All week this week the Spinoff Review of Books celebrates the rich, fascinating history of New Zealand literature. Today: win the entire 2018 Ockham New Zealand awards shortlist of 16 books as we present – for the first time in one place – the entire list of every winner since the national book awards were created 50 years ago.

There are 16 books competing for the 2018 Ockham New Zealand national book awards on May 15 – and this marks your chance to win the lot. All you have to do is trudge through the following 5,712 words that list every single book that has featured in national book awards since 1968, and choose your favourite all-time 20. Classics, important documents, books that just plain gave you the most pleasure – whatever. A top 20 is a top 20 in any functioning democracy.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of book awards in New Zealand. For the first time in one place, all the winners are listed below. The Spinoff Review of Books is sending the list to about 40-50 literary types – authors, editors, publishers, academics, various assorted experts – and asking them to nominate the 20 books they rate as the very best. The results will be published at The Spinoff next week. We don’t want the considered votes from our elite band of experts being corrupted by the hoi polloi, so anyone who enters today’s prize will merely have their name put into A Hat. Please email your top 20 to stephen11@xtra.co.nz, and capitalise it 50 YEARS OF BOOK AWARDS YO in the subject line. That way it’ll jump out and be noticed. The deadline is 9am on Sunday, April 22.

A word about the national book award sponsors. From 1968 to 1976, the book awards were known as the Goodman Fielder Wattie Book Awards. The plain old New Zealand Book Awards lasted until 1993. Montana then stepped up, and poured fabulous sums of money into the event, as categories swelled to nearly 20, including the New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA) award for best first novel, the NZSA Jessie McKay award for best first book of verse, and the NZSA EH McCormick award for best first book of non-fiction. The three latter awards remain intact. Montana bailed in 2009, and New Zealand Post took up the sponsorship from 2010 to 2014. There were no awards whatsoever in 2015. The following year, Ockham New Zealand provided generous support, and continue to the present day.

The 16 shortlisted titles for the 2018 awards will go to one lucky winner as drawn from a hat or some such receptacle that is capable of holding paper. Goodness that was an ungainly sentence but that’s New Zealand literature for you! Capable of profound brilliance, capable of plain bad writing. Various assorted combinations of both, and many other qualities, are evident in this fascinating history of award-winning books, as told below. Janet Frame, Maurice Gee, Pounamu Pounamu, the bone people, Michael King, Emily Perkins, Redemption Songs, Stonedogs, Anne Salmond, Alan Duff, The Luminaries, Civilisation, Christian Karl Stead, Hera Lindsay Bird…It’s been a long, strange trip. What were the best of the best? Choose now, and be in to win.

1968

1st: The New Zealand Sea Shore by John Morton and Michael Miller (Collins)

2nd: Field Guide to the Apine Plants of New Zealand by J. T. Salmon (Reed)

3rd: God in the New World by Lloyd Geering (Hodder & Stoughton)

1969

1st: Augustus Earle in New Zealand by A. Murray-Oliver (Whitcoulls)

2nd: Shell Guide to New Zealand by Maurice Shadbolt (Whitcoulls)

3rd: The Maori People in the 1960s by Erik Schwimmer (Longman Paul)

1970

1st: Fateful Voyage of the St Jean Baptiste by John Dunmore (Pegasus)

2nd: Early Charts of New Zealand 1542–1851 by P. B. Maling (Reed)

3rd: The World at Their Feet: The Story of New Zealand Mountaineers in the Great Ranges of the World by Philip Temple (Whitcoulls)

1971

1st: William and Mary Rolleston: An Informal Biography by Rosemary Rolleston (Reed)

2nd: Contemporary Maori Writing edited by Margaret Orbell (Reed)

3rd: Gardening with New Zealand Plants, Shrubs and Trees by Muriel E. Fisher and E. Satchell and Janet M. Watkins (Collins)

1972

1st: 200 Years of New Zealand Painting by Gil Docking (Reed)

2nd: Te Rangi Hiroa: The Life of Sir Peter Buck by J. B. Condliffe (Whitcoulls)

3rd: Smith’s Dream by C. K. Stead (Longman Paul)

1973

1st: Strangers and Journeys by Maurice Shadbolt (Hodder & Stoughton)

2nd: Daughter Buffalo by Janet Frame (Reed)

3rd: Pounamu, Pounamu by Witi Ihimaera (Heinemann)

1974

1st: Tangi by Witi Ihimaera (Heinemann)

2nd: The Sugarbag Years by Tony Simpson (Alister Taylor)

