Live updates from the 2026 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards

It feels like years ago and also seconds ago that the shortlist was announced. Here are the 16 books up for prizes tonight (and you can read thoughts and feeling about this list on The Spinoff, here).

Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction ($65,000 prize)

All Her Lives by Ingrid Horrocks (Te Herenga Waka University Press)
Hoods Landing by Laura Vincent (Ngāti Māhanga, Ngāpuhi) (Āporo Press)
How to Paint a Nude by Sam Mahon (Ugly Hill Press)
The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press)

General Non-Fiction Award ($12,000 prize)

A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin, Penguin Random House)*
Northbound: Four Seasons of Solitude on Te Araroa by Naomi Arnold (HarperCollins Aotearoa New Zealand)
The Hollows Boys: A Story of Three Brothers & the Fiordland Deer Recovery Era by Peta Carey (Potton & Burton)
This Compulsion in Us by Tina Makereti (Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Rangatahi-Matakore, Pākehā) (Te Herenga Waka University Press)

Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry ($12,000 prize)

Black Sugarcane by Nafanua Purcell Kersel (Satupa‘itea, Faleālupo, Aleipata, Tuaefu)(Te Herenga Waka University Press)*
No Good by Sophie van Waardenberg (Auckland University Press)*
Sick Power Trip by Erik Kennedy (Te Herenga Waka University Press)
Terrier, Worrier: A Poem in Five Parts by Anna Jackson (Auckland University Press)

Bookhub Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction ($12,000 prize)

Garrison World: Redcoat Soldiers in New Zealand and Across the British Empire by Charlotte Macdonald (Bridget Williams Books)
He Puāwai: A Natural History of New Zealand Flowers by Philip Garnock-Jones (Auckland University Press)*
Mark Adams: A Survey – He Kohinga Whakaahua by Sarah Farrar (Massey University Press and Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki)
Mr Ward’s Map: Victorian Wellington Street by Street by Elizabeth Cox (Massey University Press)

If you need to swot up on the books before you place your bets, here’s a round up of reviews and articles on each of the shortlisted titles.

All Her Lives by Ingrid Horrocks was reviewed on Kete by Claire Williamson. And Ingrid Horrocks guest starred on The Spinoff’s books confessional.
Hoods Landing by Laura Vincent was reviewed on The Spinoff by Sam Brooks.
How to Paint a Nude by Sam Mahon was reviewed on The Spinoff by Claire Mabey.
The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey was also reviewed on The Spinoff by Claire Mabey.

A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern was reviewed on The Spinoff by Mad Chapman.
Northbound: Four Seasons of Solitude on Te Araroa by Naomi Arnold was reviewed on The Spinoff by Liv Sisson.
The Hollows Boys: A Story of Three Brothers & the Fiordland Deer Recovery Era by Peta Carey was reviewed by the Council of Outdoor Recreation Associations of NZ Inc. 
This Compulsion in Us by Tina Makereti was reviewed by Jade Kake on Kete, and you can read an excerpt from the book on The Spinoff, here.

Black Sugarcane by Nafanua Purcell Kersel was reviewed on Kete by Gina Cole; and Purcell Kersel starred in The Spinoff’s book confessional, here.
No Good by Sophie van Waardenberg was reviewed on The Spinoff by Ash Davida Jane.
Sick Power Trip by Erik Kennedy was reviewed on Kete by David Hill.
Terrier, Worrier: A Poem in Five Parts by Anna Jackson was also reviewed on Kete by David Hill.

Garrison World: Redcoat Soldiers in New Zealand and Across the British Empire by Charlotte Macdonald was discussed on RNZ’s Nine To Noon, here.
He Puāwai: A Natural History of New Zealand Flowers by Philip Garnock-Jones was reviewed on RNZ’s Nine To Noon by David Hill.
Mark Adams: A Survey – He Kohinga Whakaahua by Sarah Farrar was reviewed in NZ Arts Review by John Daly Peoples.
Mr Ward’s Map: Victorian Wellington Street by Street by Elizabeth Cox was reviewed on ArchitectureNow and you can read an excerpt from the book on The Spinoff, here.

