MONTANA NEW ZEALAND BOOK AWARD JUDGES ANNOUNCED.


The nation’s JK Baxter expert is the convening judge for this year’s Montana New Zealand Book Awards.

Dr Paul Millar, a senior lecturer in New Zealand literature at Victoria University of Wellington is joined on the judging panel by reviewer, editor and writer, David Larsen and broadcaster Morrin Rout. Millar was also a judge for the Montana New Zealand Book Awards in 2004.

Dr Millar says he agreed to be a judge for the Montana New Zealand Book Awards again this year because it is exhilarating to discover what our best writers are achieving, and see where our most innovative authors are taking us.

‘New Zealand publishing, at its very best, is something I’m immensely proud to be associated with. It’s impossible to be a judge and not learn something new about the craft of writing or become excited about the future of New Zealand publishing.’

Millar has produced five books and a number of articles on the poetry of James K. Baxter.

The judging of New Zealand’s best books published during the 2006 calendar year is carried out across eight categories – Fiction, Poetry, Biography, History, Reference & Anthology, Environment, Illustrative, and Lifestyle & Contemporary Culture – and follows strict guidelines.

This is the 11th year of the Montana New Zealand Book Awards. Judges take into account enduring literary merit and overall authorship; quality of illustration and graphic presentation; production values, general design and the standard of editing and the impact of the book on the community, with emphasis on issues such as topicality, public interest, commercial viability, entertainment, cultural and educational values and lifespan of the book.

Each category has a specialist advisor to assist the judging panel. This year’s advisors also boast strong writing and publishing credentials:

Fiction – Louise O’Brien, a book critic who has lectured in English literature at Victoria and Massey Universities.

Poetry – John Newton who is a widely published and critically acclaimed poet. Dr Newton is a lecturer of English literature at the University of Canterbury.

History – Peter Gibbons was senior lecturer in History, University of Waikato for many years. He has written on a number of historical subjects.

Biography – Elizabeth Alley, QSO, reviewer and renowned broadcaster and a previous convening judge of the Montana New Zealand Book Awards

Reference and Anthology – Peter Simpson, a writer, curator, editor and associate professor of English at the University of Auckland.

Environment - Kerry-Jayne Wilson, a senior lecturer in ecology at Lincoln University and author of Flight of the Huia, a 2004 Montana New Zealand Book Awards finalist.

Lifestyle and contemporary culture – A journalist, broadcaster and writer, Liz Grant has been involved on several occasions with the Montana New Zealand Book Awards; as a presenter and as co-judge of the Reviewer of the Year Award.

Illustrative – Lawrence McDonald is a writer, curator, editor, and tertiary lecturer. His publications include Handboek: Ans Westra Photographs, which won the Illustrative category of the 2005 Montana New Zealand Book Awards.

The winner in each category receives a prize of $5,000. Each category winner is eligible for the Montana Medal for non fiction or poetry or fiction, both of which carry a prize of $10,000.

The finalists across all categories will be announced on Friday 1 June.

The winner of the poetry category will be announced on Montana Poetry Day on Friday 27 July. All other winners will be advised at a ceremony in Auckland on Monday 30 July 2007.

The principal sponsors of the Montana New Zealand Book Awards are Montana and Creative New Zealand. The awards are managed by Booksellers New Zealand and supported by Book Publishers Association of New Zealand, the New Zealand Society of Authors and Book Tokens (NZ) Ltd.



For further information:
Penny Hartill, publicity consultant, Montana New Zealand Book Awards 2007 on 09 8150646, 021 721 424, phartill@xtra.co.nz

www.montananzbookawards.co.nz