It’s the penultimate instalment in our coverage of each category in the NZCYA Awards, and today we’re focusing on the finalists in the Best First Book Award category! Hear from the authors below as they tell us about their writing and publishing journeys.
He Raru ki Tai, by Jane Cooper
What was your reaction when you found out your book was going to be published?
I was really pleased when Huia Publishers offered to publish my novella, as it meant a book about Tāmaki Makaurau would be available to kura as a resource to support the teaching of the new Aotearoa/New Zealand Histories Curriculum. He Raru ki Tai was conceived as a contribution to the body of literature available for a Māori speaking readership and To Trap a Taniwha [the English translation of He Raru ki Tai] is already being studied in primary classrooms.
Describe your writing journey.
Over years of teaching, I have gathered together historical records about the Māori settlement and oral traditions of Tāmaki Makaurau and I often walk on the lands and foreshores referred to in the novella. This made it easier to imagine the scenes described, the landscapes, vegetation, birdlife, etc. I consulted with mana whenua about the place names mentioned throughout the book. Writing in te reo was not an easy process and as a second language learner, I found myself thinking in both English and Māori when formulating ideas or making word choices. It was, however, an enjoyable learning experience, and the request by Huia that I write an English version also forced me to make decisions around the inclusion or translation of Māori words and whakataukī.
I was really pleased when Huia Publishers offered to publish my novella, as it meant a book about Tāmaki Makaurau would be available to kura as a resource to support the teaching of the new Aotearoa/New Zealand Histories Curriculum
What was it like going through the publishing journey, especially as a first-time author?
I really wanted a map and glossary of place names to assist the reader, which Huia fully supported, as well as illustrations for each chapter. The prolific illustrator Story Hemi-Morehouse was fortunately available at the last minute to draw these and the cover designs, which I think are captivating in their use of colour. Story did an incredible job illustrating the work of fellow Te Kura Pounamu finalist, Brianne Te Paa, and I feel honoured that He Raru ki Tai has been selected alongside Brianne’s engaging, poignant book Kua Whetūrangitia a Koro and Witi Ihimaera’s Te Kōkōrangi: Te Aranga o Matariki—translated by Hēni Jacob, the doyen of te reo Māori translation and author of incredible books for learning the language—in the Te Kura Pounamu category of the Book Awards.
He Raru ki Tai
Written by Jane Cooper
Illustrated by Story Hemi-Morehouse
Published by Huia
RRP: $24.99
Kidnap at Mystery Island, by Carol Garden
What was your reaction when you found out your book was going to be published?
My book was published because I won a competition! I entered the 2021 Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon Award and the prize was to be published by Scholastic NZ. It was astonishing and wonderful that my words would find young readers―this is every writer’s goal. When the book went on to win a Storylines Junior Fiction Notable Book award, and was announced as a finalist in the NZ Book Awards, I was over the moon.
It was astonishing and wonderful that my words would find young readers―this is every writer’s goal
Describe your writing journey.
I wrote most of the book during the 2020 Covid lockdown after I read about children experiencing eco-anxiety. I wanted to write an adventure story set in a future where we were living successfully and mindfully with climate change. I went to lots of online and in-person writing workshops and rewrote the manuscript after every one of them, trying to incorporate what I’d learned.
What was it like going through the publishing journey, especially as a first-time author?
Challenging. As a first-time author, I was fizzing with excitement about getting published, but for the publisher, the author is a cog in the wheel. Penny from Scholastic warned me that I wouldn’t hear from them for months, and that was a bit of an anti-climax. I didn’t know what I didn’t know, and I’m sure my responses and questions were a bit tiresome at times.
Echo, by Arlo Kelly
What was your reaction when you found out Echo had been nominated for the Best First Book Award?
I was in my room when my mum came in saying she had some exciting news. At first when she told me, I wasn’t sure what she was talking about. I thought maybe it was something to do with the Storylines Notable Book Awards from 2022, but she said it was something new—the New Zealand Book Awards. It turned out that I had briefly forgotten that we had even entered it. It was kind of like buying a lottery ticket in a way, because since I assumed the chances of anything coming of it were so minimal, I put it out of my mind.
After she explained it to me, I remembered [we had entered] and was thrilled, to say the least. Never in a hundred years would I have thought that anything like this could have happened. The book was meant to be a small thing—something that we could have in a couple of local bookshops, on my website and for friends and family. It really hit me that people truly liked it and believed it had potential!
Never in a hundred years would I have thought that anything like this could have happened
Describe your writing journey.
My writing journey began at the same time as most—when I started school. I had written in some diaries, but that was about it until I turned seven. In late 2014, I wrote a short non-fiction booklet about the weather called Wild Weather which I remember was the first one I typed out on a computer. We homemade [the booklet], by clipping the pages together after printing them out, and I drew the pictures with a felt-tip pen.
After that one, I wrote a few short fiction books about adventures, until I was around nine years old when I wrote a book called Tornado Forest. It was a couple of dozen pages about a group of boys who discovered a forest with mini tornadoes that they could ride. It was a simple idea, but it was one of the first ones that we sewed together on my dad’s sewing machine and it felt almost like a proper book. I then wrote some more short stories, including: “The Beach Treasure” and “Man’s Best Friend” which I sold at the Kāpiti arts trail in 2019 and 2020. This is actually what partially funded the first print run of Echo. Then came 2020, and on December 28, I began writing Echo, which would be my main project in terms of writing (not including editing, publishing, etc.) for the next 6 months.
What was it like going through the publishing journey, especially as a young writer?
