Huge congratulations to all authors from the University community longlisted, which include the International Institute of Modern Letters’ (IIML) Professor Damien Wilkins, Dr Tina Makereti, and James Brown.
Longlisted for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction
- Ash – Louise Wallace
- Delirious – Damien Wilkins
- Poorhara – Michelle Rahurahu
- The Royal Free – Carl Shuker
Longlisted for the Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry
- Slim Volume – James Brown
- The Girls in the Red House are Singing – Tracey Slaughter
Longlisted for the General Non-Fiction prize
- Bad Archive – Flora Feltham
- The Beautiful Afternoon – Airini Beautrais
- The Chthonic Cycle – Una Cruickshank
Publisher Fergus Barrowman says, “We are proud to have published these exceptional books. There is so much within these pages: the volcanic intensity of Ash, the tender complexity of Delirious, the beautiful tragicomedy of Poorhara, the propulsive unease of The Royal Free, the wry brilliance of Slim Volume, the haunting lyricism of The Girls in the Red House Are Singing, the incisive introspection of Bad Archive, the fierce intelligence of The Beautiful Afternoon, and the awe-inspiring scope of The Chthonic Cycle.
“It is exciting to see first-time authors Michelle Rahurahu, Flora Feltham and Una Cruickshank recognised at the beginning of what promise to be brilliant writing careers.”
Seven THWUP-published longlisted authors, and four published by other publishers, are alumni of the IIML’s MA programme, which is a vital part of Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington’s investment in creative arts in Aotearoa.
The shortlist will be released on 5 March and winners will be announced at a ceremony on 14 May as part of the Auckland Writers Festival Waituhi o Tāmaki.
The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are the premier literary honours for books written by New Zealanders.
Awards are given for Fiction (the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction), Poetry (the Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry), Illustrated Non-Fiction (the BookHub Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction) and General Non-Fiction. There are also four awards for first-time authors (the Mātātuhi Foundation Best First Book Awards) and, at the judges’ discretion, Te Mūrau o te Tuhi, a Māori Language Award. Thanks to the generosity of the late Jann Medlicott, the winner of the fiction prize will receive $65,000. Winners of the other three principal category awards each receive $12,000, as will any recipient of Te Mūrau o te Tuhi. Each of the four Mātātuhi Foundation Best First Book prizes is worth $3,000.
For more information, visit the New Zealand Book Awards website.