This year’s shortlist produced a couple of wildcards. Chiefly among them is Sam Mahon’s novel How to Paint a Nude which is up for the $65,000 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction. Mahon beat hot favourites Duncan Sarkies, Tracy Farr and Dominic Hoey whose novels are all relatively well-known and well reviewed. Mahon’s novel, on the other hand, was the proverbial dark horse: little known, barely a whisper out there on the plains of the internet about it. I reviewed the book and had mixed feelings: there’s skill and craft evident on every page, but I’m not totally convinced by some of the characterisations and was frankly irritated by swaths of it. I don’t think it’s going to win tonight but at least a small press and a previously unknown writer (but sort of well known visual artist) has given some big guns a run for their money (Chidgey and Horrocks in particular).

In non-fiction, the exclusion of Nadine Hura’s essay collection Slowing the Sun from the longlist perplexed me as much as the inclusion of Jacinda Ardern’s memoir above Grant Robertson’s. I had half expected both of them to make the longlist, or neither. It’ll be fascinating to see who takes out the general non-fiction prize tonight. I suspect Ardern’s first literary effort will have a hard time winning against Tina Makereti, a masterful author, and Naomi Arnold whose memoir of walking Te Araroa has been a huge hit.

The thing with awards though is that the alchemy of judges – individuals who must come together and compromise and argue and convince – makes for a potentially unpredictable time. Which is how we want it, of course.

Oh I just got butterflies! Two hours to go till kick off. Better go get my frock sorted. I’m excited to have The Spinoff’s Emma Gleason alongside me tonight doing some outfit checks tonight so tune in around 6pm for our pre-ceremony commentary on what everyone is wearing.

Emma Gleason is on fashion watch – here’s her early observations from the pre-Ocks drinks and snacks.

“It’s only 6.05pm and we’ve already spotted what’s sure to be the best bag of the night. Ockham-nominated author Laura Vincent carrying a copy of her debut novel Hoods Landing on a chain.”

“Spotted in the Limelight room: a perfectly (perfectly!!!) broken in oilskin jacket atop the kind of cargo trousers one dreams of unearthing in an army surplus store.”

Te Herenga Waka University Press always have books in the shortlist and tonight’s frontrunner is Ingrid Horrocks’ first work of fiction, All Her Lives, a brilliant collection of short stories that you should all read. (This is Claire this time).

We have news! Straight from the mouth of impresario publisher Damien Levi: “Hoods Landing has been acquired by London-based Pushkin Press for world rights excluding New Zealand thanks to editor Juliet Garcia. Pushkin Press intends to publish in the UK and the USA in the next 18 months.”

Levi says this is Āporo Press’s first rights sale and it feels like a testament to their ethos and an affirmation of their kaupapa to publish Māori voices. A joint formal announcement is due in the coming days.

This is huge news! A debut author finding international success is always exciting for Aotearoa literature – our stories finding their way into the minds of readers overseas expands the boundaries of our publishing sector, our voices and what we can imagine for our writers.

We’re in the theatre now as the audiences trickle in to get seated ahead of a 7pm (sharp) kick off.

The live band have started up with tippy tappy music that is making Emma and I want to caper. Also the screen is now showing lovely photos of all of tonight’s shortlisted books. Five minutes to kickoff.

Also Emma has been doing some more fashun observations:

“Book people like velvet.”

“Hat watch: dashing pork pie, with feather.”

“Good scarf on Simon Wilson, who walked in just as we were discussing his event with Ian McEwan.”

Otene Hopa from Ngāti Whātua welcomed everybody beautifully before we all stood to sing Te Aroha and come together in love and in a spirit of peace.

