Book about Treaty of Waitangi wins top prize at NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults
The Treaty of Waitangi also won the Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction.
Gavin Bishop won the BookHub Picture Book Award for his book Titiro Look.
Gavin Bishop (Tainui, Ngāti Awa), together with translator Darryn Joseph (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Rereahu), won the BookHub Picture Book Award for their book Titiro Look.
The judging convenors described it as deceptively simple, declaring it 'a beautifully produced board book that is an absorbing exploration of reo Māori and reo Pākehā'.
Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat won the Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction.
Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat, written and illustrated by Li Chen, won the Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction.
The judges said they were entranced by this 'skilfully crafted work, an all-ages book that is both fun and funny, with humour that hits on multiple levels' and found the illustration and text to be impressive in equal measure.
Self-published first-time author Sanna Thompson won the Young Adult Fiction Award for her novel The Paradise Generation.
The Young Adult Fiction Award went to The Paradise Generation by self-published, first-time author Sanna Thompson.
This expertly crafted, 'very Wellington' resistance narrative urges readers to think critically about where humanity is headed, the judges said.
'It [is] an extraordinary novel that balances both heart-pounding tension and emotional depth.'
Hineraukatauri me Te Ara Pūoro by Elizabeth Gray won two awards.
Rehua Wilson (Te Aupouri, Te Rarawa) received the Russell Clark Award for Illustration, for Hineraukatauri me Te Ara Pūoro, written by Elizabeth Gray (Ngāti Rēhia, Ngāti Uepōhatu, Tama Ūpoko ki te awa tipua, Ngāti Tūwharetoa anō hoki), which tells the pūrakau of the becoming of Hineraukatauri.
The judges praised Wilson's illustrations, which they felt embodied the kaupapa with 'a breath-taking synaesthetic skill that seems quite magical'.
Hineraukatauri me Te Ara Pūoro also won the Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for a Book Originally Written in Te Reo Māori.
This new award was introduced after the decision to split the Te Kura Pounamu category into two separate prizes, acknowledging the skills of original writing and translation.
'There could not be a more deserving first recipient,' the judges said as they praised the rhythm and poetry of the reo.
Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for a Translated Work was won by Ariā me te Atua o te Kūmara written by Witi Ihimaera.
The Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for a Translated Work went to Ariā me te Atua o te Kūmara written by Witi Ihimaera (Te Whānau a Kai, Rongowhakaata, Te Aitanga a Mahaki, Ngāti Porou), translated by Hēni Jacob (Ngāti Raukawa) and illustrated by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Ngāti Kahungunu, Kāi Tahu).
Judges praised Jacob's excellent translation of the original tale.
'[It] flowed smoothly and provided a platform to spark conversation about the importance of Matariki.'
The Raven's Eye Runaways by Claire Mabey won the NZSA Best First Book Award.
The NZSA Best First Book Award was awarded to The Raven's Eye Runaways by Claire Mabey.
Judges said the book stood out as 'the work of a writer who wields words with exquisite care and understands the power of great storytelling'.
Each category winner receives $8500, except for the first book winners, who take home $2500.
David Williams is an Auckland-based Multimedia Journalist who joined the Herald in 2023. He covers breaking news and general topics.
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NZ Herald
4 days ago
- NZ Herald
Book about Treaty of Waitangi wins top prize at NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults
Tait and Tu'akoi said all the books nominated for the book of the year award were great examples of the 'fresh and intelligent' literature written for Aotearoa's tamariki and rangatahi. The Treaty of Waitangi also won the Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction. Gavin Bishop won the BookHub Picture Book Award for his book Titiro Look. Gavin Bishop (Tainui, Ngāti Awa), together with translator Darryn Joseph (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Rereahu), won the BookHub Picture Book Award for their book Titiro Look. The judging convenors described it as deceptively simple, declaring it 'a beautifully produced board book that is an absorbing exploration of reo Māori and reo Pākehā'. Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat won the Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction. Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat, written and illustrated by Li Chen, won the Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction. The judges said they were entranced by this 'skilfully crafted work, an all-ages book that is both fun and funny, with humour that hits on multiple levels' and found the illustration and text to be impressive in equal measure. Self-published first-time author Sanna Thompson won the Young Adult Fiction Award for her novel The Paradise Generation. The Young Adult Fiction Award went to The Paradise Generation by self-published, first-time author Sanna Thompson. This expertly crafted, 'very Wellington' resistance narrative urges readers to think critically about where humanity is headed, the judges said. 'It [is] an extraordinary novel that balances both heart-pounding tension and emotional depth.' Hineraukatauri me Te Ara Pūoro by Elizabeth Gray won two awards. Rehua Wilson (Te Aupouri, Te Rarawa) received the Russell Clark Award for Illustration, for Hineraukatauri me Te Ara Pūoro, written by Elizabeth Gray (Ngāti Rēhia, Ngāti Uepōhatu, Tama Ūpoko ki te awa tipua, Ngāti Tūwharetoa anō hoki), which tells the pūrakau of the becoming of Hineraukatauri. The judges praised Wilson's illustrations, which they felt embodied the kaupapa with 'a breath-taking synaesthetic skill that seems quite magical'. Hineraukatauri me Te Ara Pūoro also won the Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for a Book Originally Written in Te Reo Māori. This new award was introduced after the decision to split the Te Kura Pounamu category into two separate prizes, acknowledging the skills of original writing and translation. 'There could not be a more deserving first recipient,' the judges said as they praised the rhythm and poetry of the reo. Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for a Translated Work was won by Ariā me te Atua o te Kūmara written by Witi Ihimaera. The Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for a Translated Work went to Ariā me te Atua o te Kūmara written by Witi Ihimaera (Te Whānau a Kai, Rongowhakaata, Te Aitanga a Mahaki, Ngāti Porou), translated by Hēni Jacob (Ngāti Raukawa) and illustrated by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Ngāti Kahungunu, Kāi Tahu). Judges praised Jacob's excellent translation of the original tale. '[It] flowed smoothly and provided a platform to spark conversation about the importance of Matariki.' The Raven's Eye Runaways by Claire Mabey won the NZSA Best First Book Award. The NZSA Best First Book Award was awarded to The Raven's Eye Runaways by Claire Mabey. Judges said the book stood out as 'the work of a writer who wields words with exquisite care and understands the power of great storytelling'. Each category winner receives $8500, except for the first book winners, who take home $2500. David Williams is an Auckland-based Multimedia Journalist who joined the Herald in 2023. He covers breaking news and general topics. Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
The Spinoff
31-07-2025
- The Spinoff
‘Best readers in the world': Meet the NZer behind the international Kids' Lit Quiz
Wayne Mills held the first Kids' Lit Quiz in New Zealand in 1991. More than three decades years and seven countries later, he's preparing to hand over his quizmaster's top hat. Wayne Mills walks his laptop around to show me his library and reading room. 'No technology in here!' he grins through the screen. 'Only a La-Z-Boy and books.' The bookshelves are stacked. On top of the shelves stand figurines – I spy other knick knacks tucked in among the books. It's the kind of sight that makes the heart glad. Mills' reading room is put to great use: he's getting through a book every two days, mostly children's books from all over the world, because he is the founder and quizmaster of the Kids' Lit Quiz that has been running annually for 34 years and now spans seven countries. In less than two weeks the world final is taking place in South Africa – and Mills is setting the questions. The annual competition for kids ages 10-13 (intermediate level) starts with regional heats in which teams are asked 100 questions over ten rounds. Regional winners then take part in the national competition, in which a buzzer is added and points are lost for incorrect answers. National winners then quiz off against winners from the rest of the participating countries in an effort to win the title of Kids' Lit Quiz world champions. Prize money is raised through sponsorship – the $12,000 prize for the winning team at the New Zealand nationals is sponsored by the Wright Family Foundation and is used for subsidising the team's international travel costs for the world final. The Kids' Lit Quiz at large is supported by a $115 fee that each team pays to enter the competition – those funds help support the administration of the international website, quiz spot prizes, and helps cover accommodation, meals, rental cars, per diems and other expenses related to participating in the world finals. Mills has never been remunerated for the thousands of hours spent wrangling, reading and setting quiz questions – it's a passion for the project that drives him. When Mills first set up the Kids' Lit Quiz in 1991, it was partly in response to concern that boys in particular weren't reading. The hype around that year's Rugby World Cup had placed an emphasis on sport and competition and he saw a glimmer of an idea in that. The Kids' Lit Quiz is competitive and Mills thinks that having a sense of