|
|
2019
OCKHAM FINALISTS EXPLORE THE TRUTH AND ISSUES OF OUR TIMES
|
|
|
Four of our best-known novelists – whose novels,
appropriately for our times, explore what it means to tell the
truth – are in the running for the country’s richest fiction
writing award, the Acorn Foundation Fiction Prize, with today’s
Ockham New Zealand Book Awards finalist announcement.
New Zealand Book Awards trustee Jenna Todd says the full Ockham’s
shortlist is clear evidence of the vitality of New Zealand
literature. “Not only does the shortlist feature some of our
best-known writers – those with long and illustrious careers – but
it also includes newcomers writing out of deep passion and
engagement.”
|
|
|
|
“These 16 books deepen the public discourse on a
range of issues and the particular genius of each of their writers
lifts them to an emotional plane at which they reward and endure
for their readers.”
— Jenna
Todd, NZ Book Awards trustee
|
|
|
You can find the full list of Ockham New Zealand
Book Awards shortlisted titles here and you can download social
media visuals and other material to promote the books from the Resources page of our website
later this morning.
|
|
|
|
WE WELCOME
TWO NEW SPONSORS
Today’s finalist announcement includes two major new category
sponsors for the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. To support and
nurture new writing talent, mitochondrial science company MitoQ
will sponsor the four Best First Book awards, and arts enthusiasts
and philanthropists Mary and Peter Biggs will support the Poetry
category.
|
|
|
|
MitoQ’s chief marketing officer John Marshall says
that as one of New Zealand’s newest success stories, it is their
pleasure to help emerging writers further enrich the country’s
literature.
Mary and Peter Biggs say that with poetry undergoing a wonderful
resurgence in our country over the last few years, it struck them
as strange that the poetry award was unsupported.
|
|
|
|
“We are thrilled to be involved and hope that the
Award continues to recognise poetry’s – and the poet’s – vital role
to, as Salman Rushdie says, shape the world and stop it from going
to sleep.”
— Peter
Biggs CNZM
|
|
|
Award-winning New York-based novelist Joseph O'Neill
will assist the three New Zealand judges to select this year’s
Acorn Foundation Fiction Prize winner from the four finalists
Irish born O'Neill is the author of four novels, most recently The Dog
and Netherland,
which received the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Kerry Fiction Prize.
He has also published a book of short stories, Good Trouble,
and a family history, Blood-Dark
Track.
|
|
|
|
NPD HAS A
NEW ADMINISTRATOR
|
|
|
|
We were very sad to bid farewell to the
extraordinary Harley Hern, Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day
administrator of the past two years, but we are also delighted to
have her fellow alumni from the Master’s in Creative Writing at the
University of Auckland, Jacqui Hammond, take her place.
Jacqui majored in Literature, before working as a writer and editor
for several years in London and Sydney. She completed her Master’s
in 2015. She is a keen supporter of poetry and has a couple of
poems published in the latest Fast
Fibres collection.
|
|
|
|
Jacqui is keenly awaiting the flood of proposals
when NPD 2019 registrations open next
Wednesday.
|
|
|
|
GET READY
FOR THE 2019 HELL READING CHALLENGE
|
|
|
We’re just days away from launching the wonderful
annual campaign that gets our nation’s youth reading and enjoying
the pleasures of stories – with the bonus of free pizza rewards.
Yes, the 2019 HELL Reading Challenge is about to kick off!
Registrations open Friday 8 March
and already our administrator Joy Sellen has fielded an
unprecedented number of enquiries from schools and libraries, so we
are set for another record year.
|
|
|
|
In last year’s Challenge 300,000 reading wheels were
distributed, meaning that potentially more than two million books
were read by Kiwi kids as a result of the campaign.
|
|
|
|
8 March: HELL Reading Challenge 2019
begins.
13 March: National Poetry Day event
registrations/seed funding applications open.
14 May: Ockham NZ Book Awards ceremony at
Aotea Centre, as part of Auckland Writers Festival. Tickets on sale
15 March.
22 May: Deadline for National Poetry Day
event registration/seeding funding applications.
6 June: Shortlist announced for 2019 NZ
Book Awards for Children & Young Adults.
7 August: NZ Book Awards for Children &
Young Adults ceremony in Wellington.
23 August: Phantom Billstickers National
Poetry Day
|
|
|
The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards, The New Zealand
Book Awards for Children & Young Adults, and Phantom
Billstickers National Poetry Day could not exist without the
generosity, commitment and vision of our sponsors and staging
partners. The New Zealand Book Awards Trust is hugely grateful to
Creative New Zealand, Ockham Residential, Acorn Foundation, Royal
Society Te Apārangi, MitoQ, Mary and Peter Biggs, Auckland Writers
Festival, HELL Pizza, Wright Family Foundation, LIANZA, Wellington
City Council, Te Papa, Nielsen Book, Phantom Billstickers, and our
other wonderful supporters. You can find out more about them here, here and here.
|
|
|
You can find out more about the work of the Trust on
our website or
if you have a specific enquiry, contact our Trust Manager. And do follow us on
our various social media accounts to keep up with our busy calendar
of events and other news:
|
|
|
New Zealand
Book Awards for Children
& Young
Adults
via Facebook or Twitter
|
|
|
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment