New authors feature in children’s book awards list

NZ Post Children’s Book Festival and Awards

News Release
Saturday 26 January 2002

The 2002 New Zealand Post Children’s Book Festival and Awards

First-time authors feature in children’s book award shortlist

Five first-time authors and illustrators have made the shortlist for the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards 2002 announced today.

The judging panel which consists of Convenor Dame Catherine Tizard, William Taylor and Glenn Colquhoun found the judging to be challenging this year and said it was a pity that the shortlist could not have been twice as long. They were delighted to see so many first-time authors producing books of a very high standard. Five of them (Alison Robertson, Sandy McKay, Ray Galvin, Chris Mousdale and Renée Hapimarika van de Weert) wrote or illustrated books of such high calibre that they feature in the shortlist alongside some of the biggest names in children’s literature in this country.

The 2002 New Zealand Post Children’s Book Award Finalists are:

Senior Fiction Category: Jolt by Bernard Beckett (Longacre Press); Kalik by Jack Lasenby (Longacre Press); Owl by Joanna Orwin (Longacre Press); Return to One Foot Island by Graeme Lay (Penguin Books); Tiggie Tompson All At Sea by Tessa Duder (Puffin/Penguin Books)

Junior Fiction Category: Ambushed by Fleur Beale (Scholastic New Zealand); Knocked for Six by Alison Robertson* (Scholastic New Zealand); Recycled by Sandy McKay* (Longacre Press); The Riddle of the Frozen Phantom by Margaret Mahy (HarperCollins); The Weather-Makers by Shirley Corlett (Scholastic New Zealand)

Non-Fiction Category: Fibonacci’s Cows by Ray Galvin* (Shortland Publications); I am a Spider by Dr Simon Pollard (Reed Publishing); The Plight of the Penguin by Lloyd Spencer Davis (Longacre Press); The Reed Maori Picture Dictionary by Margaret Sinclair, Ross Calman and Dale Tutill (Reed Publishing); Which New Zealand Bird? by Andrew Crowe and Dave Gunson (Penguin Books)

Picture Book Category: Brodie by Joy Cowley and Chris Mousdale* (Scholastic New Zealand); Grandpa’s Shorts by Joy Watson and Wendy Hodder (Scholastic New Zealand); Scarface Claw by Lynley Dodd (Mallinson Rendell); The Last Whale/Te Tohorä Whakamutunga by Renée Hapimarika van de Weert* and Anton Petrov (Reed Publishing); Tom Thumb by Gavin Bishop (Random House)

The New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards promote excellence in children’s literature and provide recognition for the very best children’s books published annually in New Zealand. A national festival of children’s activities celebrating books begins on Monday 18 March and culminates on Wednesday 27 March 2002 with the Awards Ceremony to be held at Parliament in Wellington hosted by Education Minister, Trevor Mallard.

Each of the four categories carries an award of $5,000. In addition, $5000 is awarded to the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Of The Year. This is awarded to any one of the four category winners in recognition of outstanding, overall excellence. The judges may also award a special prize of $1,000 for the best first book from a previously unpublished author or illustrator. Children are invited to vote for their favourite book from the shortlisted titles for the New Zealand Post Children’s Choice Award. The winner receives a specially designed hand-crafted trophy.

The New Zealand Post Children’s Book Festival and the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards are sponsored by New Zealand Post, administered by Booksellers New Zealand and supported by Creative New Zealand.

For regular updates, refer to the Booksellers New Zealand Website www.booksellers.co.nz

* denotes first time author/illustrator

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