3rd: Rugged Landscape: The Geology of Central New Zealand by Graeme Stevens (Reed)

1975

1st: Nothing Venture, Nothing Win by Edmund Hillary (Hodder & Stoughton)

2nd: Māori Woman by Noel Hilliard (Whitcoulls)

3rd: Larks in a Paradise: New Zealand Portraits by Marti Friedlander and James McNeish (Collins)

1976

1st: The Wind Commands: Sailors and Sailing Ships in the Pacific by Harry Morton (McIndoe)

2nd: A Soldier’s Tale by M. K. Joseph (Collins)

3rd: Trees and Shrubs of New Zealand by Audrey Eagle (Collins)

POETRY

Fires and Patterns by Louis Johnson (Jacaranda Press); Quesada by C. K. Stead (The Shed)

FICTION

A Glorious Morning, Comrade by Maurice Gee (Auckland University Press); Selected Stories by O. E. Middleton (McIndoe)

NON-FICTION

Traditional Songs of the Maori by Mervyn McLean and Margaret Orbell (Reed)

1977

1st: Charles Brasch by James Bertram (Oxford University Press)

2nd: Van der Velden by Rodney Wilson (Reed)

3rd: Amiria: The Life Story of a Maori Woman by Amiria Stirling, as told to Anne Salmond (Reed)

POETRY

Walking on the Snow by Ruth Dallas (Caxton Press); Dear Mondrian by Alan Loney (Hawk Press)

FICTION

Dick Seddon’s Great Dive by Ian Wedde (Robin Dudding)

NON-FICTION

Walter Nash by Keith Sinclair (Auckland University Press & Oxford University Press)

1978

1st: Sovereign Chief: A Biography of Baron de Thierry by J. D. Raeside (Caxton Press)

2nd: John A. Lee by Erik Olssen (University of Otago Press)

3rd: The Boy, The Bridge, The River by Vincent O’Sullivan (McIndoe)

POETRY

Spells for Coming Out by Ian Wedde (Auckland University Press); How to Take Your Clothes Off at the Picnic by Bill Manhire (Wai-te-ata Press)

FICTION

The Time of the Achamoth by M. K. Joseph (Collins)

NON-FICTION

Te Puea: A Biography by Michael King (Hodder & Stoughton)

1979

1st: Plumb by Maurice Gee (Oxford University Press)

2nd: Heinemann New Zealand Dictionary edited by Harry Orsman (Heinemann)

3rd: The Herb Garden Displayed by Gillian Painter, illustrated by Elaine Power

POETRY

Literary Cartoons by Kevin Ireland (Islands/Hurricane)

FICTION

Plumb by Maurice Gee (Oxford University Press)

NON-FICTION

Trade, Growth and Anxiety: New Zealand Beyond the Welfare State by S. H. Franklin (Methuen)

1980

1st: Leaves of the Banyan Tree by Albert Wendt (Longman Paul)

2nd: New Zealand Adrift: The Theory of Continental Drift in a New Zealand Setting by Graeme Stevens (Reed)

3rd: Indirections: A Memoir by Charles Brasch (Oxford University Press)

POETRY

An Incorrigible Music: A Sequence of Poems by Allen Curnow (Auckland University Press)

FICTION

Living in the Maniototo by Janet Frame (Braziller)

NON-FICTION

I Passed This Way by Sylvia Ashton-Warner (Knopf)

1981

1st: Eruera: The Teachings of a Maori Elder by Eruera Stirling, as told to Anne Salmond (Oxford University Press)

2nd: Te Rauparaha: A New Perspective by Patricia Burns (Reed)

3rd: The Lovelock Version by Maurice Shadbolt (Hodder & Stoughton)

POETRY

Wall by Michael Jackson (McIndoe)

FICTION

The Lovelock Version by Maurice Shadbolt (Hodder & Stoughton)

NON-FICTION

The Life of Katherine Mansfield by Anthony Alpers (Viking)

PRODUCTION

Contemporary New Zealand Artists Part I by Jim Barr and Mary Barr and Marti Friedlander (Alister Taylor)

1982

1st: Craft New Zealand: The Art of the Craftsman by Doreen Blumhardt and Brian Brake (Reed)

2nd: Other Halves by Sue McCauley (Hodder & Stoughton)

3rd: The South Island of New Zealand from the Road by Robin Morrison (Alister Taylor)

POETRY

Collected Poems, 1974–1981 by Alistair Campbell (Alister Taylor)

FICTION

Meg by Maurice Gee (Penguin); Dandy Edison for Lunch and Other Stories by Vincent O’Sullivan (McIndoe)

