8 March 2023
Bestselling books by both debut writers and established literary luminaries feature among the 16 finalists in the 2023 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards announced today.
The shortlist – selected from a longlist of 44 books by four panels of specialist judges (for fiction, poetry, illustrated non-fiction and general non-fiction) – offers entertaining and enriching reading experiences that traverse Aotearoa’s cultural and physical landscapes, revealing relationships and deepening our understanding of the world.
Stephanie Johnson, convenor of judges for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction, says the finalists in this category vividly demonstrate the excellent quality of a wide variety of work produced in the last year.
“Two stellar historical novels rival for their portrayal of lost worlds, one set in eighteenth-century Aotearoa, the other on a nineteenth-century sub-Antarctic island. And in the other two finalists, contemporary New Zealand, urban and rural, is vividly and memorably evoked in tightly written crime and through the eyes of a wild but insightful bird.”
British writer, publisher and host of the books podcast Backlisted, John Mitchinson, will assist the three New Zealand judges to select the fiction winner.
Diane Brown, convenor of judges for the Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry, says the category finalists all portray a precarious world where nothing can be taken for granted.
“The turbulent events of the last few years are reflected in the four finalists’ collections, with poets interrogating language, racism, sexism, climate change and systems. These tensions are often reflected in poetic forms, long lines with fractured spaces dismantling the barrier between prose and poetry. In particular, we were drawn to collections that posited urgent and challenging questions which aroused imagination and engagement, and demanded we listen.”
Jared Davidson, convenor of judges for the Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction, says the innovative design and compelling storytelling found in this year’s shortlist have redefined what an illustrated non-fiction work can be.
“Zine-like textures on uncoated stock, elegant typography across space and time, treasure-troves of littoral illustrations and taonga tuku iho that give voice to their travels are signs of a confident moment in book production. Nothing here is pretty-for-pretty’s sake: visual excellence amplifies the immensely relevant and engaging content of these original books.”
Anna Rawhiti-Connell, convenor of judges for the General Non-Fiction Award, says the diversity of form in the shortlist showcases the breadth of non-fiction writing in New Zealand, and a mastery of craft.
“Each finalist offers an evolution and an innovation – whether it be in form and style, command of language and story-telling or in what they contribute to our shared knowledge and understanding of ourselves and each other. They are all books people should read, and importantly, they are books that fulfil the promise of reward for doing so.”
The 2023 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards shortlisted titles are:
*represents debut authors
Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction
Better the Blood by Michael Bennett (Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Whakaue) (Simon & Schuster)
Kāwai: For Such a Time as This by Monty Soutar (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, Ngāti Kahungunu) (Bateman Books)
Mrs Jewell and the Wreck of the General Grant by Cristina Sanders (The Cuba Press)
The Axeman’s Carnival by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press)
Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry
Always Italicise: How to Write While Colonised by Alice Te Punga Somerville (Te Āti Awa, Taranaki) (Auckland University Press)
People Person by Joanna Cho (Te Herenga Waka University Press)*
Sedition by Anahera Maire Gildea (Ngāti Tukorehe) (Taraheke | Bush Lawyer)*
We’re All Made of Lightning by Khadro Mohamed (We Are Babies Press, Tender Press)*
Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction
Jumping Sundays: The Rise and Fall of the Counterculture in Aotearoa New Zealand by Nick Bollinger (Auckland University Press)
Robin White: Something is Happening Here edited by Sarah Farrar, Jill Trevelyan and Nina Tonga (Te Papa Press and Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki)
Secrets of the Sea: The Story of New Zealand’s Native Sea Creatures by Robert Vennell (HarperCollins)
Te Motunui Epa by Rachel Buchanan (Taranaki, Te Ātiawa) (Bridget Williams Books)
General Non-Fiction Award
A Fire in the Belly of Hineāmaru: A Collection of Narratives about Te Tai Tokerau Tūpuna by Melinda Webber (Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Hau, Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whakaue) and Te Kapua O’Connor (Ngāti Kurī, Pohūtiare) (Auckland University Press)
Downfall: The Destruction of Charles Mackay by Paul Diamond (Ngāti Hauā, Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi) (Massey University Press)
Grand: Becoming my Mother’s Daughter by Noelle McCarthy (Penguin, Penguin Random House)*
The English Text of the Treaty of Waitangi by Ned Fletcher (Bridget Williams Books)*
New Zealand Book Awards Trust Te Ohu Tiaki i Te Rau Hiringa spokesperson Jenna Todd says this year’s shortlist is a treasure trove to celebrate.
