New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults

The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are administered by 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 In addition, the judges may decide to award a best first book prize of $2,000 to a previously unpublished author or illustrator.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 2019 shortlist was announced on 6 June, and the winners will be announced on 7 August.

2018 winners

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Margaret Mahy Book of the Year

Aotearoa: The New Zealand Story written and illustrated by Gavin Bishop, published by Puffin, Penguin Random House

Picture Book Award

I am Jellyfish written and illustrated by Ruth Paul, published by Puffin, Penguin Random House

Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction

How to bee written by Bren MacDibble, published by A&U Children, Allen & Unwin

Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction

Aotearoa: The New Zealand Story written and illustrated by Gavin Bishop, published by Puffin, Penguin Random House

Copyright Licensing NZ Award for Young Adult Fiction

In the dark spaces written by Cally Black, published by Hardie Grant Egmont

Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for Te Reo Māori

Tu Meke Tūī! written by Malcolm Clarke, translated by Evelyn Tobin, and illustrated by Hayley King (FLOX), published by Little Love, Mary Egan Publishing

Russell Clark Award for Illustration

Giants, Trolls, Witches, Beasts illustrated and written by Craig Phillips, published by A&U Children, Allen & Unwin

Best First Book Award

My New Zealand Story: Dawn Raid written by Pauline (Vaeluaga) Smith, published by Scholastic New Zealand

2017 winners

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Margaret Mahy Book of the Year
Snark illustrated and written by David Elliot (after Lewis Carroll), published by Otago University Press (winner of the Russell Clark Award for Illustration)

Picture Book Award
That's Not a Hippopotamus!/  Juliette MacIver, illustrated by Sarah Davis,  published by Gecko Press

Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction
My New Zealand Story: Bastion Point  Tania Roxborogh, Scholastic NZ

Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction
Jack and Charlie: Boys of the Bush Josh James Marcotte and Jack Marcotte, Penguin Random House (Puffin)

Copyright Licensing NZ Award for Young Adult Fiction
The Severed Land Maurice Gee, Penguin Random House (Penguin)

Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for Te Reo Māori
Te Kaihanga Māpere Sacha Cotter, illustrated by Josh Morgan, translated by Kawata Teepa, published by Huia Publishers

Russell Clark Award for Illustration
Snark illustrated and written by David Elliot (after Lewis Carroll), published by Otago University Press

Best First Book Award
The Discombobulated Life of Summer Rain Julie Lamb, Makaro Press (Submarine)

Read the judges' comments

2016 winners

2015 awards

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.

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