NON-FICTION

The South Island of New Zealand from the Road by Robin Morrison (Alister Taylor)

PRODUCTION

Portrait of Frances Hodgkins by Eric McCormick (Auckland Univeristy Press)

1983

1st: To the Is-Land by Janet Frame (Hutchinson)

2nd: Trees and Shrubs of New Zealand: Second Series by Audrey Eagle (Collins)

3rd: Historic Buildings of New Zealand: South Island by Historic Places Trust (Methuen)

POETRY

You Will Know When You Get There by Allen Curnow (Auckland University Press & Oxford University Press); Homing In by Cilla McQueen (McIndoe)

FICTION

Other Halves by Sue McCauley (Hodder & Stoughton)

NON-FICTION

Cork of War: Ngati Toa and the British Mission, An Historical Narrative by Ray Grover (McIndoe)

PRODUCTION

Maui Development Environmental Study by A. C. Kibblewhite et al. (Auckland University Press for Shell BP & Todd Oil Services Ltd)

1984

1st: Māori: A Photographic and Social History by Michael King (Heinemann)

2nd: The New Zealand House by Michael Fowler and Robert van de Voort (Lansdowne)

3rd: An Angel at My Table: An Autobiography, Volume II by Janet Frame (Hutchinson)

POETRY

Selected Poems by Fleur Adcock (Oxford University Press)

FICTION

The Bone People by Keri Hulme (Spiral)

NON-FICTION

An Angel at My Table: An Autobiography, Volume II by Janet Frame (Hutchinson)

PRODUCTION

The Aggressions of the French at Tahiti and Other Islands of the Pacific by George Pritchard (Auckland University Press & Oxford University Press)

1985

1st: The Envoy from Mirror City: An Autobiography, Volume III by Janet Frame (Hutchinson)

2nd: Bread and Roses by Sonja Davies (Fraser Books)

3rd: The Natural World of the Maori by Margaret Orbell, photography by Geoff Moon (David Bateman)

POETRY

Zoetropes: Poems 1972–82 by Bill Manhire (Allen & Unwin, Port Nicholson Press, & Carcanet)

FICTION

Disorderly Conduct by Marilyn Duckworth (Hodder & Stoughton); All Visitors Ashore by C. K. Stead (Collins)

NON-FICTION

Verdict on Erebus by Peter Mahon (Collins)

PRODUCTION

City of Plains: A History of Hastings by M. B. Boyd (Victoria University Press for the Hastings City Council)

1986

1st: The Matriarch by Witi Ihimaera (Heinemann)

2nd: From the Cradle to the Grave: A Biography of Michael Joseph Savage by Barry Gustafon (Reed Methuen)

3rd: Te Kaihau: The Windeater by Keri Hulme (Victoria University Press)

POETRY

Stories About Wooden Keyboards by Kendrick Smithyman (Auckland University Press & Oxford University Press)

FICTION

People of the Long Water by Peter Hooper (McIndoe)

NON-FICTION

The Envoy from Mirror City: An Autobiography, Volume III by Janet Frame (Hutchinson)

PRODUCTION

The Bach by Paul Thompson (Government Printing Office Publishing); Witness to Change: Life in New Zealand by Janet Bayly and Athol McCredie (Government Printing Office Publishing)

1987

1st: Season of the Jew by Maurice Shadbolt (Hodder & Stoughton)

2nd: Head and Shoulders by Virginia Myers (Penguin)

3rd: Ngā Mōrehu: The Survivors by Judith Binney and Gillian Chaplin (Oxford University Press)

POETRY

The Loop in the Lone Kauri Road: Poems, 1983–1985 by Allen Curnow (Auckland University Press & Oxford University Press); Jump by Elizabeth Nannestad (Auckland University Press)

FICTION

Potiki by Patricia Grace (Penguin)

NON-FICTION

Head and Shoulders by Virginia Myers (Penguin)

PRODUCTION

Focus on New Zealand edited by Brian Brake, designed by Donna Hoyle (Collins)

1988

1st: The Treaty of Waitangi by Claudia Orange (Allen & Unwin, & Port Nicholson Press)

2nd: Oracles and Miracles by Stevan Eldred-Grigg (Penguin)

3rd: A Man’s Country? The Image of the Pakeha Male, A History by Jock Phillips (Penguin)

POETRY

All Cretans are Liars by Anne French (Auckland University Press)

FICTION

The Book of Secrets by Fiona Kidman (Heinemann)

NON-FICTION

Seven Lives on Salt River by Dick Scott (Hodder & Stoughton)