Mirama Kamo, our fabulous host for the evening, acknowledged Ngāti Whātua and welcomed us all to the 58th year of the awards (started in 1968). “Sometimes we’ve been on life support,” she said. But we’re still here and in great form!

Kamo revealed she’s currently writing a book for adults!

Tonight isn’t just about prizes, said Kamo. It’s about imagination, and everyone who keeps literature alive in this country, and the reo of this country.

The name of the band is the Ben Fernandez Trio who will be jauntily accompanying us tonight.

Audible groans when Kamo announced that Minister Goldsmith is in the house … onwards to chair of the book awards trust, Nicola Legat.

Chair of the book awards trust Nicola Legat acknowledged all the fancy people in the room including Carmel Sepuloni, Gretchen La Roche (CEO of Creative New Zealand) and Minister Goldsmith among others.

She thanks all of the amazing sponsors who keep this awards system going: their support enables actual prize money which is extremely flipping helpful for the winners but also to keep the stakes high and literature valued.

Legat acknowledged that these are challenging times and so we thank and need such supporters more than ever.

Legat also acknowledged the hardworking legends behind the scenes: book awards trust manager and administator, Belinda Cooke and Chris Chan.

“Ours is a world of marathon runners,” said Legat, acknowledging the huge amount of work that goes into just one book – not just the writing but the editing, marketing, design, distribution. A world of amazing work!

And finally, thanks to the judges who read so many books to get us here tonight, including international judge for fiction Leslie Hurtig from Vancouver lit fest – here’s a reminder of who the local judges are:

The Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction is judged by novelist, short story writer and reviewer Craig Cliff (convenor); novelist, poet and Arts Foundation Te Tumi Toi Laureate Alison Wong; and bookseller, writer and reviewer Melissa Oliver (Ngāti Porou).

Judging the Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry are poet, musician and multi-disciplinary artist Daren Kamali (convenor); poet, writer, performer and editor Jordan Hamel; and writer, musician and translator Claudia Jardine.

The General Non-Fiction Award judges are journalist, author and reviewer Philip Matthews (convenor); academic and writer Georgina Stewart (Ngāpuhi-nui-tonu, Pare Hauraki); and screen director, producer, and author Dan Salmon.

The BookHub Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction is judged by art historian and curator Lauren Gutsell (convenor); photographer, moving-image artist, writer and academic Natalie Robertson (Ngāti Porou, Clann Dhonnchaidh); and non-fiction writer and former magazine editor Rebekah White.

Minister Goldsmith said that Judith Binney was terrifying as his supervisor at University (Judith Binney Trust is a book awards sponsor).

Goldsmith claims he reads as many of the finalist book as he can and he thanked Erik Kennedy for this line “an acrid tacky sack that sticks together for days”; and Sam Mahon “the best ideas come like cats, they come in their own sweet time”.

“I supposed I should acknowledge Jacinda Ardern,” he said, revealing he listened to Ardern’s memoir on Spotify but didn’t finish because his monthly allowance ran out.

“Sometimes there’s some critique of the government and that’s fair enough.” Goldsmith was referring to the speeches throughout the night. Only time will tell if this prophecy will come true.

“We all want to see Kiwis reading more of our books,” he said, and went on to say that one way the government is contributing to that is helping get kids to school and through Creative New Zealand funding (which is currently going through one of the biggest strategy shifts in decades).

She’s not in the house! Ardern is not here tonight due to a work clash but Louise Ardern accepted the first of the best first book awards: E.H. McCormick Prize for General Non-Fiction for her memoir A Different Kind of Power (Penguin, Penguin Random House) on her behalf.

Via Louise, Ardern says she’s very humbled to receive this acknowledgement and thanks all of her many publishers. “Thanks to everyone who took a leap of faith and bought a politicians memoir.”

PS: Ardern has asked that any prize money be donated to ReadNZ! What a legend.

