Wellington's Government House hosted the annual New Zealand Book Awards For Children and Young Adults which saw many talented authors, illustrators and translators acknowledged.
Last night, the prestigious Māori Language Award was won by Sacha Cotter and Kawata Teepa, the writer and translator of the book named 'Ngā Kī'.
Illustrated by Josh Morgan, the book conveys the special relationship between a father and his daughter. Te Reo Māori adviser Stephanie Pohe-Tibble says that Kawata Teepa demonstrates his ability to draw from te ao Māori and te ao hou in his use of metaphor and descriptive language.
The award is worth $1,000.
The Best Non-Fiction category winner was Debbie McCauley and Tamati Waaka's book, Mōtītī Blue and the Oil Spill. This book tells the story in both English and Māori of little blue penguin Mōtītī Blue's struggle after being trapped in the Rena oil spill.
Judges praised the book for its power and for its photography, layout and factual background.
Māori Art For Kids took out the award for The Best First Book Award. Created by Julie Noanoa, this book is a combination of excellent production values and outstanding content.
Judges say it is a book with a "uniquely New Zealand perspective, Māori Art For Kids gives the reader information that no other book currently provides."
Here's a full list of the winners of the night:
Margaret Mahy Book of the Year and winner of Best Young Adult Fiction category
Prizes: $7,500 for the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year and $7,500 for Best Young Adult Fiction
Singing Home the Whale, by Mandy Hager (Penguin Random House NZ)
Best Picture Book: Prize $7,500
Jim's Letters, by Glyn Harper, illustrated by Jenny Cooper (Penguin
Random House NZ (Puffin))
Best Non-Fiction: Prize $7,500
Mōtītī Blue and the Oil Spill, by Debbie McCauley and Tamati Waaka
(translation) (Mauāo Press)
Best Junior Fiction: Prize $7,500
Monkey Boy, by Donovan Bixley (Scholastic NZ)
Māori Language Award: Prize $1,000
Ngā Kī, translation by Kawata Teepa (Ngai Tuhoe, Te Arawa) of Keys by
Sacha Cotter, illustrated by Josh Morgan (Huia Publishers)
Best First Book: Prize $2,000
Māori Art for Kids, by Julie Noanoa (Potton & Burton)
Children's Choice winner:
Picture Book: The Anzac Puppy by Peter Millett, illustrated by Trish Bowles (Scholastic NZ)
Non-Fiction: The Letterbox Cat & Other Poems by Paula Green, illustrated by Myles Lawford (Scholastic NZ)
Junior Fiction Winner: Island of Lost Horses by Stacy Gregg (HarperCollins).
Young Adult Fiction: Night Vision by Ella West (Allen & Unwin)
Each book wins $1,000.