Awards

2024 NZCYA Picture Book Award Finalists

The picture book finalist pukapuka are as varied as they are colourful. Linda Jane Keegan takes the shortlisted books to a few classes at Tākaka Primary School and asks the tamariki what they think. See our comments on the complete…

The Finalists of the 2024 NZ Kids’ Books Awards Are…

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. Well, nearly. Awards night isn’t until August, but between…

Books have Borders: The Bologna Book Fair

Selling children’s book rights into new territories, languages, and formats is the business of the Bologna Book Fair in Italy. The 61st year of the fair took place last week and attracted over 1,500 exhibitors and a total of 31,735…

Quiz: Booklovers Awards 2024

The 2024 Booklovers Awards shortlist has just been announced. How much do you know about this year’s shortlisted titles, authors, and categories? Rack your brains with our first quiz of the year, focused on all things Booklovers Awards-related! Questions 1….

2023 Notable Books Quiz

Last week, Storylines announced their annual list of Notable Books for 2023, comprising over 50 pukapuka across five genres that have been published in the past year. How well do you know this year’s list? Take our quiz to find…

Interview: Giselle Clarkson, Arts Laureate

This month, the children’s book community of Aotearoa New Zealand – and anyone who’s every interacted with her, probably – was collectively delighted to learn that illustrator Giselle Clarkson is one of the 2023 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureates….

2023 NZCYA Young Adult Award Finalists

It’s our final installment of the NZCYA finalists before the winners are announced next week. Briar Lawry gets the downlow from her high school students on what they think of the finalists, with some insightful if not judgemental reckons. The…

PANZ Book Design Awards Finalists 2023: Children’s Books

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…