Sophie van Waardenberg has taken the Jessie Mackay Prize for Poetry for No Good (Auckland University Press)! Sophie is wearing a cool suit observes Emma Gleason. Honestly this book is so good – you can read a review of it right here on The Spinoff. 

The Judith Binney Prize for Illustrated Non-Fiction has gone to emeritus professor of botany Philip Garnock-Jones for his book He Puāwai: A Natural History of New Zealand Flowers by (Auckland University Press)

Philip thanks the organisers and sponsors and said that the first book award is to launch a career: “I’m 56, so thanks for this opportunity to launch my career as a writer.” He thanked all of the people at Auckland University Press for all of their work putting the book together, especially designer Duncan Munro who “transformed my words and photographs into this beautiful book.”

The Hubert Church Prize for Fiction was presented to Auckland author John Prins for his short story collection Pastoral Care (Otago University Press).

John thanked his publisher and Emma Neale for editing and the editors who published early versions of his stories. He thanked his mum for Marley and Me “which started this whole thing” (need to know more – will ask at the after party).

Dr Hone Morris (Ngāi Te Rangitotohu, Ngāti Mārau, Ngāti Maru, Ngāi Te Ao Kāpiti), judge of Te Mūrau o te Tuhi has taken to the stage in what Emma Gleason describes as a dashing brown windowpane-check suit.

Morris presented this special, discretionary award to member of the Māori Queen’s Council of Twelve, professor, and tohunga of Māori language and thought Tā Pou Temara (Ngāi Tūhoe) KNZM for Te Āhua o Ngā Kupu Whakaari a Te Kooti, an analysis of the prophetic sayings of Te Kooti, published by Auckland University Press. A legend writing about a legend.

Here’s the official judge’s statement on the signifiance of Tā Pou and this book:

“Ko Te Āhua o Ngā Kupu Whakaari a Te Kooti, he mahi rangahau nui whakahirahira e wānanga ana i te rētōtanga, te mana, me te toitūtanga o ngā kupu whakaari me ngā whakataukī, me te hononga ā-ngākau ki te whakapono, ki te whenua, ki te hītori, me te tangata. He mea whakarite te hanganga o te pukapuka nei ki tētahi tupuna whare hei arataki i te kaipānui mai i te tūāpapa o te whare ki tōna whatumanawa, e whakakitea ana te kupu tapu mā ngā whakataukī, ngā kupu whakaari, ngā waiata, me ngā ingoa o ngā whare nā Te Kooti Arikirangi Turuki i tapa. E whakaatu ana a Tā Pou he tapu atua tō te reo poropiti, he maha ōna paparanga tikanga, ā, he kawenga matatika kei runga i te kawe o aua kupu. Mā tēnei pukapuka ka whakarangatira te reo Māori, ka whakahoki i te mauri o te mātauranga Māori, ā, ka waiho he wāhi mā te kaipānui hei whakaaroaro, hei wānanga, ka mutu, kia ū ki tōna ake māramatanga.”

“Te Āhua o Ngā Kupu Whakaari a Te Kooti is a significant scholarly work that examines the depth, authority, and enduring power of kupu whakaari and whakataukī, and the intimate connections to faith, land, history, and people. Structured metaphorically as a whare tūpuna, the book guides the reader from the foundations of the whare through to its heart, revealing the sacred nature of language through whakataukī, kupu whakaari, waiata, and named houses of Te Kooti Arikirangi Turuki. Tā Pou Temara demonstrates how prophetic language conveys divine tapu, layered meaning, and moral responsibility. This work enriches te reo Māori, restores the mauri of mātauranga Māori, and creates space for readers to reflect, interpret, and arrive at their own understandings.”

Stacey and Scotty Morrison are in the house alongside other colleagues and whānau of Tā Pou: a news camera is filming a beautiful waiata to acknowledge the rangatira and his win tonight.

