And the finalists are....
From a field of 166
entries, the 28 finalists in the 2021 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and
Young Adults have been announced.
Picture Book Award Finalists
This year’s Picture Book Award shortlist beautifully combines delicate illustrations that connect to and enhance sometimes delicate themes. There are laughs, tears, sighs (both contented and wistful) to be had in equal measure.
- Hare & Ruru: A Quiet Moment, Laura Shallcrass (Beatnik Publishing)
- Hound the Detective, Kimberly Andrews (Penguin Random House NZ)
- Kōwhai and the Giants, Kate Parker (Mary Egan Publishing)
- The Hug Blanket, Chris Gurney, illustrated by Lael Chisholm (Scholastic New Zealand)
- This Is Where I Stand, Philippa Werry, illustrated by Kieran Rynhart (Scholastic New Zealand)
Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Junior Fiction Award Finalists
The books vying for the Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Junior Fiction Award presented the judges with eclectic plot lines and endearing characters and they struggled to narrow down to a shortlist from the well-crafted titles.
- Across the Risen Sea, Bren MacDibble (Allen & Unwin)
- Charlie Tangaroa and the Creature from the Sea, T K Roxborogh, illustrated by Phoebe Morris (Huia Publishers)
- Red Edge, Des Hunt (Scholastic New Zealand)
- The Inkberg Enigma, Jonathan King (Gecko Press)
- The Tunnel of Dreams, Bernard Beckett (Text Publishing)
Young Adult Fiction Award Finalists
The top contenders for the Young Adult Fiction Award speak to the power of young people to profoundly influence the world around them, and don’t shy away from topics such as environmental destruction, oppression and injustice.
- Draw Me a Hero, N K Ashworth (Lasavia Publishing)
- Fire's Caress, Lani Wendt Young, (OneTree House)
- Katipo Joe: Spycraft, Brian Falkner (Scholastic New Zealand)
- The King's Nightingale, Sherryl Jordan (Scholastic New Zealand) - (On order)
- The Pōrangi Boy, Shilo Kino (Huia Publishers)
Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction Finalists
The judges found the Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction a particularly strong category this year, stating “to say there is something for everyone is an understatement, this list has everything, for everyone”.
- Egg and Spoon: An Illustrated Cookbook, Alexandra Tylee, illustrated by Giselle Clarkson (Gecko Press)
- Mophead Tu: The Queen's Poem, Selina Tusitala Marsh (Auckland University Press)
- New Zealand Disasters, Maria Gill, illustrated by Marco Ivančić (Scholastic New Zealand)
- North and South, Sandra Morris (Walker Books Australia)
- You're Joking: Become an Expert Joke-Teller, Tom E. Moffatt, illustrated by Paul Beavis (Write Laugh Books)
Russell Clark Award for Illustration Finalists
The judges faced an outstandingly strong and large pool of entries for the Russell Clark Award for Illustration. The finalists are characterised by a diversity of styles and media, but the books all have in common an expert use of colour and line to communicate emotion and pace and skilfully add texture to the narrative.
- Hare & Ruru: A Quiet Moment, Laura Shallcrass (Beatnik Publishing)
- I Am the Universe, Vasanti Unka (Penguin Random House NZ)
- Kōwhai and the Giants, Kate Parker (Mary Egan Publishing)
- Moon & Sun, Malene Laugesen, written by Melinda Szymanik (Upstart Press)
- Te Uruuru Whenua o Ngātoroirangi, Laya Mutton-Rogers, written by Chris Winitana (Huia Publishers)
Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award Finalists
The finalists in the Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for books written entirely in te reo Māori will appeal to a broad range of abilities. Te reo in its simplest form will lift the language for beginners, while there are also titles with a depth of language to send the imaginations of confident speakers soaring. The judges were pleased to see a marked increase in the number of books written in te reo Māori, rather than translated from English.
- Aroha Te Whai Ora, Rebekah Lipp, illustrated by Craig Phillips and translated by Karena Kelly (Wildling Books)
- Mihi, Gavin Bishop (Gecko Press)
- Pīpī Kiwi, Helen Taylor, translated by Hēni Jacob (Penguin Random House NZ)
- Ngake me Whātaitai, Ben Ngaia, illustrated by Laya Mutton-Rogers (Huia Publishers)
- Te Uruuru Whenua o Ngātoroirangi, Chris Winitana, illustrated by Laya Mutton-Rogers (Huia Publishers)
Best First Book Award Finalists
Finally, the finalists for the Best First Book Award left the judges reassured that the future of children’s literature in New Zealand is in good hands. In fact, the standard is so high, that four of the books are also finalists in one or more of the main categories.
- Laura Shallcrass for Hare & Ruru: A Quiet Moment (Beatnik Publishing)
- Kate Parker for Kōwhai and the Giants (Mary Egan Publishing)
- Jonathan King for The Inkberg Enigma (Gecko Press)
- Amy Haarhoff (illustrator) for The Midnight Adventures of Ruru and Kiwi, written by Clare Scott (Penguin Random House NZ)
- Shilo Kino for The Pōrangi Boy (Huia Publishers)
The winners of each of the six main categories – Picture Book, Junior Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, Non-Fiction, Illustration and te reo Māori – take home $7,500 and are then in the running to be named the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year, with a further $7,500 prize money. In addition, the judges will award a Best First Book prize of $2,000 to a previously unpublished author or illustrator.
The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are the preeminent celebration of publishing for young people in Aotearoa. As well as acknowledging the best and brightest in books for children and teens, a core aspect of the Awards’ mission is to foster literacy and a love of reading amongst New Zealand’s children and teenagers.
The winners will be announced at Tiakiwai Conference Centre at the National Library in Wellington on Wednesday 11 August.