Live updates from this year’s awards from books editor Claire Mabey.
Welcome to our annual celebration of Aotearoa’s children’s writers! Stay tuned for all the winning news as well as the inside scoop on the fashion, the catering, and the speeches. If you need a refresh on who’s up for awards tonight, check out the finalists on The Spinoff here.
Final notes including go buy books now please
Final thoughts:
- Penguin Random House NZ had a smashing night with a bunch of winners including Nine Girls by Stacy Gregg.
- Did you know about BookHub? You can go there and order all of tonight’s book from your local indie bookshop.
- Refresh yourself on all of tonight’s winners over at the Book Awards Trust website (winners will be up there soon).
- If you’re an adult that needs an adventure, some love, support, fresh thinking then these books are for you, too.
The tunes have started back up now (Slice of Heaven) which is my queue to go eat some HELL pizza.
Yours in books!
Stacy Gregg wins the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year for Nine Girls
There will be parades in Ngāruawāhia! This is huge year for junior fiction and Gregg is a standout star and supreme winner for 2024!
Gregg was super emotional as she talked about her tīpuna and whānau and how writing this story was getting back to her maunga. She honoured her mum who has passed and said the award is for her.
Not a dry in the room.
Gregg now wins an extra $8500 on top of her earlier win (the Esther Glen for Junior Fiction, scroll down). The judges described Nine Girls as “a taonga from a masterful storyteller”. Convenor of judges, Maia Bennett said: “After careful deliberation, both judging panels came to a unanimous decision on a book that not only exemplifies the highest standards, but that we believe will make a lasting contribution to Aotearoa’s national literature for children and young adults; and as such, deserves the accolade of supreme winner.”
Tsunami by Ned Wenlock wins best first book!
Stoked for Wenlock who gets a lovely windfall of $2500 for his amazing graphic novel published by New Zealand’s best publishers of graphic novels, Earth’s End Publishing (truly amazing books, see them all on the website).
Wenlock also didn’t expect to win but did write a speech: he thanked the legends at Earth’s End, and Creative NZ for their support. He thanked the judges and then it was over. Nicely short and sweet.
The judges said Wenlock’s Tsunami is an exemplary graphic novel: that it seamlessly reflects the themes of alienation and the need for connection. They also said it honoured the reader’s ability to delve into complex issues and it will be a book discussed for a long time to come.
Toby Morris did an in-depth interview with Wenlock about Tsunami on The Spinoff if you want to find out more about this stunning piece of art.
Tiny interlude
To say apologies for typos if you are unlucky enough to have to wade through them before I’ve fixed them. My eyes feel like eggs and my bladder is fuller than Dolly Parton’s best bra.
Not much longer to go now… two more awards to go!
And the Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for te reo Māori goes to…
Fist pumps and yells from the crowd for Nani Jo me ngā Mokopuna Porohīanga, Moira Wairama, illustrated by Margaret Tolland (published by Baggage Books)!
The judges said that this category is about enticing young readers into books to explore language; and that all the finalists were books that can be enjoyed both by whānau and by tamariki on their own steam. Of Wairama and Tolland’s winning pukapuka they said this book is a beautifully written story that opens with childlike bubbly energy; that it uses inclusive language to convey the significance of stories, their role in helping us make sense of our world, and the importance of poroporoaki to the grieving process.
Sidenote: There’s a lovely interview with Wairama and Tolland on The Sapling; and a bilingual review on ReadNZ here
Patu by Gavin Bishop wins the Russell Clark Award for Illustration
Bishop (Tainui, Ngāti Awa) said he was shaken to win because he didn’t really want to do this book. He was asked by his publisher to consider it (Penguin), and told them he didn’t know anything about the land wars. But Penguin lured him in by saying he’d be allowed to have “three gate folds” (which is like a three-part page that opens out – lush as). Bishop then told this story about how he really got into the subject. It was a mountain of work, he said. And not just by him, but also by his amazing designers who “squeezed the text into impossible places’. Bishop heartily thanked Penguin for pushing it to be the best possible book (“they were still fiddling the morning it had to go to print”). He also thanked Russell Clark who was Bishop’s lecturer and encouraged him to keep on with illustration.
Go the Bish!
Ultrawild by Steve Mushin wins the Elsie Locke Award for Nonfiction!
YUSS! This was my pick this year. This book is like nothing else I’ve ever seen: one of those rare things that bridges child and adult minds with its depth and refusal to simplify complex ideas. It’s a dream of a better, greener world that actually could happen if we harness the tech available to us and our own powers of invention.
Mushin also didn’t prep a speech but told a yarn about how the book came about. Initially he had a year and cockily said “I could do it in two weeks”… eight years later. He said the book is, for him, about a concept that we don’t talk enough about: that “rewilding” has an incredible power that has obsessed him [if you don’t believe him, again, get the book it’s mind-melting]. He thanked the scientific community who helped him along the way; Elsie Locke and her epic legacy; and Allen & Unwin for their very, very long leash.
