The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are administered by the New Zealand Book Council on behalf of the New Zealand Book Awards Trust. In 2016, the Awards merged with the Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa (LIANZA) Awards.
All awards carry prize money of $7,500. In addition, the judges may decide to award a best first book prize of $2,000 to a previously unpublished author or illustrator. The overall prize, the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year award, carries a prize of $7,500. The awards are judged by a panel of five. Te Kura Pounamu Award is judged by Te Ropu Whakahau. The winners will be announced on 14 August 2017.
2017 finalists
- Picture Book Award
- Junior Fiction (Esther Glen Award)
- Non-Fiction (Elsie Locke Award)
- Young Adult Fiction (Copyright Licensing NZ Award)
- Te Reo Māori (Te Kura Pounamu Award)
- Illustration (Russell Clark Award)
- The Best First Book Award
2016 winners
- Margaret Mahy Book of the Year
- Picture Book
- Junior Fiction (Esther Glen Award)
- Non-Fiction (Elsie Locke Award)
- Young Adult Fiction
- Te Reo Māori (Te Kura Pounamu Award)
- Illustration (Russell Clark Award)
- Children’s Choice
2015 awards
- Margaret Mahy Book of the Year (2015)
- Best First Book (2015)
Until 2014 the awards were sponsored by NZ Post. Prior to 1997, the awards were known as the AIM Children’s Book Awards.
See more kids' literary prize winners.
Christchurch City Libraries lists literary prize winners and links to catalogue searches, but we may not hold copies of all titles mentioned.