“One does feel sorry for the drummer seated directly behind the winners’ podium and beamed onto the big screen during every speech. (A sloucher’s worst nightmare.)” / Emma Gleason

Ok so if you’re new to this – every shortlisted writer gives a reading from their work. Dame Jacinda isn’t here so they’ve beamed in a pre-recorded video which is actually very effective – she’s on the big screen and in a lovely setting with lush foliage in the background, mirroring the lush foliage on the actual stage.

Naomi Arnold went on an op shop spree to find her beautiful black tulle skirt and leather jacket. An apt outfit for a rock and roll writer who bloody well wrote her memoir while on the hoof, schlepping through mud and all sorts to complete Te Araroa. I hard love this book If you want to feel like you’ve done a huge, gorgeous, gruelling walk but maybe don’t want to have your toes fall off, read Northbound.

Peta Carey read from her compelling biography of The Hollows Boys: she became visibly emotional reading about the deaths of those who didn’t survive. “Many of the pilots and shooters died on the side on the side of a mountain they knew well.”

Tina Makereti said that her (wonderful) book This Compulsion In Us is about growing up in both cultural and material poverty and talked about mediocre men with mediocre policies… then read from her short essay, ‘Funny little ugly baby’. So moving, so skilled.

The judges read 53 books in the general non-fiction award category and convenor of judges Philip Matthews said they were conscious of the ongoing debate in Aotearoa over placing academic texts alongside creative ones – when is general too general? In the end, he said, the judges wanted to acknowledge that this was a literary prize.

The official statement from Matthews: “Tina Makereti is better known as a writer of fiction, and she uses her well-honed literary skills to advantage in this artful and skilfully curated collection of essays, adding up to an alternative memoir of one person’s discoveries about her whakapapa and childhood family, and her place in national society and within Māori literature.”

In an emotional acceptance speech, Makereti thanked her family. “This mahi would be out of the question without Laurie,” she said of her partner, also a writer. She thanked THWUP and all of the publishers of her essays over the years. “This is a book about connection and about what happens to us when we forget who we really are,” she said. “This award means so much to me,” Makereti said just before she said she couldn’t say that without also acknowledge those under persecution in the world today.

Tīhei mauri ora!

This shortlist is the strongest across the awards imo. The longlist was painfully good. The shortlist is full of stars! Honestly, worst / best job in the world trying to pick one when four could be pickened.

Nafanua Purcell Kersel read ‘black sugarcane’ – the whole room is entranced by the vivid, shifting verses – I can’t type fast enough to catch them but I got these snatches: “welts like visa rejection stamps”; and “I cut my tongue 26 ways, swallow my sugar and still get stung”; “I’m just some dust off the ocean”.

Best first book winner Sophie van Waardenberg read ‘poem in which I am good’. I’ll tell you what’s good: Sopehi’s book.  Here’s some snatches I caught: “In summer when I picked dandelions for the geriatric guinea pig”; “everybody I love will live forever”.

Erik Kennedy is such a wonderful performer: hand gestures! A tie! “The sun never sets on the empire of grievances”; “Tom Fairweather pushed me off the top of the slide and I broke my arm, alas. I later learned it upset him to see my arm like that” OMG I’m too slow – please all go buy Sick Power Trip and read the rest because it’s so funny and does that poetry surprise thing that is the best.

Anna Jackson’s Terrier Worrier lives in my brain. I adored it. I want chickens. Jackson reads from her mesmerising, funny, curious, labrynthine verses: “I wondered whether I could hear ‘terrier’ as a version of the word ‘worrier'” There are audible mmmsss coming from behind me as Jackson lands relatable truths about anxiety and images that fade and then run back into our minds like dogs.

Wooop!! This is very much deserved – there’s so much urgency and beauty in this book that speaks to our times with such sweetness and darkness, too.

Daren Kamali took to the stage to announce Nafanua Purcell Kersel (Satupa‘itea, Faleālupo, Aleipata, Tuaefu) as the winner of the Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry for Black Sugarcane.  The official statement from Kamali goes: “Each poem pulses with clarity, restraint, and quiet power, revealing the extraordinary within the ordinary. The collection’s careful architecture and tonal control mark it as a deeply considered achievement for debut author Nafanua Purcell Kersel. 

