Celebrating great New Zealand books and supporting New Zealand authors is at the heart of what we do. We are delighted to contribute to the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults
“Characters burst off the pages, delighting us at every turn,” say the judges of this year’s New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. They have selected 35 finalists for the 2017 awards.
“This year’s shortlist reminds us that books are powerful vehicles for helping children make sense of their world and gain a better understanding of themselves and others. At times the vividly descriptive writing was brutal and heart-breaking, providing moving portrayals of life through the eyes of children and teenagers. All finalist titles are convincing in their realism, skilfully laced with honour and honesty throughout,” says convenor of judges Pam Jones.
Many of the books submitted dealt with serious issues. “War featured highly, alongside other topical themes like teenage pregnancy, surveillance, abuse, homelessness, racial tensions and bullying. Coming-of-age stories and characters that are living with extended family members highlighted the meaning of family and love,” Pam Jones says.
The finalists in the 2017 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are selected across six categories: Picture Book, Junior Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, Non-Fiction, Illustration and te reo Māori; and the Best First Book category. There were 152 entries submitted for the 2017 awards.
This year, Copyright Licensing NZ (CLNZ) is the new sponsor for the Young Adult Fiction Award. CLNZ helps the owners of published content to earn a living from their work by licensing copying from books, journals, magazines and newspapers by schools and other education and commercial organisations. The licence revenue generated by CLNZ is a valuable source of income for authors and publishers.
CLNZ’s CEO Paula Browning says, “Celebrating great New Zealand books and supporting New Zealand authors is at the heart of what we do. We are delighted to contribute to the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults by sponsoring the Copyright Licensing NZ Young Adult Fiction Award.”
Copyright Licensing NZ Award for Young Adult Fiction Finalists
Coming Home to Roost, Mary-anne Scott, Penguin Random House (Longacre)
Kiwis at War 1916: Dig for victory, David Hair, Scholastic NZ
Like Nobody’s Watching, LJ Ritchie, Escalator Press
Shooting Stars, Brian Falkner, Scholastic NZ
The Severed Land, Maurice Gee, Penguin Random House (Penguin)
For more information about the awards and a list of all the finalists, please visit the website.