NZSA Canterbury announces the 2021 NZSA New Zealand Heritage Book Awards will open for entries on the 1st June 2021. In its eighth year, this event is now firmly established on the New Zealand Literary calendar. Past winners have included Fiona Farrell, Witi Ihimaera, Whiti Hereaka and Brian Turner – last year’s major winners were Caroline Barron for Ripiro Beach: A Memoir of Life After Near Death, and Fiona Kidman for All the Way to Summer.
Books published between 1 June 2020 and 1 August 2021 and linked to New Zealand’s heritage, can be submitted for fiction book, non-fiction book, children’s book, and a book written in Te Reo Māori. Books that have only been published digitally will not be accepted. There are two online entry categories for short prose and poetry.
This year we have a stellar line up of judges for the various categories. They are:
Non-fiction Books – Sally Blundell and Katie Pickles
Fiction Books – Paula Morris
Children’s Books – Gavin Bishop
Te Reo Māori Books – Charisma Rangipunga
Short Fiction – Jane Higgins
Poetry – David Eggleton
Winners of the Fiction and Non-fiction book awards each receive $1000; the Te Reo Māori book award and Children’s book award winners will receive $300 each; and the winners of the short prose award and poetry award will be awarded $200 each.
The deadline is a month earlier this year because the short list will be announced at the Christchurch Word Festival, which takes place at the end of August, with the winners being announced as part of the Christchurch Heritage Festival on 22nd October.
The competition opens on 1 June and closes on 1 August 2021. All entries should have some relationship with the theme of the Christchurch Heritage Festival 2021: People and Place – our stories revealed. Full submission details along with the entry form, fees and terms and conditions can be found at: www.nzsacanterbury.wordpress.com
For any further information contact: info@nzauthors.org.nz
