I was a little worried that going to an awards night for literature might feel like a school assembly that drags on a little too long and leaves you counting down the minutes til it’s over. Instead I was captivated for two whole hours - by everything from the incredible finalists reading aloud powerful portions of their texts, to the crowd responding to the wonderful MCing of Miriama Kamo (at one point she lightened the mood of a tense crowd by referring to the collective sphincter clenching that had come about).
There was waiata and wero (challenges), politics and poetry, story telling and story tellers. In one mere evening we went everywhere from microscopic botanical details and historical maps of Wellington, to stories of homecoming and walking the length of Aotearoa, to trying to find a new way of politics or a new way of being. It was a night of celebrating writers and the mahi it takes to bring pen to paper (or fingers to keyboards) and create something new from everything before. It was also a night of honouring the collaboration it takes to create a beautiful book - with the authors surrounded by support from book designers, publishers, editors, sellers, and more. All in all it left me inspired and reflective and grateful to bear witness to creativity and literature holding such an important place in society.
But we were also there to see which books and which authors would take out this year’s prizes, in the 58th year of the awards and amongst the hundreds of entries. A huge congratulations to the winners as well as the finalists, and well done to the judges for making such tricky decisions amongst such a smorgasbord of incredible creativity.
📣 The winners!
Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction
All Her Lives
By Ingrid Horrocks
This huge Kiwi prize went to Ingrid Horrocks for her collection of short stories, All Her Lives. Her writing is a little like Elizabeth Strout, quiet and yet powerful, revolving around connected characters and their lives and their place in our history. It’s beautifully written, and an excellent addition to the canon of NZ fiction.
BookHub Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction
Mr Ward's Map By Elizabeth Cox
By Ingrid Horrocks
I never thought I would want to buy a book about historical maps but after hearing Elizabeth read aloud from this stunning book about the history of Wellington I now want it for myself and for a few other people as well. Told through a historic blueprint of Wellington, this gorgeous book captures the stories of the people and places and buildings across our capital city.
Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry
Black Sugarcane
By Nafanua Purcell Kersel
It’s hard to believe this is a debut collection, the poems and pieces in Black Sugarcane are incredible engaging and intricate and well worth a quiet moment of attention. Nafanua is both sharp and soft, resisting and receptive, and I was taken aback by the poem she shared with us last night that the collection is named for.
General Non-Fiction Award
Black Sugarcane
By Nafanua Purcell Kersel
Another of the books I had to immediately buy and take home was This Compulsion in Us, the first non-fiction piece of work by accomplished writer and novelist Tina Makereti. This incredible collection of essays covers what it means to bridge worlds, to transform, to live as both Māori and as Pakeha, to be a parent and a child, a teacher and a learner. It’s a beautiful portrait of a storyteller.
Mūrau o te Tuhi – Māori Language Award
Te Ahua o nga Kupu Whakaari a Te Kooti
By Ta Pou Temara
The winner of the Māori Language Award is this incredible pukapuka that is centered on Te Kooti and his prophetic language and messages, interrogating the place these kupu still have for us now, and whether we are living up to them. This award was particularly moving, seeing many stand to honour Tā Pou Temara with waiata before an awe struck crowd.
Mātātuhi Foundation Best First Book Awards
It was lovely to see debut authors awarded - from Jacinda with her powerful memoir on what it means to be a politician, to 76 year old Philip Garnock Jones who created something magical with his stunning book on Aotearoa’s flowers, He Puawai. I immediately bought a copy of No Good, a beautiful debut poetry collection, and Pastoral Care sounds wonderful too - another collection of short stories about the daily life of Aotearoa that is right up my alley.
