NZCYA Awards

These awards are a celebration of the contribution Kiwi children’s authors and illustrators make to building national identity and cultural heritage. #NZCYA

[NZCYA Awards @nzcya]

Our Awards Convenor, Simie Simpson, joined Kathryn Ryan on RNZ's Nine to Noon this morning to chat about the shortlist.
Thank you to RNZ for helping shine a spotlight on New Zealand's incredible children's and young adult books.

🎧 Listen here: https://t.co/ULbBm3mddF

[NZCYA Awards @nzcya]

The 2026 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults shortlist is announced! Warmest congratulations to this year's finalists.

More details are here: https://t.co/PYFoAGNAon.

Check out these wonderful books in bookstores and libraries near you! #NZCYA #booksalive

[NZCYA Awards @nzcya]

Our 2026 NZCYA judging panels are announced!
An amazing mix of expertise will choose this year’s finalists and winners.

Meet the teams: https://t.co/iubTwCb4In

[NZCYA Awards @nzcya]

🥳 A huge pakipaki mai to all the winners of the 2025 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. Read the best books for young readers now!
#NZCYA #BooksAlive

[NZCYA Awards @nzcya]

📺 Don't forget we're live streaming tonight's ceremony at the beautiful Pipitea Marae. Head to the Events tab of our Facebook page or find us on YouTube (search for nzcyaawards). 💻 Plus our friends at @TheSpinoffTV and @TheSaplingNZ will be live blogging!
#NZCYA #BooksAlive

[Feana Tu'akoi @feanatuakoi]

Fab article in the @the_postnz today, covering this year’s @nzcya shortlist. Thanks to @sapeermayronnz for the shout-out! 🤩

https://t.co/EYnEWTqCgL

[NZCYA Awards @nzcya]

Here they are... the 2025 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adult finalists 🥳

#NZCYA #BooksAlive

[NZCYA Awards @nzcya]

We're inviting expressions of interest from members of the children’s literature community who would like to be considered as judges of the 2025 awards. Applications are open until 31 October.

👉 Find out more here: https://t.co/KSNt6J9USR

[NZCYA Awards @nzcya]

@five15design Kia ora Paul, you won a #BooksAlive day spot prize. Please PM us your address so we can get a 2024 NZCYA finalist title winging your way.

[NZCYA Awards @nzcya]

Want to re-experience Wednesday night's ceremony? Drop into this album of pics from the night and feel all the feels again. #NZCYA #BooksAlive

https://t.co/jXPZATSGxV

[NZCYA Awards @nzcya]

📸We've just posted all the pics from the pre-ceremony photo call, including this lovely shot of Gavin Bishop, winner of the Russell Clark Award for Illustration. Check them out here: https://t.co/9hJ8sLGOJr

[NZCYA Awards @nzcya]

🎉 Whakamihi to all the winners of the 2024 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. #NZCYA #BooksAlive

[NZCYA Awards @nzcya]

🏆 The Margaret Mahy Book of the Year goes to ‘Nine Girls’ by Stacy Gregg Penguin, Penguin Random House. This book celebrates Māori identity, pays tribute to Aotearoa’s rich history, and testifies to the power of storytelling. #NZCYA #BooksAlive @PenguinBooks_NZ

[NZCYA Awards @nzcya]

Margaret Mahy was one of Aotearoa’s most prolific, successful and loved children’s writers, highly respected internationally too. While we lost her 12 years ago, her writing and her many books still provide inspiration to authors and readers today. #NZCYA #BooksAlive

[NZCYA Awards @nzcya]

Finally, here we are at the supreme award of the night, the highly anticipated Margaret Mahy Book of the Year.

[NZCYA Awards @nzcya]

🌟The NZSA Best First Book Award goes to Tsunami, written and illustrated by Ned Wenlock, Earth's End Publishing @NZSocAuthors #NZCYA #BooksAlive

[NZCYA Awards @nzcya]

And now for our final category before the big one, the NZSA Best First Book Award. To congratulate our first-timers we have judge Mat Tait, and Vanda Symon, President of this award’s sponsor, the New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa. #NZCYA @NZSocAuthors

[NZCYA Awards @nzcya]

🌟 The Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for books written entirely in te reo Māori goes to 'Nani Jo me ngā Mokopuna Porohīanga' written by Moira Wairama and illustrated by Margaret Tolland, Baggage Books. #NZCYA #BooksAlive

[NZCYA Awards @nzcya]

Toku reo tōku ohooho
Toku reo tōku māpihi maurea
My language is my awakening
My language is my cherished taonga

This whakataukī acknowledges the uniqueness of Te Kura Pounamu and its inherent value in elevating our reo rangatira. – Judge Lawren Matrix