappointing. Let’s hope there’s a bid from NZ for 2011.

Canterbury University Press (CUP) contract editor and designer Rachel
Scott has been appointed Publisher for the press.

Rachel has been acting publisher for the past three months following
the sudden death of CUP Managing Editor Richard King on 5 March this
year.

Rachel brings 17 years experience in the book industry to her new
role, including 12 years as a freelance editor. In recent years she has
worked exclusively for CUP, and for Random House and Penguin as a fiction
editor.

The on-again, off-again deal between A&R Whitcoulls and Borders’ US parent has finally gone through.

The deal, just announced, puts a A$110 million price tag on the purchase, A$95 million of which is in up-front cash. A further A$15 million will be payable depending on performance of the unit. Included in the deal is an agreement for A&R Whitcoulls to license the Borders brand.

A&R Whitcoulls Group Managing Director, Ian Draper, says that the Borders assets are complementary to his company’s existing holdings.

“Borders will bring a new dimension to our retail offerings,” he says. “The customer-experience based model invites shoppers to browse with a vast range of books, music, movies and cafes in Borders stores. This model has proven popular in the local market and will complement our existing presence by targeting a different demographic through the premium format and vast selection of products.”

Managing Director of Borders Asia Pacific, John Campradt, will continue to serve in his current role managing the Borders business.

I’m attaching the results of the School Book Spending Survey which has recently been completed. It covers the period from 1989-2007 making it a very valuable series of data. Happily, the survey shows rises in book spending for both primary and secondary schools. You can download a copy of the survey from our Research page (PDF format, 100KB).

Our special thanks to Bronwen Nicholson of Pearson Education and Mark Sayes from ESA Publications for the time they have spent on this project on behalf of BPANZ and also to CLL for funding assistance.

A proposal to establish the New Zealand Digital Book Centre forms the centrepiece of a submission by the Book Publishers Association (BPANZ) to the government’s Draft Digital Strategy 2.0.

The Centre will play a key role in helping New Zealand publishers develop and sell new products based on digital content. BPANZ’s submission aims to ensure that New Zealand’s local publishing community doesn’t get left behind as technology changes the way books are produced and consumed.

“The best way to do this is through collaboration,” says Martin Taylor of Addenda Publishing, one of the BPANZ Council members involved in the submission.

The Centre will allow local firms to benefit from skills and technology transfer, to network and collaborate, and to gain early access to important technology infrastructure that would be out-of-reach for most individual firms.

“Kiwi book publishers have already shown they can overcome size and distance limitations by working together. Initiatives such as the BPANZ-led shared stands at Frankfurt and other book fairs have helped create a multimillion dollar export industry that even small publishers can access.”

BPANZ also announced it will establish a Digital Publishing Action Group to spearhead collaboration across industry and government groups.

“This move will ensure our members are central players in the emerging digital publishing market, both within New Zealand and internationally,” says BPANZ President Tony Fisk. “We recognise that it’s important for book publishers to be part of the wider conversation as new opportunities and business models open up.”

This will include development of innovative digital exports and will build on existing initiatives already underway.

“Books are our most ‘exportable’ content. They have been the number one New Zealand publishing export and there’s every reason to expect that digitisation will increase that market significantly,” says Fisk.

The submission’s other proposals include opportunities to seed key markets with digital content to speed its adoption in New Zealand. The plan calls for government-led initiatives that could encourage the purchase and use of digital content in the education sector and provision of some government information. The National Library’s Delivering Digital New Zealand project is another government-led area in which a closer working relationship could assist capacity-building for the commercial publishing sector.

Joy Cowley has won the New Zealand Post Book of the Year prize for her novel, Snake and Lizard. The delightful tale of give-and-take friendship was illustrated by internationally renowned Christchurch illustrator, Gavin Bishop.New Zealand Post Book Awards 2008 judges’ convenor, Dylan Owen says Snake And Lizard brings together the best of New Zealand writing and illustration that deserves a readership beyond its intended audience.

‘Cowley’s book impressed the judges with its assured writing, humour and gentle, unforced observations on the nature of friendship. Both witty and wise these timeless stories are an utter joy. They make you laugh, sigh and read all over again.’

The judging panel comprising Mr Owen, who is national advisor for the National Library’s schools collection, writer and illustrator, Fifi Colston and award-winning novelist, Vince Ford also noted that complementing the writing were the book’s superb production values.

