‘COMPELLING’ BOOK ON TREATY OF WAITANGI AWARDED TOP ACCOLADE IN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

A book that distils the complexity of the Treaty of Waitangi for young readers has been named the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year at the 2025 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. The judges awarded the highest accolade in children’s literature to The Treaty of Waitangi by Ross Calman (Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa, Kāi Tahu).

“The Treaty of Waitangi is a miracle of concision without sacrificing complexity. It is written clearly and inclusively without avoiding uncomfortable truths,” said judging convenors Mat Tait and Feana Tu‘akoi during an exuberant ceremony held at Wellington’s Pipitea Marae.

The judges said all the books in the running for the supreme award were superb examples of the fresh and intelligent literature written for tamariki and rangatahi in Aotearoa, but the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year Award recognises something more – an aspirational book of outstanding overall excellence.

“After extensive discussion with both the bilingual and te reo Māori judging panels, we agreed unanimously on one book that will not only have significant impact on young readers, but is also particularly important for our time,” said the convenors.

The Treaty of Waitangi also won the Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction, standing out in a distinguished field of finalists as “compelling and essential reading”.

Winners in a further six categories were announced on the night. The BookHub Picture Book Award went to a familiar name – Gavin Bishop (Tainui, Ngāti Awa), who has won at these Awards more times than any other author – together with translator Darryn Joseph (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Rereahu). The judges described Titiro Look as deceptively simple, declaring it “a beautifully produced board book that is an absorbing exploration of reo Māori and reo Pākehā”.

The delightful feline-fuelled graphic novel, Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat, written and illustrated by Li Chen, won the Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction. The judges were entranced by this “skilfully crafted work, an all-ages book that is both fun and funny, with humour that hits on multiple levels” and found the illustration and text to be impressive in equal measure.

The Young Adult Fiction Award went to The Paradise Generation, which the judges say is a remarkable achievement for self-published, first-time author Sanna Thompson. This expertly crafted, “very Wellington” resistance narrative urges readers to think critically about where humanity is headed. The judges described it as an extraordinary novel that balances both heart-pounding tension and emotional depth.

Rehua Wilson (Te Aupouri, Te Rarawa) received the Russell Clark Award for Illustration, for Hineraukatauri me Te Ara Pūoro, written by Elizabeth Gray (Ngāti Rēhia, Ngāti Uepōhatu, Tama Ūpoko ki te awa tipua, Ngāti Tūwharetoa anō hoki), which tells the pūrakau of the becoming of Hineraukatauri. The judges praised Wilson’s illustrations, which they felt embodied the kaupapa with “a breath-taking synaesthetic skill that seems quite magical”.

Hineraukatauri me Te Ara Pūoro also won the Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for a Book Originally Written in Te Reo Māori. This new award was introduced following the decision to split Te Kura Pounamu category into two separate prizes, acknowledging the important but distinct skills of original writing and translation. The judges said there could not be a more deserving first recipient, and praised the rhythm and poetry of the reo.

The Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for a Book Translated into Te Reo Māori went to Ariā me te Atua o te Kūmara written by master-storyteller Witi Ihimaera (Te Whānau a Kai, Rongowhakaata, Te Aitanga a Mahaki, Ngāti Porou), translated by Hēni Jacob (Ngāti Raukawa) and illustrated by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Ngāti Kahungunu, Kāi Tahu). The judges said Hēni Jacob’s excellent translation of the original inspirational tale flowed smoothly and provided a platform to spark conversation about the importance of Matariki.

Finally, the NZSA Best First Book Award was awarded to The Raven’s Eye Runaways by Claire Mabey. In a shortlist brimming with accomplished and wonderfully self-assured debuts, this book stood out for the judges as “the work of a writer who wields words with exquisite care and understands the power of great storytelling”.

The full list of winners of a total prize money tally of $70,500 at the 2025 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults is:

Margaret Mahy Book of the Year Award $8500
The Treaty of Waitangi, Ross Calman (Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa, Kāi Tahu) (Oratia Books)

BookHub Picture Book Award $8500
Titiro Look, Gavin Bishop (Tainui, Ngāti Awa), translated by Darryn Joseph (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Rereahu) (Gecko Press, Lerner Publishing Group)

Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction $8500
Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat, Li Chen (Penguin Random House New Zealand)

Young Adult Fiction Award $8500
The Paradise Generation, Sanna Thompson (umop apisdn press)

Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction $8500
The Treaty of Waitangi, Ross Calman (Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa, Kāi Tahu) (Oratia Books)

Russell Clark Award for Illustration $8500
Hineraukatauri me Te Ara Pūoro, illustrated by Rehua Wilson (Te Aupouri, Te Rarawa), written by Elizabeth Gray (Ngāti Rēhia, Ngāti Uepōhatu, Tama Ūpoko ki te awa tipua, Ngāti Tūwharetoa anō hoki) (Huia Publishers)

Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for a Book Originally Written in Te Reo Māori $8500
Hineraukatauri me Te Ara Pūoro, Elizabeth Gray (Ngāti Rēhia, Ngāti Uepōhatu, Tama Ūpoko ki te awa tipua, Ngāti Tūwharetoa anō hoki), illustrated by Rehua Wilson (Te Aupouri, Te Rarawa) (Huia Publishers)

Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for a Book Translated into Te Reo Māori $8500
A Ariā me te Atua o te Kūmara, written by Witi Ihimaera (Te Whānau a Kai, Rongowhakaata, Te Aitanga a Mahaki, Ngāti Porou), translated by Hēni Jacob (Ngāti Raukawa), illustrated by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Ngāti Kahungunu, Kāi Tahu) (Penguin Random House New Zealand)

NZSA Best First Book Award $2500
The Raven’s Eye Runaways, Claire Mabey (Allen & Unwin)

As well as acknowledging the best and brightest in books for children and teens, a core mission of the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults is fostering literacy and a love of reading among New Zealand’s tamariki and rangatahi.

This includes a programme of large-scale Books Alive events, in which finalist authors and illustrators bring the magic of books to life at large-scale, immersive sessions for school children. This year, thanks to the generous support of the Mātātuhi Foundation, for the first time a day of joyous Books Alive fun was held in Palmerston North for Manawatū students on 22 July, alongside events in Invercargill (30 July), Christchurch (8 August) and Wellington (13 August).

The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults also administers the ever-popular HELL Reading Challenge, which has now been running for over a decade. Last year over 800 schools and libraries around the motu took part in the programme and more than 340,000 pizza wheels were distributed, leading to an estimated 2.3 million books read.

The New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults and their associated programmes are made possible through the generosity, commitment and vision of funders and partners: Creative New Zealand, HELL Pizza, the Wright Family Foundation, LIANZA Te Rau Herenga o Aotearoa, Wellington City Council, BookHub presented by Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand, New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa, the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, the Mātātuhi Foundation, and NielsenIQ BookData. The Awards are administered by the New Zealand Book Awards Trust Te Ohu Tiaki i Te Rau Hiringa.