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Ockham NZ Book Awards 2023 shortlists announced

8 March 2023   Books+Publishing
@booksandpublishing

The shortlists for the 2023 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards have been announced.

The shortlists titles in each category are:

Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction

  • Better the Blood (Michael Bennett [Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Whakaue], S&S)
  • Kāwai: For such a time as this (Monty Soutar [Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, Ngāti Kahungunu], Bateman Books)
  • Mrs Jewell and the Wreck of the General Grant (Cristina Sanders, The Cuba Press)
  • The Axeman’s Carnival (Catherine Chidgey, Te Herenga Waka University Press)

General Nonfiction Award

  • A Fire in the Belly of Hineāmaru: A collection of narratives about Te Tai Tokerau Tūpuna (Melinda Webber [Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Hau, Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whakaue] & Te Kapua O’Connor [Ngāti Kurī, Pohūtiare], Auckland University Press)
  • Downfall: The destruction of Charles Mackay (Paul Diamond [Ngāti Hauā, Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi], Massey University Press)
  • Grand: Becoming my mother’s daughter (Noelle McCarthy, Penguin)
  • The English Text of the Treaty of Waitangi (Ned Fletcher, Bridget Williams Books)

Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry

  • Always Italicise: How to write while colonised (Alice Te Punga Somerville [Te Āti Awa, Taranaki], Auckland University Press)
  • People Person (Joanna Cho, Te Herenga Waka University Press)
  • Sedition (Anahera Maire Gildea [Ngāti Tukorehe], Taraheke | Bush Lawyer)
  • We’re All Made of Lightning (Khadro Mohamed, We Are Babies Press, Tender Press)

Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand Award for Illustrated Nonfiction

  • Jumping Sundays: The rise and fall of the counterculture in Aotearoa New Zealand (Nick Bollinger, Auckland University Press)
  • Robin White: Something is happening here (ed by Sarah Farrar, Jill Trevelyan & Nina Tonga, Te Papa Press & Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki)
  • Secrets of the Sea: The story of New Zealand’s native sea creatures (Robert Vennell, HarperCollins)
  • Te Motunui Epa (Rachel Buchanan [Taranaki, Te Ātiawa], Bridget Williams Books).

The four panels of judges selected 16 finalists from a longlist of 44 titles with the shortlisted works offering ‘entertaining and enriching reading experiences that traverse Aotearoa’s cultural and physical landscapes, revealing relationships and deepening our understanding of the world’.

New Zealand Book Awards Trust Te Ohu Tiaki i Te Rau Hiringa spokesperson Jenna Todd says this year’s shortlist is a treasure trove to celebrate. ‘There is not one dominating publisher this year, with a range of twelve publishers shortlisted across sixteen titles.’ She added, ‘Many of these books, across all categories, delve deeply into strong personal narratives. They offer tales of tension, distrust and revenge, treating readers to vivid explorations of aspects of Aotearoa’s history.’

The prize money for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction has increased from NZ$60,000 to NZ$64,000, with last year’s winner being Kurangaituku by Whiti Hereaka (Huia Publishers). The winners in the remaining three categories each receive NZ$12,000, up from $NZ$10,000 in previous years. From each category, a best first book prize will be awarded, valued at NZ$3000, up from NZ$2500.

The winners to be announced at a public ceremony on 17 May during the 2023 Auckland Writers Festival.

For more information about the awards and this year’s shortlistees, see the NZ Book Awards Trust website.

 

Category: Awards Local news