“There is not one dominating publisher this year, with a range of 12 publishers shortlisted across 16 titles.
“Many of these books, across all categories, delve deeply into strong personal narratives. They offer tales of tension, distrust and revenge, treating readers to vivid explorations of aspects of Aotearoa’s history.
“Subjects and characters are treated with the utmost of care, critical thought, and examination.
“This group of writers, both venerated and emerging, steers you towards laughter, wonder and new knowledge.”
The 2023 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards’ winners, including four Best First Book Awards recipients which are this year supported by the Mātātuhi Foundation, will be announced at a public ceremony on 17 May during the 2023 Auckland Writers Festival.
The winner of the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction will receive $64,000 in 2023 and each of the other main category prizes will earn their winners $12,000 (up from $10,000 in recent years). Each of the Best First Book winners, for fiction, poetry, general non-fiction and illustrated non-fiction, will be awarded $3000 (up from $2500).
The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are supported by Ockham Residential, Creative New Zealand, Jann Medlicott and the Acorn Foundation, Mary and Peter Biggs CNZM, Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand, the Mātātuhi Foundation, and the Auckland Writers Festival.
To find out more about the shortlisted titles go to https://www.nzbookawards.nz/new-zealand-book-awards/2023-awards/shortlist/
ENDS
Editor’s Notes:
In order to support the generosity of the funders associated with these awards, please use the full and correct names for each category prize, as shown in the copy above and below, and for the overall awards.
This year’s Ockham New Zealand Book Awards judges are: bestselling author, critic and creative writing teacher Stephanie Johnson (convenor); editor and literature assessor John Huria (Ngāi Tahu, Muaūpoko, Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō, Ngāti Rangi); and Rotorua bookseller Jemma Morrison (Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction); Dunedin poet, author and creative writing tutor Diane Brown (convenor); poet and kaiako Serie Barford; and Wellington poet and Grimshaw-Sargeson Fellow Gregory Kan (Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry); award-winning writer, historian and archivist Jared Davidson (convenor); writer and curator Dr Anna-Marie White (Te Ātiawa); and veteran television producer Taualeo’o Stephen Stehlin MNZM (Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction); writer and award-winning columnist Anna Rawhiti-Connell (convenor); prize-winning author, academic and researcher Alison Jones; and historian Professor Te Maire Tau (Ūpoko of Ngāi Tūāhuriri, a hapu of Ngāi Tahu) (General Non-Fiction Award).
International Fiction judge John Mitchinson (UK) is a writer and publisher, the co-founder of Unbound, the crowdfunding platform dedicated to books, and co-host of Backlisted, one of the world’s most popular book podcasts. Before that he helped create the BBC TV show QI. He grew up in New Zealand and has keen interest in its arts and culture.
The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are the country’s premier literary honours for books written by New Zealanders. First established in 1968 as the Wattie Book Awards (later the Goodman Fielder Wattie Book Awards), they have also been known as the Montana New Zealand Book Awards and the New Zealand Post Book Awards. Awards are given for Fiction (the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction), Poetry (the Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry) Illustrated Non-Fiction (the Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction) and General Non-Fiction. There are also four Best First Book Awards for first-time authors and, at the judges’ discretion, Te Mūrau o te Tuhi, a Māori Language Award. 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, Rachael King, Richard Pamatatau, Garth Biggs, Jenna Todd, Laura Caygill, Claire Murdoch and Melinda Szymanik. The Trust also governs the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults and Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day.