Black Sugarcane not only enriches contemporary poetry but also expands its possibilities, offering readers a resonant, enduring contribution to the literary landscape today.”

Nafanua, with her publisher Fergus Barrowman at her side, “Whoa, life is weird! Is my imposter syndrome showing?” The freshly crowned poet thanked her family both near and far, her kids, her Matt. “Thank you for loving me in all the ways I am, especially when I’m writing. Phew! We go some places.” She thanked her cover designer and said a very wise thing which is that we should “rest in a book” in this crazy old world.

“Cheeeee!”

Charlotte Macdonald read from her book Garrison World as pages of the book flicked by on the big screen. This kind of scholarship blows my mind. How does one organise all of the material and then arrange it into an award-shortlisted publication? “The sounds were harsh, as is the history.” Shivers.

Philip Garnock-Jones (who has already one a best first book award tonight) reads from the afterword: “plants need help to physically make contact with their mates” (he’s talking about pollination but tbh my fingers are fudge right now and I can’t get the science bits down. The images flipping across the screen are stunning – the photography in this book makes plants look weird, like weird little worlds, and I think someone needs to send this book to Sir David Attenborough for his 100th birthday.

Sarah Farrar is dressed in a stunning white dress and has lovely specs and lipstick. She reads from her award-shortlisted book Mark Adams: A Survey – He Kohinga Whakaahua. The photos on the screen (Adams was a photographer) are so eerie, so full of fading light, shadow, ghostly silhouette. “What does greenwich represent to Adams?” Get the book to find out.

Elizabeth Cox, queen of Mr Ward’s Map, said: “I had a lot of different maps and stories to choose from, and I decided to read this one because it focuses on children and children are often left out of history.” Could not love Cox more (it’s the schools programme at Auckland Writers Festival right now – nothing like thousands of kids getting excited about books to make the world seem less shit). She read from a story about a biscuit factory (hello, Dahl!) which was largely staffed by boys. The factory also employed girls to make chocolate cream and other delicacies. Oh no! Children died there, falling into a vat. Oh this is quite awful! No compensation given for injuries! But at least broken biscuits were sold to kids on the weekend. Kids used to show up with pillowcases to fill. So evocative! This book is a goldmine of such stories. It’s huge but you can also use it as a doorstopper or paper weight.

Picked it!! Finally I picked one! I’m delighted that this wondrous text has won the BookHub Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction for Mr Ward’s Map: Victorian Wellington Street by Street. Elizabeth Cox has done an astonishing job and so has Massey – richly deserved!

Illustrated Non-Fiction category convenor of judges Lauren Gutsell said that Mr Ward’s Map is innovative, engaging, inherently human and a celebration of research and storytelling: “Elizabeth Cox deployed one historic cartographic document as the foundation for a superbly written publication that bridges multiple world views and time periods – highlighting one source and how it resonates in the contemporary moment. 

While anchored in Victorian Wellington, Cox presents a range of complex issues and histories that have universal reach. This skilfully interweaves impacts of colonial land alienation on tangata whenua, reveals imbalances and intersectional experiences of race, class and gender, and offers a reflection of societal changes and what remains the same.”

Dr Cox says she’s starstruck and that Charlotte Mcdonald supervised her masters thesis decades ago and honoured her work as a supervisor. She thanked Nicola Legat (MUP) for publishing the book even before she’d finished it. She thanked Anna, Cadence and her editor Emily. “You’ll have admired the work of book designer Jo Bailey” – too right, it’s an incredible job!

She thanked Mr Ward for making the map in the first place.

All blessings forever to Jann Medlicott whose legacy funds the richest lit prize on these islands. We love you Jann.

