From an acerbic novel about queer Māori-Russian-Catalan siblings to a self-published portrait of 100 indigenous women, the books in line for New Zealand’s top literature prizes are some of the most diverse yet, with Māori women represented in every category and emerging authors claiming their seat at the table of established writers.
“Within that field of New Zealand writers, there is tremendous diversity of points of view, style and of experience,” said Paula Morris, the spokesperson for the New Zealand Book Awards Trust.
“To have both emerging and established writers on our shortlist is a really good sign that we’re not just discarding the old for the new, but we’re not excluding the new because we’re so busy looking after the old and venerable.”
The four contenders for the top fiction prize are all first-time nominees in that category, including two Māori authors, one of whom – Rebecca K Reilly – is nominated for her debut novel. Morris cannot remember the last time she saw two Māori writers represented in the top fiction prize. “Perhaps we are seeing a coming-of-age for Māori writers in print.”
The shortlist was also striking for the broad range of publishers – from established university presses to tiny independent initiatives, she said.
The fiction writers refused to be pinned down by genre, said Rob Kidd, the convener of judges for the fiction prize. “These novels are packed with life in an array of ordinary and extraordinary forms; they all swell with vitality.”
“A Good Winter by Gigi Fenster is an unnerving and absorbing reading experience as the darkness gradually closes in. Bryan Walpert’s Entanglement is dazzlingly intelligent and ambitious in scope. Rebecca K Reilly’s Greta & Valdin is gloriously queer, hilarious and relatable, and Kurangaituku by Whiti Hereaka is poetic, intense, clever and richly imagined.”
The poetry finalists “have pushed their craft to new limits”, added Saradha Koirala, the category’s convener of judges. “In a time of global instability, Aotearoa poets have reconnected to their sense of self, exploring identity and challenging our collective history.”
Established in 1968, the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are the country’s top literary honours, recognising achievement by New Zealanders in fiction, poetry, illustrated nonfiction and general nonfiction.
Only the fiction prize comes with a large cash prize of $60,000. The general nonfiction, poetry and illustrated nonfiction category winners will each receive $10,000. The winners of the four Crystal Arts Trust Best First Book Awards will each receive $2,500.
The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony on 11 May, though a decision is yet to be made over whether it will be held in person or online, due to the Omicron outbreak sweeping the country.
The 2022 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards shortlisted titles are:
Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction
A Good Winter by Gigi Fenster (Text Publishing)
Entanglement by Bryan Walpert (Mākaro Press)
Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly (Te Herenga Waka University Press)
Kurangaituku by Whiti Hereaka (Huia Publishers)
Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry
Rangikura by Tayi Tibble (Te Herenga Waka University Press)
Sleeping with Stones by Serie Barford (Anahera Press)
The Sea Walks into a Wall by Anne Kennedy (Auckland University Press)
Tumble by Joanna Preston (Otago University Press)
Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction
Dressed: Fashionable Dress in Aotearoa New Zealand 1840 to 1910 by Claire Regnault (Te Papa Press)
NUKU: Stories of 100 Indigenous Women by Qiane Matata-Sipu (QIANE+co)
Shifting Grounds: Deep Histories of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland by Lucy Mackintosh (Bridget Williams Books)
The Architect and the Artists: Hackshaw, McCahon, Dibble by Bridget Hackshaw (Massey University Press)
General Non-Fiction Award
From the Centre: A Writer’s Life by Patricia Grace (Penguin, Penguin Random House)
The Alarmist: Fifty Years Measuring Climate Change by Dave Lowe (Te Herenga Waka University Press)
The Mirror Book by Charlotte Grimshaw (Vintage, Penguin Random House)
Voices from the New Zealand Wars | He Reo nō ngā Pakanga o Aotearoa by Vincent O’Malley (Bridget Williams Books)
