August 10
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.
ENDS
A photo of Mat Tait is attached.
Imagery is available via Dropbox here
Website: www.nzbookawards.nz/new-zealand-book-awards-for-children-and-young-adults/
The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are a unique celebration of the contribution New Zealand’s children’s authors and illustrators make to building national identity and cultural heritage. Awards are made in seven categories: Picture Book, Junior Fiction (the Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award), Young Adult Fiction, Non-Fiction (the Elsie Locke Award), Illustration (the Russell Clark Award), te reo Māori (the Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award) and Best First Book (The NZSA Award). The main category awards carry prize money of $7,500 and the Best First Book winner receives $2,500. The overall prize, the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year Award, carries a further prize of $7,500.
The formidable task of choosing the winners was met by this year’s experienced judging panel: Nicola Daly (convenor) , an Associate Professor at the University of Waikato, where she is codirector of the Waikato Picturebook Research Unit and teaches courses in children’s literature; Daniel Buchanan, who has worked in bookstores in Ōtepoti for 18 years; Feana Tu‘akoi, a Kirikiriroa-based writer; Maia Bennett (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Tūwharetoa), a Wānaka secondary school and public librarian ; and Ruth Paul, an award-winning Wellington writer and illustrator of children’s picture books
They were joined by a separate panel specially appointed to judge te reo Māori entries: Ruki Tobin (convenor) (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Whātua), Kaihautū / Director Ratonga Māori at Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, National Library of New Zealand; Mihi Te Rina Henare (Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Porou, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui), the Kaitiaki Pukapuka and Kairangahau Māori at Te Wānanga Takiura o ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa; and Te Wairere Ngaia (Waikato-Maniapoto, Taranaki, Te Ātiawa, Ngāruahinerangi, Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Rongomai, Ngāti Tarāwhai, Ngāti Whakaue), a Rotorua-based kaiako of te reo Māori, and a qualified translator.
The schools that took provided feedback to the 2023 judges were: Aotea College (Porirua), Arahoe School (Auckland), Ashburton Intermediate, Central School Te Kura Waenga o Ngāmotu (New Plymouth), Grey Lynn School (Auckland), Te Kura o Te Tauawa Halswell School (Christchurch), Hunterville School, Liston College (Auckland), Manchester Street School (Feilding), Palmerston North Intermediate Normal School, Remarkables Primary School (Queenstown), Te Kura o Tawatawa Ridgway School (Wellington), Rototuna High Schools (Hamilton), Seatoun School (Wellington), and South Wellington Intermediate.
The awards are governed by the New Zealand Book Awards Trust Te Ohu Tiaki i Te Rau Hiringa (a registered charity). Current members of the Trust are Nicola Legat (chair), Rachael King, Richard Pamatatau, Melinda Szymanik, Jenna Todd, Laura Caygill, Claire Murdoch and Garth Biggs. The Trust also governs the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards and Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day. nzbookawards.nz
Creative New Zealand has been a sustaining partner of New Zealand’s book awards for decades. The national arts development agency of the New Zealand government encourages, promotes and supports the arts in New Zealand for the benefit of all New Zealanders through funding, capability building, an international programme, and advocacy. 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 supports organisations which work to increase the readership and sales of New Zealand literature at home and internationally. creativenz.govt.nz
HELL Pizza was established in 1996 and now has 77 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 associated 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 kids’ pizza once they have read seven books and had their achievement approved by a local librarian or teacher. In 2022, 831 schools and public libraries around New Zealand took part and more than 310,000 pizza wheels were distributed, which means that some 2.1 million books were read by Kiwi kids as a result. hellpizza.nz
The Wright Family Foundation’s goal of ‘growing the good’ in New Zealand Aotearoa means literacy features prominently in its aspirations for the country’s youth. Founder and CEO Chloe Wright says they are thrilled to participate in the mahi of the New Zealand Books Awards for Children and Young Adults, believing that reading creates imagination, ultimately leading to the emergence of writers. “Books, whether read or written, bring centuries of people together. Through the written word we gain tolerance and understanding, enabling us to share in the cultures, histories, myths, and magical spaces in time,” she says. The Foundation also supports Kids’ Lit Quiz and the New Zealand Spelling Bee. wrightfamilyfoundation.org.nz
LIANZA Te Rau Herenga o Aotearoa, 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. 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. lianza.org.nz
Wellington City Council’s new Arts Strategy Te Aho Tini is about artists and writers being central to Wellington City, working on some of the city’s biggest challenges and generating connected, inclusive communities. Te Aho Tini seeks to support and celebrate writing and illustration within future careers. wellington.govt.nz
The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (NZSA) was established in 1934 as the New Zealand PEN Centre and remains the principal organisation for writers in Aotearoa today. Now representing over 1,800 writers, NZSA advocates for authors’ rights and incomes, acts as a communications hub, administers prizes and awards, and runs a raft of digital and in-person professional development programmes and assessment and mentoring opportunities that support writers at all stages of their writing journeys. The Society works closely with industry partners and collaborates widely across the sector. NZSA is a non-profit Incorporated Society, governed by a Board, with regional branches and a national office. authors.org.nz
The National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa helps all New Zealanders access and use the collective knowledge of the nation. It’s their job to collect, connect, and co-create knowledge to power Aotearoa. The National Library has long supported literacy and learning, and recent reading initiatives related to its ‘Growing a Nation of Readers’ strategy include Communities of Readers and Te Awhi Rito Reading Ambassador. Librarian Alan Dingley has been appointed as the second Te Awhi Rito Reading Ambassador in 2023. Alan advocates for and champions the importance of reading in the lives of young New Zealanders, their whānau and communities. In 2023 The National Library is supporting the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults by hosting its Books Alive events in the multipurpose spaces of the Tiakiwai Conference Centre facility on the Wellington premises. natlib.govt.nz/
Nielsen BookData provides a range of services to the book industry internationally, aiding the discovery and purchase, distribution and sales measurement of books. The company employs around 100 staff and has offices in the UK, Australia, Brazil, India, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Mexico, Spain, Poland and the UAE. Nielsen BookData is wholly owned by NielsenIQ. nielsenbook.co.nz