competition as well as male role model (himself – the OG quizmaster) helped intrigue the boys in those early days. The quiz took off and gathered a life of its own. This year, 530 teams from across the motu took part in Aotearoa's regional heats. Mills says that today getting boys into books isn't so much of a worry – it's the worldwide decline in reading for pleasure that's of most concern. Lynette Collis is the librarian at Palmerston North Intermediate School and the coach of the winning team in this year's New Zealnd Kids' Lit Quiz. Next week she and her team of four intermediate-aged whizz-kid readers will fly to Johannesburg for the world competition, where they'll quiz-off against teams from six other countries – Canada, USA, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia and South Africa. 'They really want to win,' says Collis with a nervous laugh. Training is daily in the lead-up and consists of reading as widely as possible, and watching literary quizzes on YouTube to stock up on general knowledge. They know there will be 10 categories at the worlds, but they they won't know what they are until the day. Collis thinks your average adult would struggle at the worlds. 'Once we get to South Africa we're up against the best of the best,' she says. Both Mills and Collis agree that the Kids' Lit Quiz isn't just about competition. It's about community and conversation. Mills argues that we tend to forget that reading isn't the solitary activity we often perceive it to be. 'Reading needs social interaction!' he says. 'Adults have book clubs and get to talk about books – kids need that too! We should be talking to them about everything – what's in the news, what they're interested in.' Mills is concerned that we've entered an age where reading in-depth is on the decline: we're reading summaries and short bites, and not spending enough time in long-form discovery. Mills cites this as well as Covid as a major factor in the recently reported literacy crisis among New Zealand's teenagers. The lack of access to books and a reliance on screens he says was a huge interruption in children's lives. Collis agrees – as a full-time librarian and the only intermediate school librarian in her region, she knows only too well how important deep reading and conversation is. Students will come to her during library time and bet that she won't have anything for them. That's when Collis will chat to them about their interests and then steer them towards books that meet them where their curiosities are. This work is unfortunately a rare occurrence in New Zealand today, where approximately two out of three schools don't have a library and there are very few full-time librarians at the schools that do have one. School libraries are not mandatory in Aotearoa. 'What food did Paddington have with him when he arrived in England?' 'What revolting couple played nasty jokes on one another?' 'What would happen to Pinocchio's nose when he told lies?' These are sample questions from Mill's extensive 'question bank'. He never approaches a book with a mission to find a question – rather the questions tend to pop out at him as he reads. Myths, legends, fairytales, and nonfiction behemoths like Horrible Histories are useful given how broadly they can be understood. For the more specific questions, Mills is always trying to craft a question that will make the kids want to read the book from which it derives. While Mills is busily reading a book every two days in preparation for quizmastering, Collis and her team are eagerly anticipating the journey to Johannesburg, meeting the other teams and coaches, and taking part in a week-long programme of events including workshops and museum visits. Part of their quiz preparation involves a range of fundraising activities: their nationals winnings went a long way to covering flights and accommodation but they need a bit more to cover the rest of their costs. Next year the world final will be in New Zealand, possibly held in Northland. It'll be Mills' last stint as quizmaster – there's going to be an 'official and ancient ceremony known as the passing of the top hat' whereby Mills will hand the quizmaster title to Alan Dingley, a passionate librarian, reader and educator who has most recently filled the position of Te Awhi Rito Reading Ambassador (Kate De Goldi took over from Dingley last month). Mills won't be far, though: he intends to keep writing the quiz questions until 2027 and will be a regular attendee at the national and international events. His eyes light up when he explains how the finals work: the winners are announced at a deliberately formal dinner. Students wear their best clothes and one member of each team has to stand up and tell the crowd all about their favourite book. After that, the winning team is announced and the trophies and prize money handed out. 'They get treated with the utmost dignity and maturity,' explains Mills. 'That's so that the kids get a taste of what it means to be in the adult world and that they know that what they've achieved is a big deal. Those kids will be spoiled and treated and interviewed – they're the best readers in the world.'
The Spinoff
23-07-2025
- The Spinoff
‘Indigenous nonfiction is vital': Qiane Matata-Sipu's books confessional
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits of Aotearoa writers, and guests. This week: Qiane Matata-Sipu (Te Waiohua, Waikato, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Pikiao, Cook Islands), author of Ngā Kupenga a Nanny Rina (illustrated by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White) which is up for the Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award at the 2025 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. The book I wish I'd written I know it probably takes the fun out of answering these kinds of things, but I don't wish to have written any other books than my own. All the incredible stories and kōrero that I immerse myself in as a reader are a direct reflection of the remarkable writers who penned them. They inspire me to push myself further, to challenge my thinking and to value the stories I have waiting. I wish to champion them and their mahi so we can all make different sized ripples and the puna can overflow. Everyone should read Native Ritual: a Mana Wahine Sourcebook by Ngahuia Murphy because it houses mātauranga that colonisation tried to lose in the lashings, scrape off the tongues of tūpuna and bury in the ashes of the whare wānanga. Ngahuia reminds us of the importance of ceremony, rites of passage and ritual, while reviving these teachings. She shares karakia and guides connection to Kurawaka. There is nothing else like it around. The book I want to be buried with Don't bury me with anything, it's no good for Papatūānuku, but if you are at my tangihanga please read poetry into the night. Start with words from Hoki Mai by Rangimarie Sophie Jolley, weave in Whai by Nicole Titihuia Hawkins, and light the ahi while reading Raised by the Renaissance by Rangipare Belshaw-Ngaropo. Take everyone on a journey from whenua and whakapapa to whānau, whawhai and whakawātea. Let the words remind us of our complexities. Give yourself permission to celebrate and grieve all at once as you are held in the knowing that we can be lost, and home, and broken, and audacious, and witty, and powerful, and healing, and hopeful, all at once, too. And while we're on tangihanga talk, don't even think about reading biblical verses during the 7am and 7pm wā karakia. Instead, after the owhaowha, let my girls teach you how the karanga of Hinenuitepō will guide me to Hawaiki. They will preach to you the stories from Wāhine Toa by Patricia Grace and Robyn Kahukiwa while preparing a sermon from excerpts of Atua Wāhine by Hana Tapiata. The book that made me cry All that we know by Shilo Kino. I was completely fine until the last three pages in the final chapter. If I could ready only three books for the rest of my life they would be Taniwha by Robyn Kahukiwa to remind me of the important things; Te Mahi Māra Hua Parakore – a Māori Food Sovereignty Handbook by Jessica Hutchings to ensure we never go hungry; Kāwai by Monty Souter is perfect for such a time as this because it's the only book I have got so lost in that I yearned to be transported into its pages to live out the rest of my life. The best thing about reading Reading is an opportunity for me as a māmā to connect deeply with my tamariki. Snuggled under the blanket before bedtime, tucked away from the distractions of the day, we get to make up voices for our fave characters, celebrate learning kupu hōu, share giddy smiles when we accomplish the next chapter of a special story and feel the exhilaration of being challenged, inspired and nourished. Fingers trace intricate illustrations and inquisitive minds ask worldly questions. In those moments when it's just us, and a book, I relish in the simplicity of our joy and aroha. Most underrated book Te Whē ki Tukorehe edited by Anahera Gildea and Nadine Hura. In all fairness there were only 200 copies printed, I am privileged to own number 134, but a book that has been guided by literary giants, designed by my fav Chloē Reweti and featuring contributions by the likes of Anne-Marie Te Whiu, Ataria Sharman, Kahu Kutia, Michelle Rahurahu and Te Kahureremoa Taumata, to name a few, should feature on lists of greatness across the motu. It's not just a book, it's a movement of mana and collaboration making marks in the whakapapa of Māori literature by recognising that the process is just as important as the output. Featuring essays, imagery, poetry and prose it is a stunning collection of works. And the paper stock is just yummy. Fiction or nonfiction Indigenous nonfiction is vital in our world today, especially in our current political climate. I think it is incredibly important that we have writers documenting and sharing mātauranga, histories that differ from the Western male gaze and kōrero that not only revives Indigenous knowledge but reminds us of who we are and the Indigenous blueprints for living well. I have a series of book shelves at home that are dedicated to pukapuka supporting the growth of te reo Māori, books that speak to the whakapapa of people and place, art books that champion our weavers, painters, carvers and ceramicists, and new age publications that ensure my uri whakaheke have access to wellbeing tools that are relevant to them and their lived experiences. At the same time, this world can be a shithole and there's no better escape from it than bloody good fiction. Best place to read My answer would usually be something along the lines of 'lying outside the tent at a remote beach location, creamy pāua bubbling on the burner and the kids playing in the kaukau'. But at this moment in time, it is on the mustard bean bag in the corner of my pōtiki's room, before her second nap when the kōkōwai-coloured wall is drenched in the just right amount of afternoon sun. Her three-month-old gummy grin dribbling on the corners of Kupu Tauaro by Kitty Brown and Kirsten Parkinson as we make our way through their Reo Pēpi series. What are you reading right now I am currently reading the proofs of my next children's book My First Ikura and the reo Māori version, Taku Ikura Tuatahi. It's a story that follows a young girl as she experiences her first ikura (period), guided by the love and support of her whānau. Rooted in a Māori worldview, it explores the sacredness of this stage in life, the important roles of family and community, and the ceremonies that uplift and honour young wāhine. A gentle, empowering read for growing girls and their whānau, this self-published taonga celebrates the journey into womanhood with pride, knowledge and aroha (released in October 2025). Ngā Kupenga a Nanny Rina by Qiane Matata-Sipu and illustrated by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White ($21, Penguin) is available to purchase through Unity Books.