The award was presented to Joy Cowley’s husband, Terry Coles in Mrs Cowley’s absence, and Gavin Bishop at the Wellington Town Hall today by the Prime Minister, Helen Clark. Joy Cowley was unable to attend the awards because of a long-standing engagement to present writing workshops for the Ministry of Education in Singapore.She said in a speech read by her husband that she remembered a time when writing for children was considered to be the occupation of people who had failed at adult writing.

‘The New Zealand Post Book Awards… have given children’s literature in this country rightful status. Clearly this is good for the authors of children’s books; but I believe that the greater benefit goes to the children of Aotearoa. The award validates them as readers who have their own authority and who are deserving of standards of excellence. From this compulsory distance I send my sincere thanks, New Zealand Post, on the behalf of our beautiful tamariki.’

The category winners and honour awards recipients in the New Zealand Post Book Awards 2008 are:

Picture Book
Tahi – One Lucky Kiwi by Melanie Drewery, illustrated by Ali Teo & John O’Reilly (Random House New Zealand)   

Honour Award: To The Harbour written and illustrated by Stanley Palmer (Lopdell House Gallery)

Non Fiction
Which New Zealand Spider? By Andrew Crowe. (Penguin New Zealand)

Honour Award: Reaching The Summit by Alexa Johnston with David Larsen (Penguin New Zealand)

Junior Fiction and New Zealand Post Book of the Year
Snake and Lizard by Joy Cowley, illustrated by Gavin Bishop. (Gecko Press)

Young Adult
Salt by Maurice Gee. (Penguin New Zealand)

Honour Award: The Sea-Wreck Stranger by Anna Mackenzie (Longacre Press)

Best First Book Award
Out of The Egg written and illustrated by Tina Matthews. (Walker Books)

Children’s Choice Award

The King’s Bubbles by Ruth Paul (Scholastic)

The winner of each category was awarded with $7,500.  The winner of the New Zealand Post Book of the Year Award takes home an extra $7,500.  The winner of the Best First Book and the Children’s Choice Award receive prize money of $2,000 each.  The honour awards were presented in three categories this year.  These awards are discretionary and are awarded in recognition of particular features in each book.  For the first time this year, all honour award recipients received a monetary award of $500.

BPANZ congratulates all the publishers listed for their winning titles and especially Julia Marshall of Gecko Press, publisher of Snake and Lizard.

 The BPANZ Book Design Awards 2008 shortlist was announced today, with a list dominated by beautiful books with eco-friendly themes and a social conscience.

With subjects ranging from recycling to organic farming, Bill Hammond’s art to Cook Islands tivaevae quilting, the list represents the best in book design for books released in 2007. Dear to Me is also included¸ an anthology that features well-known New Zealanders’ favourite poems, and gives all royalties from sales to Amnesty International.

The judges had a tough time narrowing the field to just twelve titles, and this was a process not without conflict, with a few books’ inclusion splitting the team of three judges led by New Zealand Listener’s Guy Somerset. They were looking for “the complete package: the book whose insides matched their outside for the thought and care that had gone into them, striving for something a little bit different, or a little bit better”.

A new player in the Book Design Awards, Scholastic’s Vasanti Unka, is well-represented with two shortlisted books, What is a Bird? and The Bean’s Story, which showcases her own hand-quilting in every illustration. 

Also included in the final list are seasoned designers such as Robbie Burton from Craig Potton Publishing, Sarah Maxey for Victoria University Press, and well-known artist and designer Aaron Beehre for Christchurch Art Gallery.

The competition is judged in four categories, including Non-Illustrated, Illustrated, Educational and Children’s books, with the winners being announced at the Booksellers’ NZ Industry Awards Dinner in late July. There are also highly-coveted Best Cover and Best Book winners.

The Awards help promote excellence in, and provide recognition for, the best book design in New Zealand, a worthy cause for an oft-overlooked arm of the New Zealand design world.

The Book Publishers Association of New Zealand is proud to be principle sponsor of the awards. The BPANZ President Tony Fisk says “The books shortlisted for this year’s awards exemplify the very best of book design and it is once again gratifying that the quality of work produced in New Zealand competes favourably with that produced anywhere else in the world.”

BPANZ Book Design Awards 2008 SHORTLIST