The winners of this year’s Ockham New Zealand Book Awards have been announced. Book awards chair Nicola Legat says this year’s winners fully demonstrate the relevance of books to the issues of our times.
“Drawn from an extraordinary group of shortlisted titles in a very competitive year, all these books truly deserve the honours bestowed on them. They are by turns witty, timely, insightful, searing, scholarly, political and loving. They each, in their own way, moved the dial.
“The Trust congratulates the publishers of these impressive and beautifully produced titles,” she says.
The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are supported by Ockham Residential, Creative New Zealand, the late Jann Medlicott and the Acorn Foundation, Mary and Peter Biggs CNZM, Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand, the Mātātuhi Foundation, and the Auckland Writers Festival.
Auckland University of Technology vice chancellor Toeolesulusulu Damon Salesa has won the General Non-Fiction award for his work, An Indigenous Ocean: Pacific Essays
Category convenor of judges Jim Tully ONZM says Toeolesulusulu’s seminal work asserts the Pacific’s ongoing impact worldwide, despite marginalisation by New Zealand and others, and will maintain its relevance for generations.
“An Indigenous Ocean weaves together academic rigour, captivating stories and engaging prose to reframe our understanding of New Zealand’s colonial history in the South Pacific,” he says.
The awards ceremony was hosted at the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre in Aotea Centre, as part of the 2024 Auckland Writers Festival programme.
