Victoria University Press (VUP) titles
dominate the list of finalists for the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards,
announced today.
Victoria University of
Wellington Emeritus Professor Vincent O’Sullivan and International Institute of
Modern Letters Master of Creative Writing teacher Kate Duignan both have novels
shortlisted for the Acorn Foundation Prize—the top prize worth $53,000.
The shortlist for the
Poetry Award consists entirely of VUP titles: There’s No Place Like Internet
in Springtime by Christchurch-based poet Erik Kennedy, Are Friends
Electric? by Helen Heath, The Facts by Therese Lloyd and Poūkahangatus
by Tayi Tibble.
Tayi Tibble’s debut Poūkahangatus
has received popular and critical praise since its release last year. Tibble
says the response to her work encouraged her as a writer and as a young wahine
Māori. “The recognition of Poūkahangatus also acknowledges the lives and
experiences of the women who came before me, so being shortlisted is very
significant to me in that sense.”
Henry’s memoir traces
the aftermath of the Christchurch and Kaikōura earthquakes, both of which
affected her family. “There are so many writers across all of the categories
that I'm absolutely in awe of ... it’s totally beyond what I ever would have
expected for my first book,” she says.
VUP publisher Fergus
Barrowman says he is thrilled by today’s announcement. “To have debut authors
like Chessie and Tayi alongside New Zealand’s finest established writers like
Vincent and Maurice as finalists is a great illustration of the robust health
of New Zealand writing, and exactly where VUP wants to be in that picture.”
The winners of the
Ockham New Zealand Book Awards will be announced at a ceremony in Auckland on
Tuesday 14 May.
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