PVLF 2025

Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2024 Winners Announced

Discover the winners of the 2024 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards, showcasing outstanding literary achievements across various categories.
on May 16, 2024

The winners of the 2024 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards have been revealed.

Emily Perkins won the fiction prize for Lioness (Bloomsbury). Juliet Blyth, convenor of the fiction judges, stated: 'At first impression, this appears to be a psychological thriller about a privileged, wealthy family and its breakdown. A deeper look reveals an incisive analysis of riches, power, class, feminine wrath, and the search for authenticity.

'Emily Perkins masterfully wrangles a wide ensemble of characters in vibrant technicolor, giving each their moment in the sun while dexterously weaving together numerous plotlines,' observed Blyth. 'Her piercing observations and razor-sharp wit demolish midlife cliches in moments of pure writing brilliance, leaving the reader wanting for more. Lioness is memorable for being disturbing, deep, intellectual, and hilarious as heck.

The winners in each category of the Ockham Awards were chosen from shortlists announced in March.

Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction (NZ$65,000)

Lioness (Emily Perkins, Bloomsbury)

Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry (NZ$12,000)

Chinese Fish (Grace Yee, Giramondo)

General Nonfiction Award (NZ$12,000)

An Indigenous Ocean: Pacific essays (Damon Salesa, Bridget Williams Books)

Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand Award for Illustrated Nonfiction (NZ$12,000)

Don Binney: Flight path (Gregory O’Brien, Auckland University Press).

Te Mūrau o te Tuhi Māori Language Award (NZ$12,000)

Te Rautakitahi O Tūhoe ki Ōrākau (Tā Pou Temara (Ngāi Tūhoe), Auckland University Press)

Hubert Church Prize for best first work of fiction (NZ$3000)

Ruin and Other Stories (Emma Hislop (Kāi Tahu), Te Herenga Waka University Press)

Jessie Mackay Prize for best first work of poetry (NZ$3000)

At the Point of Seeing (Megan Kitching, Otago University Press)

Judith Binney Prize for best first work of illustrated nonfiction (NZ$3000)

Rugby League in New Zealand: A people’s history (Ryan Bodman, Bridget Williams Books)

E H McCormick Prize for best first work of general nonfiction (NZ$3000)

There’s a Cure for This (Emma Wehipeihana (Ngāti Tukorehe, Ngāti Porou), Penguin).

Nicola Legat, chair of the New Zealand Book Awards Trust Te Ohu Tiaki i Te Rau Hiringa, stated that the winners demonstrated the tight connection between novels and current challenges.

'Drawn from an amazing group of shortlisted titles in a highly competitive year, all these novels absolutely merit the accolades conferred on them,' Legat stated. 'They are alternately humorous, relevant, intelligent, scorching, intellectual, political, and loving. They have all moved the dial in their own unique ways.

The winners were announced at a public ceremony on May 15, 2024, during the Auckland Writers Festival.