It was a very interesting process that I thoroughly enjoyed. I have never properly experienced anything like this, as I had previously just been binding the books at home, but this was completely different. Writing was one thing, but there were so many steps after that, such as editing, more editing, even more editing, designing the cover, laying out the book, printing the first copies, promoting the book, etc. It was interesting having people read it from a fresh perspective, which was very useful as it gave me new ideas that I had never even considered.
The day the boxes of finished books arrived from the printer is one I’ll never forget.
I had only ever written books and drawn some pictures, so this was a completely new world to me. I loved coming home from school to see the progress that my mum had made on the cover design or the layout of the pages. It was really interesting to see it slowly come together as a proper book. And the day the boxes of finished books arrived from the printer is one I’ll never forget.
The Lighthouse Princess, by Susan Wardell
What was your reaction when you found out your book was going to be published?
It had been a long wait, including several previous rejections, for the manuscript of The Lighthouse Princess. The news came totally out of the blue and I was surprised and exhilarated! It also felt very much like the start of a journey, rather than the end of one. I think that is true of both the process of publishing a book (which includes a lot of steps you don’t necessarily anticipate when you think ‘I want to be a writer’) and also of my own journey in this genre.
Describe your writing journey.
As a slightly strange and sometimes lonely little kid, writing was a comforting thing for me from a very early age: a way of having a conversation with myself. A way to expand on my rich inner world, and to occasionally share that with others. In fact, when I got to intermediate school, it was a shared love of both books and writing that helped me form some great friendships. Even though I got onto an academic path pretty quickly—in high school and then university— creative writing stayed one of the most constant loves of my life.
Creative writing stayed one of the most constant loves of my life
I always took opportunities, when I could, to expand my skills and challenge myself. This included poetry, which is in some ways a home territory for me, but also with personal essays and short stories. For a long time, this was a kind of ‘on the side’ or ‘late at night’ thing…a guilty pleasure, almost. But thanks to both an awesome literary community in Dunedin, and a very special writers’ group online, I became brave enough to send things out to journals and competitions. My individual pieces soon started to get published in various places, but publishing a book still seemed like a big dream. At the same time having children turned my attention to thinking about the type of stories that I wanted to gift to my own kids…and more generally, thinking about just how powerful the books we encounter during childhood can be for shaping our inner worlds. Starting to write for children has felt very satisfying and meaningful, as well as challenging. In some ways, I think it is still a slight surprise to me, that my first book published is a children’s book! But I love how this journey has unfolded…and am so ready to follow it forward.
Thanks to both an awesome literary community in Dunedin, and a very special writers’ group online, I became brave enough to send things out to journals and competitions
What was it like going through the publishing journey, especially as a first-time author?
There is a lot to learn about how the industry works behind the scenes that aren’t obvious from the outside. It is strange, exciting, and a bit mystifying at times. I was lucky to have a lovely editor (Catherine O’Loughlin) who was warm and clear in walking me through the process and answering my questions. My journey was also a little different to the norm since the manuscript was selected for use in the Gavin Bishop Illustration Award. This meant that rather than the publisher simply picking an illustrator, the manuscript went out widely, and a range of unpublished illustrators all submitted sample illustrations, from which the prize committee selected a winner. It meant the production process took a bit longer. But it was VERY worth it, considering it resulted in the incredible Rose Northey being chosen as the illustrator.
The Lighthouse Princess
Written by Susan Wardell
Illustrated by Rose Northey
Published by Penguin
RRP: $19.99
Holding the Horse, by J L Williams
What was your reaction when you found out Holding the Horse had been nominated for the Best First Book Award?
I took a moment to allow it to sink in. It was very affirming and energising. I felt like I was being invited to walk through a secret entry portal into the New Zealand children’s book world. My publisher is also my sister, so we could rejoice together, which was very nice.
I’m super-excited to be a finalist, and grateful that my book has this opportunity. I hope it will find many readers who are moved by the story.
Describe your writing journey.
I took a community class in creative writing. The tutor was Michael Botur, who is a marvellous teacher. He got us to write short stories, and we submitted them to a competition. My feedback from the judges was so encouraging that I kept writing.
Holding The Horse grew out of family stories. My dad and his brothers were children in the 1940s. They talked about their wonderful childhood—the freedom of riding the old farm horse over the hills, swimming naked in the rivers and cooking over outdoor fires.
I’m super-excited to be a finalist, and grateful that my book has this opportunity
My grandmother told me how difficult Grandad was when he came back from the war. She gave him a deadline to sort himself out (which he couldn’t meet). She also went around the shops asking for credit because the family was struggling.
Two very different stories from the same time period intrigued me. Later, two of my dad’s brothers became jockeys. And my mum’s parents owned shares in a racehorse and were illegal bookmakers. Holding The Horse grew from all these family stories.
What was it like going through the publishing journey?
I had the great good fortune to win the inaugural Storylines Janice Marriott Mentoring Award in 2020 with my early, unfinished manuscript for Holding The Horse. That was life-changing. Janice is a true encourager, and I really grew in confidence. I knew I’d finish my book and get it published.
I had the great good fortune to win the inaugural Storylines Janice Marriott Mentoring Award in 2020 with my early, unfinished manuscript…that was life-changing
The next year I was a finalist for the Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon Award. I had hopes of being traditionally published because of that, but it didn’t happen. The manuscript was with an agent for a while, but when I was told that they were only interested in authors who had ‘a body of work’ (I had one book), I published independently.
My sister helped me, as she had already published two or three books under the banner of Ocean Echo Books. I joined online groups, and what I couldn’t figure out, my sister could explain. I love being on the publishing journey with someone I am close to. It’s a shared adventure.
