Literary prizes and book awards

This page links you to winners and nominees for a range of book prizes and awards.

Christchurch City Libraries lists literary prize winners and links to catalogue searches, but we may not hold copies of all titles mentioned.

New Zealand

NZ Booklovers Awards

2025 winners: best adult fiction book, best lifestyle book, best young adult fiction, junior fiction, and children's picture books.

New Zealand Fiction

Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement

These awards recognise writers who have made a significant contribution to NZ literature in 3 categories: Poetry, Non-fiction, and Fiction.

Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel

The winner for the best New Zealand crime for 2024 has been announced.

NZ Booklovers Awards

2025 winners: best adult fiction book, best lifestyle book, best young adult fiction, junior fiction, and children's picture books.

New Zealand Fiction

Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement

These awards recognise writers who have made a significant contribution to NZ literature in 3 categories: Poetry, Non-fiction, and Fiction.

Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel

The winner for the best New Zealand crime for 2024 has been announced.

New Zealand's national book awards

Our national book awards, which since 2016 have been known as the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards, have gone by a number of different names as sponsors have changed over the years.

New Zealand Book Awards known previously as:

2010 - 2014: New Zealand Post Book Awards
1996 - 2009: Montana New Zealand Book Awards
1994 - 1995: Montana Book Awards
1976 - 1995: New Zealand Book Awards
1968 - 1993: Goodman Fielder Wattie Book Awards

International Non-fiction

Women's Prize for Non-Fiction

An annual book prize that celebrates exceptional narrative non-fiction by women. The 2025 shortlist is out now.

Reference and User Services Association: Notable books

Awarded annually as part of the RUSA Book and Media Awards (American Library Association), in fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.

Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction

Recognises the best non-fiction for adult readers published in the US during the previous year. Find out the winner for 2025.

National Book Critics Circle Awards (US)

The finalists have been announced in Fiction, General Non-Fiction, Biography, Autobiography / Memoir, and Criticism categories.

Business Book of the Year Award winner announced

Find compelling insights and enjoyable reading on modern business issues with the FT and Schroders Business Book of the Year Award winners.

American National Book Awards

The winners for 2024 have been announced in Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Translated literature and Young people’s literature.

The Baillie Gifford Prize

The 2024 winner of the most prestigious non-fiction prize in the United Kingdom is Question 7 by Australian author Richard Flanagan.

Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize

The winner for this year's international prize for popular science writing has been announced. It's A City on Mars by Kelly and Zach Weiners

Nobel Prize in Literature

The 2024 winner of this prestigious award is South Korean writer Han Kang.

Hugo Award winners 2024

Find the best in Science Fiction & Fantasy with the winners and finalists of the Hugo Awards 2024.

CWA Gold Dagger for Non-fiction

British Crime Writers Association award for a non-fiction work on a real-life crime theme or a closely-related subject.

Lambda Literary Award winners announced

The Lammys (US) celebrate the best lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender books of the year.

James Tait Black Memorial Prize - Biography

The James Tait Black Prizes are Britain’s oldest literary awards. Find out the winning shortlisted titles for this biography prize.

2024 Pulitzer Prizes

Winners and finalists in the categories of biography, memoir or autobiography, drama, fiction, poetry, history and general non-fiction.

Stonewall Book Awards

Winning titles from the American Library Association's annual awards for books relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience.

David Cohen prize for literature

Awarded every two years to a living British or Irish writer in recognition of an entire body of work, written in the English language.

International fiction

PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction 2025

The winner in the largest juried award for fiction in the US has been announced.

International Booker Prize 2025

The 2025 shortlist has been announced in this prize for works of fiction translated into English.

Women's Prize for Fiction

Honours and celebrates fiction written by women and published in the U.K. The 2025 shortlist has been announced.

The Dublin Literary Award

The 2025 shortlist of this international book prize for a novel written in or translated into English has been announced.

International Dylan Thomas Prize

Awarded to published authors in the English language under the age of 39. This year's shortlist has been announced.