Steve Mushin is a bookish thought leader and I’m delighted that his mahi is being recognised. Check out Mushin’s brilliant essay on The Spinoff to get a sense of the real-world inventions that are already helping the planet to let the wild back in.
Eileen Merriman wins the YA Award for Catch a Falling Star
In charming and mildly chaotic style, Merriman didn’t write a speech because she’s been shortlisted six times and didn’t think she’d win. She told a charming speech of how she left her husband to domestic carnage back home that very morning (something about dead mice or something); and how happy she is that it’s this book about mental illness that has won her the award because it means a lot to her. She was emotional when talking about her lead character who “got her heart”. Merriman also thanked Penguin NZ and Harriet Allan (former Penguin edtior, champion and advocate).
The judges said that Merriman’s novel is a masterpiece with a complex and endearing lead character. They said it’s a remarkably authentic portrayal of escalating problems; that it’s significant for teens today who can relate to this story and be helped by it.
Sidenote: Eileen Merriman is so prolific that I had to ask her to tell us how she does it (her “how I write so much” is on The Spinoff here).
Over 14 million books read thanks to the HELL reading challenge
Short interlude to hear from HELL’s CEO Josh Drake who told us that over 14 million books have been read by kids in Aotearoa because of the HELL reading challenge (more about it further down the blog, first post).
Get thee all to HELL! What a triumphant and brilliant way to get kids into reading through their greedy little tummies. Love your work Drake and team.
Stacy Gregg’s Nine Girls wins the Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction!
I could not call this one! Delighted for Nine Girls and Stacy Gregg. Known for her massively successful pony books, Gregg (Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Pūkeko, Ngāti Maru Hauraki) is now author of the best junior fiction novel of 2024 for her stunning novel, a coming of age story about buried treasure, and belonging, set in Ngāruawāhia.
The Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction comes with $8500. The judges said it was vivid and well developed, fast paced and eventful. They also said it explored our bi-cultural history and was affirming and profound.
Gregg spoke in te reo Māori and mihi’d to her whānau, organisers, judges, Claire Murdoch (now departed from Penguin NZ, Gregg’s publisher) and other writers (my reo is not good enough to have caught everything of Gregg’s brilliance, sincere apologies!). She ended with a waiata honouring pukapuka. Congratulations Stacy!
Paku Manu Ariki Whakatakapōkai wins picture book of the year!
Congratulations Michaela Keeble (writer) and Tokerau Brown (illustrator)! This book was a hard one to beat: the voice, the energy, the depth. The poetry!
In a super tough category (there were 59 entries; and the finalists included Dazzlehands by Sacha Cotter and illustrated by Josh Morgan also in this one and such a book; as well as legendary Ruth Paul with Hatch & Match; and the GOAT Joy Cowley’s At the Bach) this magical, and unique book got the judges by the heartstrings and rightfully so.
Keeble and Brown win $8500 for this gorgeous, poetic collaboration. The pair walked to stage to a GROOVY live sting from local secondary school students (may I add that Brown and Keeble looked straight off the cover of Vogue – Brown in a beautiful long line coat and collarless shirt; Keeble in a bright pink fur (vegan)).
CRYING again at the speeches. Sorry for all caps there is adrenaline pouring out of me. Keeble acknowledged the three grandmothers the book is ode to; and acknowledged the political situation we’re currently in and said their book is an offering to all of the parents raising kids under the mantle of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Brown said how proud he is of the book and dedicated it to his late friend Reina Sutton, an advocate for the arts, who tragically passed away. He also thanked all Cook Island peoples, Māori and Pasifika artists; his darling partner Coco Solid; all the artists he’s lived and breathed with; his dearly departed father; and his living mother who always encourages his art.
Congratulations to publisher Gecko Press who always put out curiously brilliant books for families. You can read an interview with Keeble, about the book, on The Spinoff here.
I’m crying already
They went and played a video montage of kids with all the books and they’re so cute and funny. It’s too early to be quietly weeping but this is what it’s all about. Going to have a mop up before the categories start …
Bump in sales for our finalists thanks to the awards campaign
The ever-glamorous and elegant Nicola Legat (chair of the Book Awards Trust) also talked about stiff economic times and how the Trust is committed to getting these books sold as well as celebrated.
Behind Legat on the big screen was a suite of beautiful bright posters that are helping to boost sales and recognition in shops all over the country. Thanks to Gemma Finlay (another of my desk buddies) and her publicity work; and the social media campaign; the Books Alive programme (scroll down in this blog to read about that); as well as the marketing there has been a bump in sales for all of the finalists. YAY.
Go buy our NZ children’s books!
A sad moment too, as Legat honoured Chloe Wright who sadly died last year. The Wright Family Foundation are a key sponsor of the awards. Legat thanks all of the many many partners and supporters who make this whole thing happen. Too many to type but check them out online here at the awards website.
Stephen Wainwright from Creative New Zealand said a speech
After a beautiful mihi whakatau from Peter Samuel Jackson and moving and enthusiastic welcome from emcee Jase Te Patu (“books enrich the existence of children” is going on a tea towel), outgoing CEO of CNZ, Stephen Wainwright gave a speech.
