For the first time a bilingual book has taken out the top prize at the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.
Te Wehenga: The Separation of Ranginui and Papatūānuku by Mat Tait (Ngāti Apa ki te rātō) was tonight presented with the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year Award, Aotearoa’s highest accolade in children’s literature, during a joyful ceremony held at Wellington’s Pipitea Marae.
Te Wehenga’s bold bilingual design presents the Māori creation pūrākau, which explains the beginning of the world, in a way that incorporates universal elements recognised across iwi. The poetic text, which tells the story simultaneously in te reo Māori and English, is integrated into the artwork, creating an interactive experience that immerses the reader in the darkness of the space between Papatūānuku and Ranginui.
“The way that te reo Māori and te reo Pākehā are brought together closely feels like a metaphorical representation of the increasing bilingualism in Aotearoa,” said convenor of judges Nicola Daly, who praised the book’s highly innovative approach to integrating both languages into the illustrations themselves.
Motueka-based Tait also collected the Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction for the book.
While Te Wehenga is uniquely New Zealand in flavour, many of our writers and illustrators look beyond Aotearoa’s borders, and this year’s category winners show our talented creatives can give a strong local voice to stories that also have relevance and resonance for an international audience.
That includes Duck Goes Meow by Juliette MacIver, illustrated by Carla Martell, which won the Picture Book Award. The judges said this universal story distills all the elements of a great picture book to create a joyous celebration of the unexpected and deliver a conclusion that surprises the animals in the story and readers alike.
Described as one of Aotearoa’s “most exceptional storytellers”, David Hill was awarded the Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction for Below, a white-knuckle survival story set in a catastrophic tunnel collapse. The judges appreciated the way it trusts its young readers to handle big environmental ideas and come to their own conclusions.
The Young Adult Fiction Award went to Iris and Me by Philippa Werry, an inventive and original novel written in verse. The judges praised the unique narrative voice, which illuminates the life of Robin Hyde, one of Aotearoa’s most significant writers.
A Portrait of Leonardo by Donovan Bixley won the Russell Clark Award for Illustration. The judges were enamored with this vibrant retelling of the life of Leonardo da Vinci, which they described as a fluent and delightful feast for the eyes. They appreciated the fresh and youthful approach to biography, with visual humour, puns, puzzles and technical agility, all underpinned by solid drawing skills.
The Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for Te Reo Māori was presented to Kua Whetūrangitia a Koro by Brianne Te Paa, illustrated by Story Hemi-Morehouse. The judges loved how the traditional Māori narrative was tailored to fit a new world and a new audience. They felt the significance of the story, its context, and the author’s use of te reo Māori placed the book in a stratosphere of its own.
Finally, the NZSA Best First Book Award went to The Lighthouse Princess by Susan Wardell, illustrated by Rose Northey. This book’s poetic writing and whimsical illustrations made it stand out, creating a sum that is greater than its parts. The judges felt this clever alchemy was all the more astounding given that it is both the writer’s and the illustrator’s first foray into publication.
The full list of winners for the 2023 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults:
Margaret Mahy Book of the Year Award $7500
Te Wehenga: The Separation of Ranginui and Papatūānuku, Mat Tait (Allen & Unwin)
Picture Book Award $7500
Duck Goes Meow, Juliette MacIver, illustrated by Carla Martell (Scholastic New Zealand)
Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction $7500
Below, David Hill (Penguin Random House NZ)
Young Adult Fiction Award $7500
Iris and Me, Philippa Werry (The Cuba Press)
Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction $7500
Te Wehenga: The Separation of Ranginui and Papatūānuku, Mat Tait (Allen & Unwin)
Russell Clark Award for Illustration $7500
A Portrait of Leonardo, Donovan Bixley (Upstart Press)
Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for te reo Māori $7500
Kua Whetūrangitia a Koro, Brianne Te Paa, illustrated by Story Hemi-Morehouse (Huia Publishers)
NZSA Best First Book Award $2500
The Lighthouse Princess, Susan Wardell, illustrated by Rose Northey (Penguin Random House NZ)
A vital aspect of the Awards is encouraging a love of reading in New Zealand’s tamariki and rangitahi by building connections between books and young people. This year primary, intermediate and secondary schools from across the motu were recruited to offer feedback to the judges on the titles submitted for the awards. Schools also had the opportunity to join a Back-a-Book challenge, with over 40 signing up to receive a copy of a finalist title for which they then created a promotional trailer.
In addition, the finalists entertained hundreds of Christchurch and Wellington school children at Books Alive events in the immediate leadup to the ceremony. In Ōtautahi on 4 August, WORD Christchurch hosted a selection of finalist authors in panel discussions for primary and intermediate schools at Christ’s College auditorium. And earlier today Wellington school students converged on the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, where the talented team at Wellington City Libraries programmed over 20 finalists in a varied schedule that included behind-the-book talks, workshops on writing and illustration, lively panel discussions, and live drawing sessions.
The New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults are made possible through the generosity, commitment and vision of funders and partners: Creative New Zealand, HELL Pizza, the Wright Family Foundation, LIANZA Te Rau Herenga o Aotearoa, Wellington City Council, New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa, the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, and Nielsen BookData. The Awards are administered by the New Zealand Book Awards Trust Te Ohu Tiaki i Te Rau Hiringa.
Highly personal memoir, probing political treatise and gut-punching poetry collections sit alongside trailblazing fiction and books exploring our whenua, moana, artists and entertainers in the longlists for the 2023 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.
I can’t look past Blue Blood by Andrea Vance, which became my first ever #1 bestseller. Piecing together the inside story of the National Party’s chaotic and embarrassing recent years in opposition, this book made me gasp and cackle. To echo John Key, ‘at the end of the day’ it’s just a bloody good read.