PRODUCTION

Winklemann: Images of Early New Zealand by Vivien Edwards (Penguin)

1989

1st

Sylvia! The Biography of Sylvia Ashton-Warner by Lynley Hood (Viking)

2nd

Wines and Vineyards of New Zealand by Michael Cooper (Hodder & Stoughton)

3rd

The Unfortunate Experiment by Sandra Coney (Penguin)

POETRY

Benzina by Cilla McQueen (Benzina)

FICTION

The Carpathians by Janet Frame (Century Hutchinson)

NON-FICTION

Tarawera: The Volcanic Eruption of 10 June 1886 by R. F. Keam (R. F. Keam)

PRODUCTION

For Fold of the Land: New Zealand’s National Parks from the Air by Lloyd Homer by Bridget Williams (Allen & Unwin for the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research)

1990

1st

Moriori: A People Rediscovered by Michael King (Viking)

2nd

Hanly: A New Zealand Artist by Russell Haley (Hodder & Stoughton)

3rd

The Forest Carpet: New Zealand’s Little-Noticed Forest Plants by Bill Malcolm and Nancy Malcolm (Craig Potton Publishing)

POETRY

A Pattern of Marching by Elizabeth Smither (Auckland University Press)

FICTION

Visitors by John Cranna (Heinemann Reed)

NON-FICTION

Born to New Zealand: A Biography of Jane Maria Atkinson by Frances Porter (Bridget Williams Books)

PRODUCTION

New Zealand! New Zealand! In Praise of Kiwiana by Stephen Barnett and Richard Wolfe (Hodder & Stoughton)

1991

1st: The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography Volume One and Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau, 1769–1869 edited by W. H. Oliver (Department of Internal Affairs & Bridget Williams Books)

2nd: Once Were Warriors by Alan Duff (Tandem Press)

3rd: Vladimir Nabokov: The Russian Years by Brian Boyd (Chatto & Windus)

POETRY

Berlin Diary by Cilla McQueen (McIndoe)

FICTION

The Burning Boy by Maurice Gee (Viking)

NON-FICTION

The Life of James K. Baxter by Frank McKay (Oxford University Press)

PRODUCTION

The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography Volume One and Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau, 1769–1869 edited by W. H. Oliver (Department of Internal Affairs & Bridget Williams Books)

1992

1st: Portrait of the Artist’s Wife by Barbara Anderson (Victoria University Press)

2nd: Vladimir Nabokov: The American Years by Brian Boyd (Chatto & Windus)

3rd: Two Worlds: First Meetings Between Maori and Europeans, 1642–1772 by Anne Salmond (Viking)

POETRY

Milky Way Bar by Bill Manhire (Victoria University Press)

FICTION

Dangerous Desires by Peter Wells (Reed)

NON-FICTION

Two Worlds: First Meetings Between Maori and Europeans, 1642–1772 by Anne Salmond (Viking)

PRODUCTION

At Home and Abroad: A Collection of Photographs by Robin Morrison (Tandem Press)

1993

1st: Going West by Maurice Gee (Viking)

2nd: Contemporary Māori Writing Volume I edited by Witi Ihimaera (Reed)

3rd: The Autobiography of My Father by Martin Edmond (Auckland University Press)

POETRY

Beyond: Poems by Brian Turner (McIndoe)

FICTION

The Skinny Louie Book by Fiona Farrell (Penguin)

NON-FICTION

Ettie: A Life of Ettie Rout by Jane Tolerton (Penguin)

PRODUCTION

Tivaevae: Portraits of Cook Islands Quilting by Lynnsay Rongokea (Daphne Brasell Associates)

1994

POETRY

100 New Zealand Poems edited by Bill Manhire (Godwit)

FICTION

Let the River Stand by Vincent O’Sullivan (Penguin)

NON-FICTION

English-Māori Dictionary by H. M. Ngata (Learning Media)

POETRY

How to Talk by Andrew Johnston (Victoria University Press)

FICTION

The Miserables by Damien Wilkins (Victoria University Press)

NON-FICTION

Te Wai Pounamu, the Greenstone Island: A History of the Southern Maori During the European Colonization of New Zealand by Harry Evison (Aoraki Press)

PRODUCTION

The Wines and Vineyards of New Zealand, 4th Edition by Michael Cooper, with photography by Robin Morrison, edited and designed by Barbara Neilsen (Hodder & Stoughton)

1995

POETRY

Pieces of Music by Michael Jackson (Vintage)

FICTION

Bulibasha: King of the Gypsies by Witi Ihimaera (Penguin)

