NZHA are excited to announce the shortlist for our two book prizes, the Erik Olssen Prize for the best first book and the W.H. Oliver Prize for the best book in New Zealand history. Winners will be announced at the NZHA Conference in November.

Erik Olssen first book prize

The NZHA established the First Book Prize in 2017. It was named in 2019 in honour of Emeritus Professor Erik Olssen, University of Otago, a distinguished historian, inspirational supervisor of postgraduate students and of innovative research, and a champion of New Zealand history. The prize aims to acknowledge early career and emerging historians who have published their first book. Titles nominated must be the first book by the authors. Past Winners.

2025 Short List

·        Ryan Bodman, Rugby League in New Zealand: A People’s History (BWB: 2023)

·        Katie Cooper, Rēwena and Rabbit Stew: The Rural Kitchen in Aotearoa, 1800—1940 (AUP, 2024)

W.H. Oliver prize for the best book in New Zealand history

NZHA established the W.H. Oliver Prize in 2015, named after New Zealand historian and poet William Hosking (Bill) Oliver (1925-2015). It is awarded biennially for the best book on any aspect of New Zealand history published between 1 April and 31 March of the relevant two years. Past Winners.

2025 Short List

·        Bain Attwood, A Bloody Difficult Subject’: Ruth Ross, Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the Making of History (AUP, 2023)

·        Jared Davidson, Blood and Dirt: Prison Labour and the Making of New Zealand (BWB: 2023)

·        Jeffrey Sissons, Forgotten Prophet: Tāmati Te Ito and Kaingārara Movement (BWB, 2023)