The winners of the NZ Booklovers Awards will be announced at the end of the week. Before we find out who takes out the picture book, junior fiction and young adult prizes, we spoke with the Booklovers team to find out a bit more about the awards.
Can you tell us a little about NZ Booklovers?
NZ Booklovers is an online home for books, and for those who enjoy reading them. The site was created by book lovers for book lovers. It is a bookworms’ hub, dedicated to bringing New Zealanders everything they need to know about the latest books. NZ Booklovers showcases both New Zealand and international titles. If it’s a good book, you’ll probably find a review or author interview on the site!
Who started the site and why?
JJ McConnachie and Emma Codd are a pair of avid readers who started NZ Booklovers in 2014. They wanted to create a dedicated site for book lovers in NZ, and they set about creating the original website with a great deal of enthusiasm. In 2017, JJ approached Karen McMillan about taking over the site as they no longer had the time to run NZ Booklovers. Karen has a passion for supporting other authors, and she immediately said yes, and has been running NZ Booklovers since, with the fantastic team of reviewers who are part of the NZ Booklovers family.
Where did the idea for the NZ Booklovers Awards come from?
Karen works with many authors and saw that an award for more mainstream authors would be a welcome addition to the New Zealand literary scene. There are so many wonderful awards available in New Zealand, and this award was designed to be complementary to the existing awards and allow another opportunity to shine a light on our talented writers. The NZ Booklovers team loved the idea, so the first NZ Booklovers Awards finalists and winners were announced in 2019, with three categories.
Funding opportunities in the arts are pretty stretched at the moment, so it’s great to have awards that offer cash prizes for writers.
Thank you! We spoke to authors about what they wanted. Cash and promotion or recognition came top of the list. Our budget is modest, but it’s great to be able to offer a small cash prize for the winners. We would love to be able to increase prizes and categories in the future if we are able.
writing that helps engage our youngest readers …
Can you tell us about finding sponsors for the awards?
For the first few years, Karen funded the awards herself. It’s only recently that we have had some sponsorship. This is not our strong suit, though, and we are currently trying to find sponsors for all the categories for the 2026 Awards, so if anyone is keen to come on board let us know! Plan B is for Karen to sponsor some of the categories again, but hopefully it won’t come to that.
There are three categories for children’s books in the awards – young adult, junior fiction and picture books. Can you tell us what the judges were looking for in each category?
Of course, we were looking for books that are well-written, but in addition we were looking for the following in each category:
For the children’s picture books, we were looking for writing that helps engage our youngest readers and foster a love of books.
For the junior fiction category, we were looking for books that are child-friendly and that encourage even reluctant readers to develop a love of reading.
For the YA category, whether fantasy or grounded in reality, we were looking for a read that was entertaining but also thought-provoking for young people finding their way in the world.
… encourage even reluctant readers to develop a love of reading
How many books were entered in these categories?
We had 151 entries over the five categories, with 80 entries for the children’s awards. The books are entered by publishers and writers.
… a read that was entertaining but also thought-provoking for young people finding their way in the world.
How does the judging process work?
The three judges in each category read all the books, and notes are taken, and then the judges come together in person or over Zoom to discuss. This is done with a great deal of love, care and consideration, as we really value and respect every book that is entered and the time and energy that has gone into writing. The Young Adult, Junior Fiction Book and Children’s Picture Book Awards are judged by creative writing teacher, assessor, mentor and reviewer Paddy Richardson; writer and former editor Heidi North; early childhood kaiako and journalist Rebekah Lyell; high school teacher, author, musician, and reviewer Chris Reed, and primary school teacher, journalist and former book editor Stacey Anyan.
The standard of the entries is generally very high, so it tends to turn into a tremendous championing exercise, where the judges are debating passionately about the books they think are the most outstanding. Interestingly, some years, the winning book is clear from the start, but other years there is much debate back and forth before a decision is made.
On the cusp of the announcement of this year’s winners, what do you hope these awards will mean for writers? And others involved in producing children’s books?
We hope our awards will be a moment of celebration, not just for the deserving winners – but for the wider publishing industry in New Zealand. Talented creatives in New Zealand are producing well written and beautifully presented books that are world class. We hope it’s a moment for everyone involved to feel some pride in the high-quality books Aotearoa creates.
[Judging] is done with a great deal of love, care and consideration.
Entries for the 2026 awards (for books published during 2025) will open in May. What are the judges hoping to see more of next year?
We are expecting more excellent books that will delight us once again. The variety and brilliance of what our talented New Zealand authors are producing is awe inspiring! It’s truly a delight to read each and every book that is entered.