A BOOK WOVEN WITH MĀORI MYTHOLOGY WINS TOP PRIZE AT CHILDREN’S AWARDS
A disabled Māori boy who meets a mermaid on the beach won over the hearts of the judges at this year’s New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.
Charlie Tangaroa and the Creature from the Sea by Christchurch author T K Roxborogh was awarded the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year, the highest accolade in children’s publishing, at a ceremony held at The National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa this evening.
Māori mythology is woven into the story as Charlie draws on the pūrākau and waiata his Grandad taught him, as well as the down-to-earth lessons from family life, to mediate between battling, sibling gods.
The book also took out the Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction, and impressed the judges with its diversity of characters and their authenticity, and the inclusion of a main protagonist with a disability.
“We felt that this added depth to the story while not being the focal point, as did the underlying issue of humans disturbing the natural environment,” says convenor of judges Alan Dingley, who praised the book’s uniquely New Zealand story.
The awards night recognised new talent, with half the category winners also being finalists in the Best First Book Award category.
“Having so many first-time winners shows that as New Zealand evolves, authors and publishers are evolving too, with new ideas, new concepts and a lot of bravery represented in these titles,” says Dingley.
One of those talented first-timers was Kate Parker, author and illustrator of Kōwhai and the Giants. As well as winning the Best First Book Award, the book — described as a classic in the making — also scooped the Picture Book Award. The judges were enamoured with both the message and the original illustrations of this gentle environmental story.
The Young Adult Fiction Award was won by another debut author. Shilo Kino’s The Pōrangi Boy was praised for delivering big themes of environmental damage, neocolonialism, bullying and poverty, but never slipping into didacticism or preachiness. The judges commented on Kino’s “uncontestable genius” for crafting believable, authentic voices thoroughly rooted in this place and these times.
A fresh talent also won the Russell Clark Award for Illustration, presented to Laura Shallcrass for Hare and Ruru: A Quiet Moment. The book’s beautifully delivered world and message made it stand out for the judges.
A visually delicious, tasty treat won the Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction. Egg and Spoon: An Illustrated Cookbook, written by Alexandra Tylee and illustrated by Giselle Clarkson, impressed the judges with its varied and thoughtful recipes accompanied by luscious and often humorous illustrations.
The Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for te reo Māori went to Ngake me Whātaitai, written by Ben Ngaia and illustrated by Laya Mutton-Rogers, a pukapuka that takes the reader on a wonderful journey into the formation of Te Whanganui a Tara (Wellington). Through storytelling, children learn about the pūtaiao (science) of the hidden movements within Papatūānuku, and how these beautiful Māori placenames were given.
Inspiring a love of reading in New Zealand children is a big part of the Awards’ remit. Many of this year’s finalists had the opportunity to present their work to thousands of children around the country in a programme of Books Alive online events and virtual story times, co-ordinated through public and school libraries by LIANZA, the Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa.
The finalists also entertained over 600 Wellington school children during the day prior to the ceremony. The hard-working team at Wellington City Library organised a varied programme that included story times, behind-the-book talks, workshops on writing and illustration, lively panel discussions, and live drawing sessions.
The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are made possible through the generosity and vision of a group of committed funders and sponsors: Creative New Zealand, HELL Pizza, the Wright Family Foundation, LIANZA, Wellington City Council, Nielsen Book and 2021 venue partner, The National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa. The Awards are administered by the New Zealand Book Awards Trust.
The full list of winners for the 2021 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults:
Margaret Mahy Book of the Year Award $7500
Charlie Tangaroa and the Creature from the Sea, written by T K Roxborogh (Huia Publishers)
Picture Book Award $7500
Kōwhai and the Giants, written and illustrated by Kate Parker (Little Love, Mary Egan Publishing)
Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction $7500
Charlie Tangaroa and the Creature from the Sea, written by T K Roxborogh (Huia Publishers)
Young Adult Fiction Award $7500
The Pōrangi Boy, written by Shilo Kino (Huia Publishers)
Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction $7500
Egg and Spoon: An Illustrated Cookbook, written by Alexandra Tylee and illustrated by Giselle Clarkson (Gecko Press)
Russell Clark Award for Illustration $7500
Hare and Ruru: A Quiet Moment, written and illustrated by Laura Shallcrass (Beatnik Publishing)
Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for te reo Māori $7500
Ngake me Whātaitai, written by Ben Ngaia and illustrated by Laya Mutton-Rogers (Huia Publishers)
Best First Book Award $2000
Kōwhai and the Giants, written and illustrated by Kate Parker (Little Love, Mary Egan Publishing)
ENDS
Social Media Links
Website: www.nzbookawards.nz/new-zealand-book-awards-for-children-and-young-adults/
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Hashtags: #NZCYA #BooksAlive
For interview opportunities, images and further information please contact:
Gemma Finlay, Notable PR
P: 027 628 9695 E: gemma@notablepr.co.nz
Notes for Editors:
The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are a unique celebration of the contribution New Zealand’s children’s authors and illustrators make to building national identity and cultural heritage. Awards are made in 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 the Best First Book Award. The main category awards carry prize money of $7,500 and the Best First Book winner receives $2,000. The overall prize, the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year Award, carries a further prize of $7,500.