Ockham Residential is Auckland’s most thoughtful developer. Through creating elegant and enduring buildings that are well-loved by those who make them home, Ockham hopes to enhance Auckland – and to contribute to its many communities. Founded in 2009 by Mark Todd and Benjamin Preston, Ockham supports a number of organisations in arts, science and education. These include the Ockham Collective, their creative and educational charity, the acclaimed BWB Texts series, the People’s Choice Award in New Zealand Geographic’s Photographer of the Year Award, and Ponsonby’s Objectspace gallery. But its principal sponsorship of the New Zealand Book Awards, a relationship now in its ninth year, is perhaps Ockham’s most visible contribution. Says Mark Todd: “Our communities would be drab, grey and much poorer places without art, without words, without science – without critical thought. That’s why our partnership with the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards means the world to us.”
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.
The Acorn Foundation is a community foundation based in the Western Bay of Plenty, which encourages people to leave a gift in their wills and/or their lifetimes to support their local community forever. Donations are pooled and invested, and the investment income is used to make donations to local charities, in accordance with the donors’ wishes. The capital remains intact. Since it was established in 2003, Acorn has distributed over $13 million. Donors may choose which organisations are to benefit each year, or they may decide to leave it to the trustees’ discretion. Community foundations are the fastest growing form of philanthropy worldwide, and there are now 17 throughout New Zealand, with more in the early stages. The Prize for Fiction has been provided through the generosity of one of the Foundation’s donors, Jann Medlicott, and will be awarded to the top fiction work each year, in perpetuity. Its base figure of $50,000 in 2016 is adjusted each year, to reflect wage inflation.
Mary and Peter Biggs CNZM are long-time arts advocates and patrons – particularly of literature, theatre and music. They have funded the Biggs Family Prize in Poetry at Victoria University of Wellington’s International Institute of Modern Letters since 2006, along with the Alex Scobie Research Prize in Classical Studies. They have been consistent supporters of the International Festival the of the Arts, the Auckland Writers Festival, Wellington’s Circa Theatre, the New Zealand Arts Foundation, Featherston Booktown, Read NZ Te Pou Muramura, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Featherston Sculpture Trust and the Wairarapa’s Kokomai Arts Festival. Peter was Chair of Creative New Zealand from 1999 to 2006. He led the Cultural Philanthropy Taskforce in 2010 and the New Zealand Professional Orchestra Sector Review in 2012. Peter is Chief Executive of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. He was appointed a Companion of New Zealand Order of Merit for arts governance and philanthropy in 2013. Mary is the Operations Manager for Featherston Booktown Karukatea. She has driven the Festival’s success and growth, and it is now regarded as one of the leading cultural events in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Founded in 1921, Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand is the membership association for bookshops in New Zealand. This national not-for-profit trade organisation works to help independently owned and chain bookstores to grow and succeed. Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand provides education, information, business products, and services; creates relevant programmes; and engages in public policy and industry advocacy. The association is governed by a volunteer board of booksellers.
The Mātātuhi Foundation was established in 2018 by the Auckland Writers Festival to support the growth and development of New Zealand’s literary landscape. To achieve its goal the Foundation holds a biannual grants round, inviting submissions from projects that support and promote the work of New Zealand writers and/or increase the levels of literacy, engagement, or appreciation for New Zealand literature amongst New Zealand readers.
For 23 years, the Auckland Writers Festival | Waituhi o Tāmaki has been a champion of thought leadership, literary engagement and community building. It is New Zealand’s premier celebration of books and ideas, with a record annual attendance of 83,000. The Festival offers a six-day programme of discussions, conversations, readings, debates and performances – including free and family events – with around 200 of the world’s best writers and thinkers from Aotearoa and abroad. This year’s Festival takes place from 16 – 21 May 2023.