Nebula Award finalists

The best in Sci-fi and Fantasy, including Young Adult titles and movies, as decided by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

Reference and User Services Association: Notable books

Awarded annually as part of the RUSA Book and Media Awards (American Library Association), in fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.

Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction

Recognises the best fiction for adult readers published in the United States during the previous year. The 2025 winner has been announced.

National Book Critics Circle Awards (US)

The finalists have been announced in Fiction, General Non-Fiction, Biography, Autobiography / Memoir, and Criticism categories.

American National Book Awards

The winners for 2024 have been announced in Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Translated literature and Young people’s literature.

Booker Prize 2024

The 2024 Booker Prize winner has been announced. It is science fiction novel, Orbital, by Samantha Harvey.

World Fantasy Awards

The winner of the World Fantasy Awards (best novel category) has been announced.

Anthony Awards

Find out the finalists and winner in the best novel category of the Anthony Awards, announced each year at the World Mystery Convention.

Hugo Award winners 2024

Find the best in Science Fiction & Fantasy with the winners and finalists of the Hugo Awards 2024.

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature

Honours fantasy fiction for adults. This year's winner has been announced as Ink, Blood, Sister, Scribe by Emma Törzs.

CWA Dagger Awards

Want to read award-winning crime and mystery fiction? Try the winners of the British Crime Writers' Association Dagger Awards.

Genre fiction

Nebula Award finalists

The best in Sci-fi and Fantasy, including Young Adult titles and movies, as decided by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel

The winner for the best New Zealand crime for 2024 has been announced.

Hugo Award winners 2024

Find the best in Science Fiction & Fantasy with the winners and finalists of the Hugo Awards 2024.

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature

Honours fantasy fiction for adults. This year's winner has been announced as Ink, Blood, Sister, Scribe by Emma Törzs.

Fantasy

Sir Julius Vogel award winners 2024

Find out the winners in the annual awards for science fiction and fantasy creators from New Zealand.

CWA Dagger Awards

Want to read award-winning crime and mystery fiction? Try the winners of the British Crime Writers' Association Dagger Awards.

Mystery

CWA Historical Dagger

The Crime Writers' Association Historical Dagger is a British award for the best historical crime novel by an author of any nationality.

Bram Stoker Awards

International awards for horror writing named for the author of Dracula, Bram Stoker. We list the best novel winner for each year.

Horror

Edgar Allan Poe Awards

The winner of best novel in the Edgar Allen Poe Awards, as decided by the Mystery Writers of America.

Mystery

Poetry prizes

International Dylan Thomas Prize

Awarded to published authors in the English language under the age of 39. This year's shortlist has been announced.

Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement

These awards recognise writers who have made a significant contribution to NZ literature in 3 categories: Poetry, Non-fiction, and Fiction.

Centre for Literacy in Primary Poetry Award (CLiPPA)

Annual UK award presented for published poetry for children published in the previous year.

2024 Pulitzer Prizes

Winners and finalists in the categories of biography, memoir or autobiography, drama, fiction, poetry, history and general non-fiction.

International Dylan Thomas Prize

Awarded to published authors in the English language under the age of 39. This year's shortlist has been announced.

Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement

These awards recognise writers who have made a significant contribution to NZ literature in 3 categories: Poetry, Non-fiction, and Fiction.

Centre for Literacy in Primary Poetry Award (CLiPPA)

Annual UK award presented for published poetry for children published in the previous year.

2024 Pulitzer Prizes

Winners and finalists in the categories of biography, memoir or autobiography, drama, fiction, poetry, history and general non-fiction.

Prizes for new/young writers

Prizes given to writers under a certain age or for a first work or debut.

Ceased prizes

Find winners and shortlists for earlier prizes that are no longer running.

BNZ Literary Awards (formerly the Bank of New Zealand Katherine Mansfield Awards - ceased in 2014)
Commonwealth Writers (ceased in 2013)
Costa Book Awards (formerly the Whitbread) (ceased in 2021)
Guardian First Book Award (was Guardian Fiction Award - ceased in 2015)
Ngā Kupu Ora Māori Book Awards (From 2018 the awards turned their focus to journalism and no longer give awards for books.)
Prize in Modern Letters (ceased in 2008)