NON-FICTION

Māori Healing and Herbal: New Zealand Ethnobotanical Sourcebook by Murdoch Riley (Viking Sevenseas)

POETRY

DIA by Michele Leggott (Auckland University Press)

FICTION

The Singing Whakapapa by C. K. Stead (Penguin)

NON-FICTION

An Accidental Life: An Attempt at an Autobiography by Phoebe Meikle (Auckland University Press)

PRODUCTION

Seaweeds of New Zealand: An Illustrated Guide by Nancy M. Adams (Canterbury University Press)

1996

CULTURAL HERITAGE

Redemption Songs: A Life of Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki by Judith Binney (Auckland University Press & Bridget Williams Books)

FICTION

Zoology: A Novel by Sheridan Keith (Penguin)

POETRY

My Sunshine by Bill Manhire (Victoria University Press)

ILLUSTRATIVE

Gold and Silversmithing in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century New Zealand by Winsome Shepherd (Museum of New Zealand)

NATURAL HERITAGE

Wild Dunedin: The Natural History of New Zealand’s Wildlife Capital by Neville Peat and Brian Patrick (Otago University Press)

LEISURE & LIFESTYLE

Cook! by Michael Lee-Richards (Reed)

HONOUR AWARD

Nga Iwi o Tainui: The Traditional History of the Tainui People – Nga Koorero Tuku o Nga Tuupuna by Pei Te Hurinui Jones, translated by Bruce Biggs (Auckland University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, FICTION

Not Her Real Name, and Other Stories by Emily Perkins (Victoria University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, POETRY

Go Round Power Please by James Brown (Victoria University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, NON-FICTION

Salmond: Southern Jurist by Alex Frame (Victoria University Press)

1997

CULTURAL HERITAGE

The Story of Suzanne Aubert by Jessie Munro (Auckland University Press & Bridget Williams Books)

FICTION

What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? by Alan Duff (Vintage)

POETRY

An Anthology of New Zealand Poetry in English edited by Jenny Bornholdt and Gregory O’Brien and Mark Williams (Oxford University Press)

ILLUSTRATIVE

Mataora: The Living Face: Contemporary Maori Art edited by Sandy Adsett and Cliff Whiting and Witi Ihimaera (David Bateman)

NATURAL HERITAGE

New Zealand Coast and Mountain Plants: Their Communities and Lifestyles by John Dawson, photography by Rob Lucas (Victoria University Press)

LEISURE & LIFESTYLE

The Wines and Vineyards of New Zealand by Michael Cooper, photography by John McDermott (Hodder Moa Beckett)

HONOUR AWARD, FICTION

Dove on the Waters by Maurice Shadbolt (David Ling)

HONOUR AWARD, POETRY

Dedications by J. C. Sturm (Steele Roberts)

BEST FIRST BOOK, FICTION

Finding Home by Dominic Sheehan (Secker & Warburg)

BEST FIRST BOOK, POETRY

Before the Divorce We Go To Disneyland by Diane Brown (Tandem Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, NON-FICTION

The Story of Suzanne Aubert by Jessie Munro (Auckland University Press & Bridget Williams Books)

1998

BOOK OF THE YEAR

Live Bodies by Maurice Gee (Penguin)

NON-FICTION

The Dictionary of New Zealand English: A Dictionary of New Zealandisms on Historical Principles by Harry Orsman (Oxford University Press)

FICTION

Live Bodies by Maurice Gee (Penguin)

POETRY

Shape-Shifter by Hone Tuwhare (Steele Roberts)

HISTORY & BIOGRAPHY

The Dictionary of New Zealand English: A Dictionary of New Zealandisms on Historical Principles by Harry Orsman (Oxford University Press)

ILLUSTRATIVE

Goldie by Roger Blackley (David Bateman)

ENVIRONMENT & HERITAGE

Pick of the Bunch: New Zealand Wildflowers by Peter Johnson (Longacre Press)

LIFESTYLE

The Complete New Zealand Fisherman: Saltwater & Freshwater Fishing by Geoff Thomas (David Bateman)

READERS CHOICE

New Zealand Historical Atlas edited by Malcolm McKinnon (David Bateman in association with the Historical Branch, Department of Internal Affairs)

BEST FIRST BOOK, FICTION

In a Fishbone Church by Catherine Chidgey (Victoria University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, POETRY

All Roads Lead to the Sea by Kapka Kassabova (Auckland University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, NON-FICTION

Olives: The New Passion by Genevieve Noser (Viking)

BEST REVIEW PAGES

The Evening Post

BEST REVIEWER

Graeme Lay

1999

BOOK OF THE YEAR

The Vintner’s Luck by Elizabeth Knox (Victoria University Press)