The awards are governed by the New Zealand Book Awards Trust (a registered charity). Members of the Trust are Nicola Legat, Karen Ferns, Paula Morris, Melinda Szymanik, Jenna Todd, Anne Morgan, Melanee Winder and Richard Pamatatau. The Trust also governs the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards and Phantom National Poetry Day. nzbookawards.nz
The Wright Family Foundation is dedicated to making a positive difference by advancing education and spreading knowledge, supporting individuals to achieve their full potential. Its goal is to “grow the good” in New Zealand. Supporting literacy and a passion for words and reading is a key focus of the foundation. Its CEO, Chloe Wright, is Patron of both the Kids’ Lit Quiz and the New Zealand Spelling Bee. By supporting the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, the foundation hopes to champion New Zealand writers who will inspire the imagination of children. wrightfamilyfoundation.org.nz
Creative New Zealand is the national arts development agency of Aotearoa and has been a key partner of New Zealand’s book awards for decades. Creative New Zealand encourages, promotes and supports the arts in New Zealand and internationally for the benefit of all New Zealanders through funding, capability building, and advocacy initiatives. It offers financial support for emerging and established artists, art practitioners, groups and organisations, and provides training and online resources to help artists and practitioners develop professionally, grow audiences and markets, and manage their organisations. In addition, it supports internships and national touring activities to enhance the development of New Zealand arts. Creative New Zealand provides a wide range of support to New Zealand literature, including funding for writers and publishers, residencies, literary festivals and awards, and support of organisations which work to increase the readership and sales of New Zealand literature at home and internationally. creativenz.govt.nz
HELL Pizza was established in 1996 and now has 76 outlets throughout New Zealand. HELL has reinforced its commitment to getting more kids hooked on books by sponsoring the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. The associated HELL Reading Challenge, initiated in 2014, continues to grow. HELL says it has “always challenged the norm, and with kids now becoming so engrossed with modern technology, we are bucking that trend and making reading cool again. We want pizza to be the gateway to reading addiction!” The programme rewards students with a free 333 kids’ pizza once they have read seven books and had their achievement approved by a local librarian or teacher. In 2020, 725 schools and public libraries around New Zealand took part, and 250,000 pizza wheels were distributed, which means that some 1.75 million books were read by Kiwi kids as a result. hellpizza.com
The National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa helps all New Zealanders access and use the collective knowledge of the nation. It's their job to collect, connect, and co-create knowledge to power Aotearoa. Initiatives to support literacy and reading are related to the National Library’s ‘Growing a Nation of Readers’ strategy and include Communities of Readers and Te Awhi Rito Reading Ambassador. Author Ben Brown has been appointed as the first Te Awhi Rito Reading Ambassador and will advocate for and champion the importance of reading in the lives of young New Zealanders, their whānau and communities, building visibility and awareness of reading across all sectors. In 2021 The National Library is supporting the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults by hosting its ceremony and Books Alive events in the multipurpose spaces of the Tiakiwai Conference Centre facility on the Wellington premises. natlib.govt.nz
LIANZA, the association for library and information professionals in New Zealand, introduced the first award for children’s fiction in New Zealand, establishing the Esther Glen Junior Fiction Award in 1945. LIANZA added other awards over the years including the Russell Clark Award for Illustration in 1975 and the Elsie Locke Non-fiction Award in 1986. The Te Kura Pounamu Award for literature written in te reo Māori was established in 1996, in partnership with Te Rōpū Whakahau. In 2016 the LIANZA Children and Young Adult Book Awards were merged with the Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, strengthening the 60-year legacy of the LIANZA Awards. lianza.org.nz
Nielsen Book provides a range of services to the book industry internationally, aiding the discovery and purchase, distribution and sales measurement of books. nielsenbook.co.nz
Wellington City Council's support for the arts means that Wellingtonians and visitors can access and participate in a wide range of arts and cultural events, and experiment with their own creativity. The Council values its developing partnership with mana whenua, innovative and experimental arts, and its heritage arts cultures and traditions. It has a particular focus on contemporary ways of expressing what is happening now and experiences that result from collaboration, both within the professional arts sector and with communities. Council believes in the importance of literacy and imagination in the development of New Zealand children, and it supports a wide range of arts for and by children. wellington.govt.nz