First some recent context: Yesterday (13 August), CNZ had to let down a huge swath of arts organisations in New Zealand because their latest fund was so oversubscribed. Many got nothing (longstanding organisations that have been working for the grassroots for ages) and others got a fraction of their needs. It’s getting extremely tight out there for the arts.
Wainwright thanked Nicola Legat and the Book Awards Trust for the opportunity to speak and for their epic work [tautoko – they’re a magnificent group who lift up our writers year after year]. He talked about how we can all recall the books that impacted us when we were wee and how tonight’s books will do the same thing for kids today. “In a world that is cluttered with stories from overseas,” he said, “and distractions from social media, we need more than ever stories that we can relate to here in Aotearoa.” Wainwright then talked about how CNZ has info on its website that there’s evidence that reading is essential for young people; he also pointed out that reading enjoyment has been reported as more important for a child’s success than a family’s economic status.
He reminded us all that there were 175 entries this year which is a record; and reminded us that it is indeed a challenging economic time for the industry and then said congratulations to all the night’s finalists and all the communities that helped them get here.
And here’s a picture of Pipitea Marae
Which shows how truly lovely it is and how actually calm and spring like the city is tonight.
The music has just switched into Bridgerton mode and is playing Viva La Vida, string style. Suspect this is the final tune before the show begins.
Once upon a calm evening in Te Whanganui-a-tara…
The people are arriving to the lovely Piptea Marae. I’ve already talked to Tania Roxborogh, Michaela Keeble and Rachael King and spied 1000 other writers but had to duck away to find my spot at the back of the room.
The atmosphere is lively, a little tense, nerves and snacks! There’s a sweet classical music group playing extremely dramatic music which is adding a flair reminiscent of the TV show Wednesday. Which I approve of.
And here is my desk buddy Mitch from Tungsten Projects who is masterminding the slide show. The most important job of the night because if you fuck it up you can reveal the winners TOO EARLY. I believe in Mitch.
The stakes for tonight and the people that make it all happen
These are the 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 $8,500 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 $8,500. A reminder that all of the finalists are listed on The Spinoff here.
The judges for 2024 are: Convenor of judges Maia Bennett (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Tūwharetoa), a public and secondary school librarian in Wānaka; Belinda Whyte, the Resource Teacher of Literacy for the Horowhenua region; Helen Wadsworth, co-owner of The Dorothy Butler Children’s Bookshop in Tāmaki Makaurau; Kitty Brown (Kāi Tahu, Waitaha, Kāti Mamoe, Ngāti Kahungunu), an award-winning author from Ōtepoti; and Mat Tait (Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō, Rangitāne o Wairau, Ngāti Kuia), a freelance artist, illustrator, writer and te reo Māori tutor based in the Motueka area.
There’s a separate panel specially appointed to judge te reo Māori entries: Convenor Lawren Matrix (Tūhoe), the Whānau Learning Specialist for Auckland Council Libraries; Mihi Te Rina Henare (Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Porou, Te Whānau-ā Apanui), an Assistant Support Archivist at Archives New Zealand; Quintin Te Maari (Ngāti Porou, Tūhoe, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa), who is currently undertaking teacher training; and Mat Tait, who also brings his knowledge and experience to the Te Kura Pounamu panel.
The awards are governed by the New Zealand Book Awards Trust Te Ohu Tiaki i Te Rau Hiringa. Current members of the Trust are Nicola Legat (chair), Rachael King, Richard Pamatatau, Garth Biggs, Melinda Szymanik, Renēe Rowland, Laura Caygill, and Suzy Maddox. The Trust also governs the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards and Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day.
Thanks to all for your efforts and expertise. Now we wait for the games to begin..
First, a bit about HELL
A real undersung hero of this whole awards operation is the HELL Reading Challenge, which has been running for over a decade. Children get ‘pizza wheels’ that gets stamped for every book they read (one book per slice). Once all seven slices are stamped they can take their wheel into HELL to get a free pizza. Last year almost 850 schools and libraries took part in the programme and 325,000 pizza wheels were distributed, leading to an estimated 2,275,000 books read. The 2024 challenge is already on track to surpass last year’s impressive results with over 290,000 pizza wheels already sent out.
It’s an inventive gamification that libraries and teachers say has helped hook kids into books and I think it’s brilliant.
Shout out also to the amazing Books Alive programme (supported by Mātātuhi Foundation) of events with the award’s finalists. On Wednesday 7 August; and then on 9 August Invercargill school children were entertained by a bunch of authors and illustrators; and on 9 August WORD Christchurch hosted a selection of finalist’s at Haeata Community Campus in Ōtautahi. Earlier today Wellington hundreds of school students converged on the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa and Te Whare Pukapuka o Waitohi in Johnsonville, Wellington City Libraries programmed over 20 finalists in a varied
schedule that included behind-the-book talks, workshops on writing and illustration, lightning talk sessions, storytelling, and live drawing.