MOM-FICTION

The Loving Stitch: A History of Knitting and Spinning in New Zealand by Heather Nicholson (Auckland University Press)

FICTION

The Vintner’s Luck by Elizabeth Knox (Victoria University Press)

POETRY

Seeing You Asked by Vincent O’Sullivan (Victoria University Press)

HISTORY & BIOGRAPHY

Under the Bridge and Over the Moon: A Memoir by Kevin Ireland (Vintage)

ILLUSTRATIVE

100 New Zealand Craft Artists by Helen Schamroth (Godwit)

ENVIRONMENT & HERITAGE

The Natural World of New Zealand by Gerard Hutching (Viking)

LIFESTYLE

The Loving Stitch: A History of Knitting and Spinning in New Zealand by Heather Nicholson (Auckland University Press)

READERS CHOICE

The Vintner’s Luck by Elizabeth Knox (Victoria University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, FICTION

Alpha Male by William Brandt (Victoria University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, POETRY

Unfamiliar Legends of the Stars by Kate Camp (Victoria University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, NON-FICTION

100 New Zealand Craft Artists by Helen Schamroth (Godwit)

BEST REVIEW PAGES

Landfall

BEST REVIEWER

Iain Sharp

2000

BOOK OF THE YEAR

Harlequin Rex by Owen Marshall (Vintage)

NON-FICTION

The Art of Grahame Sydney by Grahame Sydney (Longacre Press)

FICTION

Harlequin Rex by Owen Marshall (Vintage)

POETRY

The Lark Quartet by Elizabeth Smither (Auckland University Press)

HISTORY & BIOGRAPHY

Kapiti by Chris Maclean (Whitcombe Press)

ILLUSTRATIVE

The Art of Grahame Sydney by Grahame Sydney (Longacre Press)

ENVIRONMENT

Classic Tramping in New Zealand by Shaun Barnett and Rob Brown (Craig Potton Publishing)

LIFESTYLE

The Gardener’s Encyclopaedia of New Zealand Native Plants by Yvonne Cave and Valda Paddison (Godwit)

READERS CHOICE

The Art of Grahame Sydney by Grahame Sydney (Longacre Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, FICTION

Stray Thoughts and Nose Bleeds by Duncan Sarkies (Victoria University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, POETRY

The Art of Walking Upright by Glenn Colquhoun (Steele Roberts)

BEST FIRST BOOK, NON-FICTION

Kava in the Blood by Peter Thomson (Tandem Press)

BEST REVIEW PAGES

The Evening Post

BEST REVIEWER

Michael King

2001

BOOK OF THE YEAR

The Book of Fame by Lloyd Jones (Penguin)

NON-FICTION

Wrestling with the Angel: A Life of Janet Frame by Michael King (Viking)

FICTION

The Book of Fame by Lloyd Jones (Penguin)

POETRY

The Bells of Saint Babel’s: Poems 1997–2001 by Allen Curnow (Auckland University Press)

HISTORY & BIOGRAPHY

Wrestling with the Angel: A Life of Janet Frame by Michael King (Viking); Parihaka: The Art of Passive Resistance edited by Te Miringa Hohaia and Gregory O’Brien and Lara Strongman (Victoria University Press & Parihaka Pā Trustees)

ENVIRONMENT

Dancing Leaves: The Story of New Zealand’s Cabbage Tree by Philip Simpson (Canterbury University Press)

LIFESTYLE

Fresh by Julie Biuso, photography by Ian Batchelor (New Holland)

ILLUSTRATIVE

Ralph Hotere: Black Light edited by Ian Wedde (Te Papa Press)

READERS CHOICE

Wrestling with the Angel: A Life of Janet Frame by Michael King (Viking)

BEST FIRST BOOK, FICTION

Emerald Budgies by Karyn Hay (Vintage)

BEST FIRST BOOK, POETRY

Animals Indoors by Stephanie De Montalk (Victoria University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, NON-FICTION

Pūkaki: A Comet Returns by Paul Tapsell (Reed)

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

Fiona Kidman

BEST REVIEW PAGES

The Evening Post

BEST REVIEWER

David Eggleton

2002

BOOK OF THE YEAR

Stonedogs by Craig Marriner (Vintage)

NON-FICTION

A City Possessed: The Christchurch Civic Creche Case by Lynley Hood (Canterbury University Press)

FICTION

Stonedogs by Craig Marriner (Vintage)

FICTION RUNNERS-UP

Billie’s Kiss by Elizabeth Knox (Victoria University Press)

