We are delighted and proud to share that Wānaka secondary school and public librarian (at Wānaka library) Maia Bennett (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Tūwharetoa), who was a judge of the 2023 awards, will convene the English and bilingual panel in 2024.
Maia says she was delighted to be asked to return as convenor this year. “It is such a privilege to be part of this important mahi celebrating our local literature for children and young adults. This year’s panel of judges bring a wide range of expertise and experiences in a variety of fields, while sharing a passion for books and reading,” she says. “We look forward to the collaboration and spirited discussion that will no doubt ensue as we deliberate to collectively determine the very best children’s books from a highly competitive and innovative field of entries.”
The 2024 judges will read and appraise an expected 160 or more entries in six categories: Picture Book, Junior Fiction (the Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award), Young Adult Fiction, Non-Fiction (the Elsie Locke Award), Illustration (the Russell Clark Award) and te reo Māori (the Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award). They will select up to five finalists in each category, as well as up to five finalists for the NZSA Best First Book Award, and then a winner in each category. The overall winner, the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year, will be decided by both panels from the six main category winners.
Click here to read the full article on the New Zealand Book Awards, including information on submission criteria.
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