Each year, the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults make for a massive occasion in the Aotearoa kids book world – move over Oscars, out of the way Silver Scrolls. This is our night. The awards celebrate excellence in writing, illustration and publishing – and they are a vital platform to recognise the most exciting and vibrant things happening in our part of the literary scene. There are six main categories, with prize money of $7,500 to each winner. There’s

This year's NZCYA Awards coverage kicks off with the Russell Clark Award for Illustration Award finalists! We have some exclusive insights into the process of illustrating each book, including working sketches, storyboards, decadent interior spreads, and even a photograph of some real life inspo – scroll down to see! Thanks to the Book Awards Trust for the book descriptions. Dozer is a characterful and very recognisably cat-like cat — with his fluffy-footed stalking of prey,

The annual New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are a highly anticipated part of the Aotearoa literary calendar, for folks of all ages who have a passion for books for young people. They acknowledge excellence in writing, illustration and publishing, and provide a vital platform to celebrate the best and most vibrant things going on in the kids' lit scene. There are six main categories, with prize money of $7,500 to each winner. There’s also a Best First Book

Fresh off the ceremony at Te Papa Tongarewa, the results are in and your New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults winners are... Spread from of The Bomb, by Sacha Cotter & Josh Morgan The Margaret Mahy Book of the Year and the Picture Book Award The Bomb Written by Sacha Cotter & illustrated by Josh Morgan Published by Huia RRP $23.00 Buy Now Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction The Dog Runner Written by Bren MacDibble Published by Allen

Another week, another category of NZCYA Award finalists to highlight! Today, it's the Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction finalists, answering questions about the hows and the whys of their fabulous books. From backyards, burrows and biographies to legends and linework, bringing together awesome authors and talented illustrators (sometimes in a two-for-one!) – it's quite the collection. So read on... SARAH PEPPERLE (ART-TASTIC) Which five words would you use to describe your bo

As the next instalment in our coverage of this year's NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, we asked the five finalists of the Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction to interview each other. Here's Philippa Werry, Des Hunt, Eirlys Hunter, Bren MacDibble and Steph Matuku talking the genesis of their ideas, planning, and childhood influence. Philippa Werry: Can you remember the moment when the germ of the idea for this book came to you? Des Hunt:

As part of our ongoing finalist coverage of this year's New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, we have some glorious snippets to look at from the five Russell Clark Award for Illustration finalists! There are covers, decadent interior spreads, working sketches and even a script sample in there – so go forth and enjoy! Thanks to the Book Awards Trust for the descriptions of the books from a visual perspective. A semi-fictionalised account of Captain Cook’s jour

The ceremony for this year's New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults is creeping ever closer, with the big event taking place on August 6. So as we did last year, we thought we ought to test your shortlist knowledge... Every answer is the title of a finalist book – except for question 7, which has two titles as the answer – and answers are at the bottom of the page. If you need to do a little revision before you check your marks, our coverage of the 2018 awards

As part of our coverage of this year's NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, we've asked the publishers of the picture book finalists to explain why that story caught their imaginations and demanded to be told in published picture book form. The journey to meeting and making Mini Whinny Stacy Gregg is a hugely popular and masterful storyteller, so when the opportunity arose to publish a series of playful pony-themed picture books that would reach out to a younger audi

The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are a core part of the Aotearoa literary calendar, for young people and adults alike. They acknowledge excellence in writing, illustration and publishing, and provide a vital platform to celebrate the best and most vibrant things going on in the kids' lit scene. There are six main categories, with prize money of $7,500 to each winner – plus a Best First Book prize, awarded at the judges' discretion, which has a value o

Many of the awards for children's literature in New Zealand (bestowed by either Storylines or the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults) are named after important people. Illustrator Giselle Clarkson has researched these award namesakes, made short biographies, and drawn imaginary trophies for each award. Fascinating stuff! GISELLE CLARKSON Giselle Clarkson is a freelance illustrator and comic creator from Wellington. Her work has appeared in a bunch of School

Freshly announced at the Awards Ceremony in Wellington, the winners of the 2018 NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are ... Pages 60-61 of Aotearoa, by Gavin Bishop The Margaret Mahy Book of the Year and the Elsie Locke Award for Non-fiction Aotearoa: the new zealand story Illustrated and written by Gavin Bishop Published by Penguin Random House NZ RRP $40.00 (hardback) Buy Now The Picture Book Award i am jellyfish Written and illustrated by Ruth Paul Published by Pe

As part of our coverage of this year's NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, we've asked the publishers of the non-fiction finalists to explain why that manuscript, that idea caught their imaginations. Their responses are compelling and passionate, and you may need to get your wallet ready ... Aotearoa: The New Zealand Story was inspired by a recent international publishing trend for large-format, high-spec, lavishly illustrated children’s non-fiction. We’d been eyein

This year's NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults winners will be announced on 8 August. Before that, we thought we'd test your knowledge of the shortlisted books. Each answer is the title of one of this year's finalists. Good luck! Answers are at the bottom of the page, but if you need to revise or fill in gaps before you peek at them, our coverage of the 2018 awards began in this run-down of all the finalists. CATEGORY: PICTURE BOOK AWARD 1. The illustrator of this b

As part of our coverage of this year's NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, we asked the five finalists of the Copyright Licensing NZ Award for Young Adult Fiction to interview each other. Here's Erin Donohue, Eileen Merriman, Cally Black, Mary-anne Scott and Gareth Ward on titles, inspiration and why they write YA. Erin Donohue: Why have you chosen to write Young Adult rather than another genre? Eileen Merriman: I find adolescence such a fascinating transition perio