Nicola Legat, Publishers Massey University Press and Te Papa Press
Robin White Something Is Happening Here, edited by Sarah Farrar, Nina Tonga and Jill Trevelyan
My book of the year is The Axeman’s Carnival by Catherine Chidgey. It was so original and clever. I admire the imagination of a writer who can think of using a magpie as the narrator. The story was dark, yes, but also very funny. And the husband was not a total monster which would have been too easy, and too lazy. And what a piece of work the sister was. OMG. I also learned a lot about magpies. Great cover too, excellent cover.
In terms of OUP’s Publishing Picks for 2022, we’re extremely proud of all our publications and would love to pick each one for various reasons. But to select two, we’d love to highlight Notes on Womanhood by Sarah Jane Barnett and Fossil Treasures of Foulden Maar: A window into Miocene Zealandia by Daphne Lee, Uwe Kaulfuss and John Conran. We’ve picked Notes on Womanhood as it’s such a beautifully-written and powerful memoir / coming-of-middle-age story, where Sarah starts an open conversation about what the concept of womanhood means to her. It’s also the first book in our new KA HAEA TE ATA series (KA HAEA TE ATA: books that cast light on issues of importance in Aotearoa today). We pick Fossil Treasures of Foulden Maar because of it’s amazing local, national and international significance and because of its beautiful illustrations. This book is a fantastic tribute to years of focused research at the Foulden Maar paleontological site and tells an amazing story of discovery and preservation. I’ve attached the cover image files for both if you’d like to use.
Craig Gamble, Publishing Manager Te Herenga Waka University Press 
Among the Oratia offspring this year, one that really deserves recognition is Richard Wolfe’s Footprints on the Land: How Humans Changed New Zealand. As we increasingly experience the impacts of climate change and environmental depredation, it’s instructive to explore what got us to this point. Richard does this in a brilliant summary that’s enlivened by his curatorial selection of artwork. 
We’re impressed with Ariana Tikao’s Mokorua – ngā kōrero mō tōku moko kauae – my story of moko kauae which is a multi-layered poem of a book, published by AUP. Ka rawe!
For the kids, we think every book the team at Huia puts out is beyond amazing and [heart emoji] Potton and Burton’s books by Ned Barraud. Among Puffins, there are three little words for one big book we love.: Roar, Squeak, Purr – Paula Green’s epic anthology of animal poems adorably illustrated by Jenny Cooper. Little Tales of Hedgehog and Goat is gentle, poetic and characterful, with each chapter a perfect bite of story to read at bedtime – and Have You Seen Tomorrow just makes you smile. Kyle’s spare, careful writing at its best, complemented by Laura Bee’s delicately delightful illustrations.
We’ve been absolutely delighted at the response to Monty Soutar’s debut novel, the first in a trilogy: Kāwai – For such a time as this. Number one on the NZ fiction bestseller list for 12 weeks straight and counting, its success indicates a clear appetite for Māori stories written by Māori writers.
The biggest highlight of my year has to be publishing Ruby Tui’s memoir Straight Up. As everyone now knows, Ruby is an absolutely extraordinary person – on and off the rugby field – and the response to her book has also been nothing short of extraordinary. I’ve never seen anything like it before. People have taken her story and her messages to heart and the book inspires people of all kinds. The book has sold out numerous times since the Black Ferns won the Rugby World Cup and we have been reprinting constantly in New Zealand to try and keep up with demand. It’s exceptional. I’m so delighted for Ruby and for the fact that the memoir of a woman sports star can sell so strongly here. It feels like just the beginning of a new way for books to be in this country.
The book that tugged on my heartstrings this year is I Am Autistic, by a fantastic young writer and illustrator, Chanelle Moriah. The book has sold incredibly well, including selling U.S. rights to it. I also had a great time publishing Chris Finlayson’s memoir, Yes, Minister. He’s a very funny man.
Hard to narrow it down to just two highlights from 2022; Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez is the story of a feisty whip smart young Puerto Rican woman and her emotionally and politically complicated family and was a revelation from start to finish. I love everything Maggie O’Farrell writes, and The Marriage Portrait was no exception; she is absolutely at the top of her game and this beautifully written page turning novel about Lucrezia de Medici is on all the 2022 Must Read lists with good reason.
The top picks for 2022 from Mila’s Books are:
The Lovelock Version meets Moby Dick meets Treasure Island
A Month at the Back of My Brain: A third memoir by Kevin Ireland
From another publisher:
It was a joy for PANZ to be back at the Frankfurt Book Fair last week. For obvious reasons we haven’t been able to host a collective stand since 2019 but this year we made our presence felt with a vibrant, stunning stand which provided a beautiful backdrop for some very fine books from Aotearoa New Zealand.
We received a very warm welcome from the book fair team and were thrilled to be gifted a certificate and some delicious bubbles and chocolates to acknowledge 25 years of the PANZ collective stand at Frankfurt. We’d also like to give a shout out to our trailblazing colleague, Dame Wendy Pye who led the way and has been attending Frankfurt with Sunshine Books for 40 years.
It was also a delight to reconnect with old friends – particularly Joy Reifgens and Christiane and Ann-Sophie Geipert-Arheilger our amazing stand helpers, and to make some new friends including Head of Mission at the NZ Embassy in Germany, Craig Hawke and Marina Wilmerstadt from Education NZ who both came along to our stand party. And on the party, thanks go to the NZ Embassy team for their support in providing some much enjoyed NZ wine and special thanks to Cornelia Loser who helped to ensure that it reached the stand at just the right time.
