PANZ Book Design Awards Finalists 2023: Children’s Books

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Design is a huge part of what makes good books even better. Design is not just about looking pretty; it’s about guiding the reader’s eye, drawing attention to key features, making text readable, digestible, and accessible. Good design is almost invisible; you don’t notice it because it’s doing its job. Good design is also very visible, it’s an art in itself. These awards celebrate the best design in books in Aotearoa. Here, we are showcasing the children’s and young adult titles that made the shortlist.

The world is turning increasingly virtual, but when it comes to book design Aotearoa’s creatives prefer to celebrate the physical form in all its glory. The finalists for the 2023 PANZ Book Design Awards, announced today, perfectly encapsulate this with the shortlist packed to the brim with beautifully designed books that beg to be picked up and explored.

The Publishers Association of New Zealand Te Rau o Tākupu (PANZ) established the awards to promote excellence in, and provide recognition for, the best book design in Aotearoa New Zealand.

“Aotearoa’s book designers have certainly celebrated ink on paper and the innate physical qualities of books as tactile experiences, perhaps espousing that a book in the hand is worth two on the screen?” says convenor of judges David Coventon, a graphic designer and design educator.

The huge task of picking the finalists was even more challenging for the judges this year with entries up 20% on 2022. This meant the judging panel had to pour over 160 books to find the standouts.

David says this speaks to the strength of Aotearoa’s thriving publishing industry, with the books produced here reaching an incredibly high standard.

“Some titles jumped out from the very first glance with strong and certain delivery of design concept within the category. Others rewarded a slower encounter, revelling in the finest production choices of paper stock, typographic details, or surprises of scale and application of colour, creating changes of pace as pages were turned.”

A category that provoked particular debate was the often-underestimated field of typography. The judges struggled to decide on just five finalists as they felt the varying demands placed on designers when it comes to typographic choices warranted recognition. In the end, six books made the shortlist.

David was joined by a judging panel of experts which included Jo Bailey, a graphic designer, researcher and design educator; Neil Pardington, a Wellington artist and designer; and Jenna Todd, a bookseller with an arts and photography background.

The judges now face the difficult task of narrowing down the winners of the 10 categories and selecting a winner of the main prize, the Gerard Reid Award for Best Book sponsored by Nielsen BookData. The winners will be announced at a special ceremony in Auckland on 21 September where attendees will also be able to vote for the Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand People’s Choice Award.

Scholastic New Zealand Award for Best Children’s Book

Annual 3

Edited by Susan Paris and Kate De Goldi (Annual Ink). Cover designed by Ross Murray, interior Marcus Thomas.

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Crane Guy 

By Sally Sutton, illustrated by Sarah Wilkins (Penguin Random House NZ). Designed by Carla Sy.

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Roo And Vladimir (an unlikely friendship)

By Minky Stapleton (Scholastic New Zealand). Designed by Minky Stapleton.

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Sylvia and the Birds: How The Bird Lady saved thousands of birds and how you can, too

By Johanna Emeney and Sarah Laing (Massey University Press). Design and illustrations by Sarah Laing.

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Te Wehenga: The Separation of Ranginui and Papatūānuku 

By Mat Tait (Allen & Unwin). Cover designed by Mat Tait with Megan van Staden.

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Lift Education Award for Best Education Book or Series — Primary

Nature’s Wildlife Weapons

By James Ryan (Bateman Books). Designed by Cheryl Smith, Macarn Design.

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Year 4 Homework Start Right Workbook 

By Raymond Huber (ESA Publications (NZ) Ltd trading as LearnWell). 

Year 8 Social Studies Start Right Workbook 

By Caroline Mulholland (ESA Publications (NZ) Ltd trading as LearnWell). 

Designers Barnaby McBryde, Pietro Lubich, LearnWell, Jane Meder, Jane Meder Illustration and Design & Robyn Hopcroft, Hop2it Art and Design.

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Lift Education Award for Best Education Book or Series — Secondary/Tertiary

Environmental Politics and Policy in Aotearoa New Zealand 

Edited by Maria Bargh and Julie L MacArthur (Auckland University Press). Cover designed by Kalee Jackson, Studio Kalee Jackson, interior designed by Amy Tansell, Words Alive in collaboration with Auckland University Press staff.

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Medium: A technical guide for creating better medium density housing in Aotearoa New Zealand 

By Guy Marriage (EBOSS). Designed by Brittany Irvine.

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2023 Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand Emerging Designer Award Finalists

Brittany Irvine

Medium: A technical guide for creating better medium density housing in Aotearoa New Zealand by Guy Marriage (EBOSS)

Jean Donaldson

Tiaki: A shout-out to Aotearoa’s lesser-known creatures by Jean Donaldson (Potton & Burton)

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For the rest of the finalists in adult book categories, check out the PANZ Book Design Awards website.

THE JUDGING PANEL

David Coventon – Convenor

David Coventon is a graphic designer and communication design educator with almost 30 years’ experience. After graduating from Central Saint Martins’ Masters in Graphic Design, David co-founded and managed start-up studio two:Design London, in Camden for 8 years. First tempted into visiting lecturer work at University of East London, he subsequently became Graphic Design Bachelor course leader at Camberwell College of Arts. A move to Tāmaki Makaurau saw him become a visiting lecturer at Unitec, work as a house graphic designer at Auckland Museum and spend five years as a senior lecturer at AUT. He is currently at the end of two years serving as the Education Board member of Designers Institute New Zealand (DINZ).

Jo Bailey

Jo Bailey (she/they) is a graphic designer, researcher and design educator at Toi Rauwhārangi College of Creative Arts Massey University in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington. The designer of many books (and a previous PANZ Book Design Award winner herself), Jo enjoys the small canvas, be that a book cover, or the stamps she designed in 2022 honouring women in science (a side-project of her PhD research in science in society). You can see Jo’s work at makinggood.design.

Neil Pardington

Neil Pardington is an artist and designer based in Wellington. He is one of New Zealand’s most established and widely exhibited contemporary photographers and is currently the Creative Director of Neil Pardington Design. A focus of Neil’s career has been his work in the arts sector, where he has designed many projects including photographic books. He is of Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Ngāti Kahungunu and Pākehā descent, and is a graduate of Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland. Neil is the recipient of numerous national awards for design, the 2011 recipient of the Marti Friedlander Photographic Award and a founding trustee of the Paemanu Ngāi Tahu Contemporary Visual Arts Trust.

Jenna Todd 

Jenna Todd (Kāi Tahu) is the manager of Time Out Bookstore in Mt Eden, which was named in the top three bookstores in the world in 2017. A regular reviewer of books on RNZ’s Nine to Noon and 95bFM’s breakfast show, Jenna was named Young Bookseller of the Year in 2015, was a fiction judge for the 2018 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards and the convenor of judges for the 2022 PANZ Book Design Awards. She has recently retired as Chair of Booksellers Aotearoa NZ and as a member of the New Zealand Book Awards Trust. Jenna holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Dunedin School of Art and works as a freelance photographer.

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