New Year Honours: Book prize donor Dr Jann Medlicott, Mount Maunganui, made Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

Tauranga philanthropist Dr Jann Medlicott has been recognised in the New Year Honours. Photo / George Novak

The recently unmasked anonymous donor behind one of the world's richest book prizes has been made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

Mount Maunganui philanthropist and long-time supporter of the creative arts, Dr Jann Medlicott, 78, has been recognised for her services to philanthropy, the arts and radiology.

Since 2016 the retired radiologist has been the anonymous woman behind the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards' annual fiction prize, which started with a grant of $50,000.

She made her identity public earlier this year, declaring her belief that "we are products of what we read, not what we eat".

The Jann Medlicott Acorn Fiction Prize is currently valued at $57,000, but is wage and inflation-adjusted annually.

The award is as an endowment fund which will continue in perpetuity after Medlicott dies.

Medlicott has also been a passionate sponsor of the arts nationally and in the Western Bay of Plenty region through her years-long involvement with the Acorn Foundation.

She worked as a radiologist from the late 1970s until her retirement in 2011.

Her contributions to the radiology field include years as clinical director of Tauranga Hospital's radiology department, co-founding two private radiology practices in the city and time as chairwoman of the New Zealand branch of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists.

Medlicott said she had an enduring passion for teaching and supporting young people to reach their potential, whether in the arts or in tertiary education.

In doing so, she was inspired by her parents who she said were "totally committed" to ensuring both the girls and boys in her family had the same educational opportunities.

From 2012 to 2015 she sponsored an adult learner scholarship at University of Waikato.

And since 2012 the $5000 Jann Medlicott Creative Arts Scholarship administered by Creative Bay of Plenty has offered a local resident the chance to take up academic study or training in creative arts.

Medlicott said she felt "humbled and very grateful" to receive this unexpected honour.

"I was pretty astounded and feel a bit embarrassed, to be honest, as there are so many other people out there doing equally significant things who never get recognised.

"I'm just fortunate to be in a position to be able to indulge myself to support causes I'm passionate about which is literature and the creative arts, particularly my love of books."

Medlicott said she gets "immense" satisfaction from seeing the difference these awards and scholarships make to the lives of the recipients and also to the vibrancy of the local and national creative arts scene which needs to be well supported to flourish.

This included what it has meant to the life of Becky Manawatu, the winner of the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the 2020 Ockham New Zealand book awards.

Manawatu's debut novel Aue written by the previously unknown Westport author had been on the NZ bestseller list for more than a year, Medlicott said.

The humble honouree said someone once described her as a shy person.

"I'm not shy at all. I'm just a very private person who prefers to do things without drawing attention to myself, but I do want to encourage others to donate in any way possible. "