FICTION RUNNERS-UP

Here at the End of the World We Learn to Dance by Lloyd Jones (Penguin)

POETRY

Piggy-back Moon by Hone Tuwhare (Godwit)

BIOGRAPHY

Long Loop Home: A Memoir by Peter Wells (Vintage)

ENVIRONMENT

Rolling Thunder: The Spirit of Karekare by Bob Harvey (Exisle)

LIFESTYLE & CONTEMPORARY CULTURE

The Art of Tivaevae: Traditional Cook Islands Quilting by Lynnsay Rongokea, photography by John Daley (Godwit)

ILLUSTRATIVE

Akekeia! Traditional Dance in Kiribati by Joan Whincup and Tony Whincup, designed by Julia Parkinson (Format)

Reference & Anthology

Ngā Pēpeha a ngā Tīpuna: The Sayings of the Ancestors by Hirini Moko Mead and Neil Grove (Victoria University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, FICTION

Stonedogs by Craig Marriner (Vintage)

BEST FIRST BOOK, POETRY

Husk by Chris Price (Auckland University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, NON-FICTION

Fool’s Paradise by Steve Braunias (Random House)

READERS CHOICE

A City Possessed: The Christchurch Civic Creche Case by Lynley Hood (Canterbury University Press)

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

Maurice Shadbolt

BEST REVIEW PAGES

North & South

BEST REVIEWER

Jane Hurley

2003

BOOK OF THE YEAR

The Shag Incident by Stephanie Johnson (Vintage)

NON-FICTION

The Wine Atlas of New Zealand by Michael Cooper, photography by John McDermott (Hodder Moa Beckett)

FICTION

The Shag Incident by Stephanie Johnson (Vintage)

POETRY

Playing God by Glenn Colquhoun (Steele Roberts)

HISTORY

No Idle Rich: The Wealthy in Canterbury and Otago 1840–1914 by Jim McAloon (University of Otago Press)

BIOGRAPHY

A Sort of Conscience: The Wakefields by Philip Temple (Auckland University Press)

ENVIRONMENT

Te Araroa: The New Zealand Trail by Geoff Chapple (Random House)

LIFESTYLE & CONTEMPORARY CULTURE

The Wine Atlas of New Zealand by Michael Cooper, photography by John McDermott (Hodder Moa Beckett)

ILLUSTRATIVE

Len Castle: Potter by Len Castle and Nancy Pel (Sang Architects)

REFERENCE AND ANTHOLOGY

Spirit in a Strange Land: A Selection of New Zealand Spiritual Verse edited by Paul Morris and Harry Ricketts and Mike Grimshaw (Godwit)

READERS CHOICE

Playing God by Glenn Colquhoun (Steele Roberts)

BEST FIRST BOOK, FICTION

Queen of Beauty by Paula Morris (Penguin)

BEST FIRST BOOK, POETRY

Feeding the Dogs: Poems by Kay McKenzie Cooke (University of Otago Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, NON-FICTION

The Year of the Horse by Sam Mahon (Longacre Press)

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

Joy Cowley

BEST REVIEW PAGES

The Listener

BEST REVIEWER

David Eggleton

2004

BOOK OF THE YEAR

Slow Water by Annamarie Jagose (Victoria University Press)

NON-FICTION

The Trial of the Cannibal Dog: Captain Cook in the South Seas by Anne Salmond (Allen Lane)

FICTION

Slow Water by Annamarie Jagose (Victoria University Press)

POETRY

Sing-Song by Anne Kennedy (Auckland University Press)

BIOGRAPHY

Mason: The Life of R. A. K. Mason by Rachel Barrowman (Victoria University Press)

HISTORY

The Trial of the Cannibal Dog: Captain Cook in the South Seas by Anne Salmond (Allen Lane)

REFERENCE AND ANTHOLOGY

Whetu Moana: Contemporary Polynesian Poems in English edited by Albert Wendt and Reina Whaitiri and Robert Sullivan (Auckland University Press)

LIFESTYLE & CONTEMPORARY CULTURE

Classic Fly Fishing in New Zealand Rivers by John Kent, photography by David Hallett (Craig Potton Publishing)

ENVIRONMENT

Deep New Zealand: Blue Water, Black Abyss by Peter Batson and Kim Westerskov (Canterbury University Press)

ILLUSTRATIVE

Central by Arno Gasteiger (Viking)

READERS CHOICE

Penguin History of New Zealand by Michael King (Penguin)

BEST FIRST BOOK, FICTION

Bloom by Kelly Ana Morey (Penguin)

