Havelock North authors excited to be finalists

Mary-anne Scott made the finals of the Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Junior Fiction Award for her book The Tomo.

Two Havelock North authors are excited to be named as finalists in the 2022 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.

From a record number of 199 entries , Mary-anne Scott made the finals of the Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Junior Fiction Award for her book The Tomo, while Cristina Sanders made the finals of the Young Adult Fiction Award for her book Displaced.

I have read both of these books and consider them strong contenders in their categories.

Mary-anne said she was so relieved to be named as a finalist.

"It's like a life raft to be a finalist in these awards.There are so many books out there it is hard to compete, however, this gets The Tomo out of the water on onto a life raft for a little bit longer."

It is the fourth time one of her books has made it onto the finalist list with previous books Snakes and Ladders, Coming Home to Roost and Sticking with Pigs also making the grade.

The Tomo has been part of the NZ Read aloud programme run by Kerri Thompson who lives in Hawke's Bay.

"It been fantastic. The Tomo has lots of things that appeal to youngsters — especially the knots, but it also has animals, geography, maths plus the relationship between sibling and parents," Mary-anne said.

"I have had children from all over the place contacting me through Twitter about the book. They want to chat with me about it. It's fantastic."

Mary-anne was also thrilled with a review by Sarah Forster of Kete books which said "Mary-anne Scott is close to taking Aotearoa's crown for best-written young men with this, her fifth book for young adults."

"That is good enough that my publishers want to put it on the cover or its third reprint, which is pretty good for a NZ book.

Cristina Sanders made the finals of the Young Adult Fiction Award for her book Displaced.

"I'm really grateful to be on the short list. Now it's out of my hands and up to the judges."

She says although she has three books she is dabbling away at she feels she needs to leave them to breathe for now.

"I'm going to pick up my guitar."

Christina is very exciting that her first book has made the finalist list.

"I really wanted to see if I was good enough and have learned so much. I found out about it a couple of weeks ago when I was in Nelson but couldn't tell anyone as it was embargoed. Keeping quiet was hard quite hard.

"It's a huge honour and it will hopefully get more people to learn about New Zealand history and how they came to be here."

The award comes just a few weeks before the release of her new book Mrs Jewell and the Wreck of the General Grant.

Based on a true story of a shipwreck and the survivors who made it to an exposed island, the book will be released on June 14.

Christina says she has had some lovely feedback about Displaced. "I've had letters and some really good reviews. I think kids love reading about gutsy 16-18 year-olds that show resilience and bravery. It's sold really well both here and in Australia."

She said she is really looking forward to the awards ceremony. "It's a baby version of the Oscars," she laughed.

The winners of each of the six main categories – Picture Book, Junior Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, Non-Fiction, Illustration and te reo Māori – take home $7500 and are then in the running to be named the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year, with a further $7500 prize money. In addition, the judges will award a Best First Book prize of $2500 to a previously unpublished author or illustrator. The ceremony to announce the winners will take place in Wellington on the evening of Wednesday, August 10.

The formidable task of narrowing the field to a shortlist of finalists was met by this year's experienced judging panel: Pauline (Vaeluaga) Smith MNZM (convenor), an author and an educationalist; Adele Broadbent, a children's bookseller and reviewer; Kyle Mewburn, one of New Zealand's most eclectic and prolific writers; Laura Caygill, an experienced public librarian; and Ruki Tobin, kaihautū/director Ratonga Māori at Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa National Library of New Zealand.

They were joined by a panel appointed by Te Rōpū Whakahau, the national body that represents Māori engaged in libraries, culture, knowledge, information, communication and systems technology in Aotearoa, to judge te reo Māori entries. Anahera Morehu (convenor), is kaihautū Māori/director Māori at Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kawanatanga; Horowaitai Roberts is tuahine, Online Content Service and Rauemi Developer – Te Ao Māori at Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, National Library of New Zealand; and Te Amohaere Morehu is a communications specialist. Ruki Tobin also joined te reo Māori judging panel.