The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2020

by The REJIGIT Blog


Update 12 March 2020

Unity Books Auckland has won the Bookstore of the Year Award at the 2020 London Book Fair International Excellence Awards.

Unity Books was cited for for ‘their wonderful and “dangerously tempting” store, and for developing career booksellers, growing their business substantially, and their commitment and actions to become carbon zero by 2025’.

The shortlist for the award, which was open to all bookstores outside the UK, also included Estonian bookshop Rahva Raamat AS and Yemen Bookstore in Yemen.

March 2020

Judges for the 2020 New Zealand Book Awards to be announced at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards ceremony in the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre at Auckland’s Aotea Centre on 12th May next.

The $55,000 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction: author, journalist, reviewer Mark Broatch, short story and non-fiction writer Nic Low (Ngāi Tahu), independent bookseller Chris Baskett and Australian (Wiradjuri) writer Tara June Winch.

The Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry: poet and publisher Kiri Piahana-Wong, Ockham New Zealand Book Awards shortlisted poet Tim Upperton and general manager of University Book Shop Otago Phillippa Duffy. 

General Non-Fiction Award: Hocken Librarian Sharon Dell, bookseller, reviewer and artist Stella Chrysostomou and broadcast and print journalist Guyon Espiner.

The Illustrated Non-Fiction Award: publishing tutor at Whitireia Odessa Owens, independent critic, editor and author Lana Lopesi and writer and arts advisor Hamish Coney.

One hundred and seventy two entries were submitted for this years awards and sixteen have been selected for the shortlist.