A
new charitable trust has been formed to govern the prestigious New Zealand Book
Awards and the New Zealand Book
Awards for Children and Young Adults.
Major
changes to the timing and to refresh the format of the awards are also
underway.
Announcing
the formation of the New Zealand Book Awards Trust, chairperson Nicola Legat (right) said the new legal structure would,
amongst other things, allow more flexibility to apply for grants and patronage.
New
Zealand Post Group, which sponsored the Book Awards for Children and Young
Adults for 18 years and the New Zealand Book Awards for five years, has
withdrawn from its high profile sponsorship and the search for new sponsors is
well underway. We thank them for their great support over the years.
The
New Zealand Book Awards Trust
is comprised of members from the Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ),
the New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA) and Booksellers New Zealand
(BSNZ). Each is represented on the board by one member, with scope for the
appointment of non-trade board members.
The
trustees are Sam Elworthy, President of PANZ, representing PANZ; Kyle Mewburn,
President of the NZSA, representing the NZSA; and Stella Chrysostomou, Manager
of Page and Blackmore Booksellers, representing BSNZ.
Independent
members are Karen Ferns, former joint Managing Director of Random House
Australia and New Zealand; businesswoman Sue Wood; and well-known publisher
and journalist, Nicola Legat .
The
timing of both Awards will change. The 2015 Book Awards for Children and Young
Adults will be held in August. This will make way for the New Zealand Book
Awards to be held in Auckland as part of the Auckland Writers Festival in May
2016.
The
trust board sees the partnership with the Auckland Writers Festival as a great
opportunity for New Zealand writers – putting them where
there is a huge audience of committed readers.
. For
its part, “The Auckland Writers Festival is thrilled that the Book Awards Trust
wishes to bring these prestigious awards into the festival programme,” said the
Festival’s director Anne O’Brien. “It is a marquee event in New Zealand’s
literary calendar, and partnering with the Trust fits perfectly with our
aspiration of supporting and showcasing New Zealand writers and their
work. Being able to have the winners as part of the programme over the Festival
weekend means that these fine writers are being placed where readers are, and
can take advantage of the Festival’s considerable – and growing – audience.”
Submissions
for the 2015 Book Awards for Children and Young Adults will open on 3 November
for books published between January 2014 and 31 March 2015.
One
of the first tasks of the new trust board will be to appoint judges for the
2015 Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. Expressions of interest in
being on the judging panel can be sent to awards@bookawardstrust.org.nz.
You will find the digital form to apply on our website, www.bookawardstrust.org.nz.
Due
to the timing change for the New Zealand Book Awards to May 2016, the period
for submissions for these awards will be extended to include books published from
June 2014 and until 31 December 2015.
Chairperson
Nicola Legat says, “To try to hold the awards next May, with only six months’
of books that would be eligible, was thought to be unfair to publishers and
authors.
“We
have made these changes as the result of a period of deep discussion and
consultation, and that consultation will continue on for a while yet.
“As
well as changing the dates, other adjustments will be made to both sets of
awards to make them relevant and fresh while retaining their inherent mana.
Those further changes will be announced in the coming weeks.
“It’s
an exciting and positive time for these awards and what is absolutely clear is
how critically important they are as a way of rewarding excellence in New
Zealand writing, and of encouraging New Zealanders to read New Zealand books.”
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