Ingrid Horrocks is up first reading from her astonishingly vivid collection traversing women’s lives across time and place. “Homecoming’s a slow wade in”. I feel like I’m drinking river water and tasting stone the prose is so clear and crisp. “Evie manages to get a cigarette out of her pocket and light it. The first drag is a shock of pleasure…” Amen. I really think Horrocks has a very strong chance of winning tonight. She’s been working at writing for decades and it shows: so deft, so thoughtful.

Laura Vincent (best dressed on ground) reads from Hoods Landing (her first freaking novel). We’re with Rita: she’s so dry, so funny, languidly, stabbing at pictures in a magazine and “baggsing” them. Vincent is so good at the flow between interiority and exteriority: the close third person wandering through minds before pithy dialogue places her characters in the same space.

Sam Mahon starts with “can you hear me ok”, and then says “the smoke is a bit worrying” – I think he’s talking about the dry ice wafting around the blue lights. Instead of reading from his own book he talks about Arundhati Roy and the role of art in politics: he says we’re all “accessories to murder” if governments aren’t going to represent the right to life (I’m paraphrasing but this is the gist). He does read a snippet of Gregor talking to Sambo but to be super honest I’m struggling to hear. The crowd sound appreciative though!

The Chidge! Launches straight into a punchy reading from The Book of Guilt – one of the bits where one of the boys are talking about “the bug” and how if they beat it they get to go to the big house in Margate “like all the girls and boys before us”. Funky science from the mouths of innocents. Such a great novel. Is it going to win… ??

Convenor of judges Craig Cliff says they read 52 books and talked about those controversial covers: “we learned a lot.”

“Initially we each stumped for a different winner,” said Cliff. “After more discussion and a little bit of maths one title did rise to the top….”

Ingrid! Crushed it! Short stories haven’t won since way back when Airini Beautrais won for Bug Week (2021? IDk will check later).

The official judge’s statement: “Across nine elegant, probing stories that range from the late eighteenth century to the unsettled present, from rural Wairarapa to icy Norwegian ports and rave culture Berlin, All Her Lives explores the shifting expectations and constraints of womanhood. Sparks from one story and one generation ignite elsewhere in the book, illustrating how material conditions, freedoms and ideologies can be shaped, for better or worse, by our forebears. 

Emotionally intelligent and historically alert, All Her Lives is an outrageously good addition to the top shelf of New Zealand fiction.”

Horrocks “was not expecting this” and said how moving it was to hear all of the other writers. “They make me think that they’re made of the stuff of the beauty of this world,” like going to parties, imagining better worlds. “Thank you to the many, many people who believed in me.” She thanked her publisher who started publishing her when she was twenty (she’s now 50). “Fergus has been there from the very beginning.” And she thanked editor extraordinaire Jasmine Sargent.

She thanked her friends and her mother. Congratulations Ingrid, you wonder!

Mark Todd wants to take objection to tribalism! In a passionate speech he said: “We’ve got more in common in the middle. My personal opinion is that it’s not good enough to be tribal about it. Where’s our community!”

“Can we imagine we’re in 2060: we’re in a primary school playground and the kids are 10 years old and chattering among themselves and they’ve speaking te reo Māori and English amongst themselves coz that’s how they’ve been bought up. All our kids are bilingual. Why can’t we do that? The future is young people. All our children deserve to be mana whenua.”

“Stories can be about the future and not just the past. I’m going to stop here. I really appreciate having a chance to speak.”

Interesting speech! Um. Gosh. Post-cab is gunna be chatty.

Kamo popped back on stage to close the night, saying, “I could feel sphincters clenching around the room. No, but I do agree we need to listen to each other.”

My brain is still echoing with the sound of Kamo saying “sphincters were clenching around the room” – but it’s all about the celebration right now! We have nine winners to cheers and publishers to bow down to for their endless mahi.

Go buy the books! The foyer of Aotea Centre is groaning with them. Go check out BookHub to buy from your local indie.

Emma and I are going to go unclench our sphincters at the after party and may or may not report back.