BEST FIRST BOOK, POETRY

The Adulterer’s Bible: Poems by Cliff Fell (Victoria University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, NON-FICTION

Tai Tokerau Whakairo Rākau: Northland Māori Wood Carving by Deidre Brown (Reed)

BEST REVIEW PAGES

The Listener

BEST REVIEWER

Michael King

2005

BOOK OF THE YEAR

Tu by Patricia Grace (Penguin)

NON-FICTION

At Home: A Century of New Zealand Design by Douglas Lloyd Jenkins (Godwit)

FICTION

Tu by Patricia Grace (Penguin)

POETRY

Nice Morning For It, Adam by Vincent O’Sullivan (Victoria University Press)

HISTORY

At Home: A Century of New Zealand Design by Douglas Lloyd Jenkins (Godwit)

BIOGRAPHY

Chronicle of the Unsung by Martin Edmond (Auckland University Press)

REFERENCE & ANTHOLOGY

The New Zealand Oxford Dictionary edited by Tony Deverson and Graeme Kennedy (Oxford University Press)

LIFESTYLE & CONTEMPORARY CULTURE

Hip Hop Music in Aotearoa by Gareth Shute (Reed)

ENVIRONMENT

Tiritiri Matangi: A Model of Conservation by Anne Rimmer (Tandem Press)

ILLUSTRATIVE

Ans Westra Photographs by Luit Bieringa et al. (BWX)

READERS CHOICE

Made in Morocco: A Journey of Exotic Tastes and Places by Julie Le Clerc and John Bougen (Penguin)

BEST FIRST BOOK, FICTION

My Real Life and Other Stories by Julian Novitz (Vintage)

BEST FIRST BOOK, POETRY

Clung by Sonja Yelich (Auckland University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, NON-FICTION

Ghost Dance by Douglas Wright (Penguin)

BEST REVIEW PAGES

North & South

BEST REVIEWER

Tony Simpson

2006

BOOK OF THE YEAR

Blindsight by Maurice Gee (Penguin)

NON-FICTION

Pōhutukawa and Rātā: New Zealand’s Iron-hearted Trees by Philip Simpson (Te Papa Press)

FICTION

Blindsight by Maurice Gee (Penguin)

POETRY

Lifted by Bill Manhire (Victoria University Press)

HISTORY

Thrift to Fantasy: Home Textile Crafts of the 1930s–1950s by Rosemary McLeod (HarperCollins)

BIOGRAPHY

Dingle: Discovering the Sense in Adventure by Graeme Dingle (Craig Potton Publishing)

REFERENCE & ANTHOLOGY

Great Sporting Moments: The Best of Sport Magazine 1988–2004 edited by Damien Wilkins (Victoria University Press)

LIFESTYLE & CONTEMPORARY CULTURE

How to Look at a Painting by Justin Paton (Awa Press)

ENVIRONMENT

Pōhutukawa and Rātā: New Zealand’s Iron-hearted Trees by Philip Simpson (Te Papa Press)

ILLUSTRATIVE

Contemporary New Zealand Photographers edited by Hannah Holm and Lara Strongman (Mountain View Publishing)

READERS CHOICE

Blindsight by Maurice Gee (Penguin); The Captive Wife by Fiona Kidman (Vintage)

BEST FIRST BOOK, FICTION

A Red Silk Sea by Gillian Ranstead (Penguin)

BEST FIRST BOOK, POETRY

Dream Fish Floating by Karlo Mila (Huia)

BEST FIRST BOOK, NON-FICTION

Pākehā and the Treaty: Why It’s Our Treaty Too by Patrick Snedden (Random House)

BEST REVIEW PAGES

The Dominion Post

BEST REVIEWER

Jolisa Gracewood

2007

BOOK OF THE YEAR

Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones (Penguin)

NON-FICTION

Eagle’s Complete Trees and Shrubs of New Zealand by Audrey Eagle (Te Papa Press)

FICTION

Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones (Penguin)

POETRY

The Goose Bath by Janet Frame (Vintage)

HISTORY

Vaka Moana, Voyages of the Ancestors: The Discovery and Settlement of the Pacific edited by K. R. Howe (David Bateman)

BIOGRAPHY

Douglas Lilburn: His Life and Music by Philip Norman (Canterbury University Press)

ENVIRONMENT

Ghosts of Gondwana: The History of Life in New Zealand by George Gibbs (Craig Potton Publishing)

LIFESTYLE & CONTEMPORARY CULTURE

Stitch: Contemporary New Zealand Textile Artists by Ann Packer (Random House)

REFERENCE & ANTHOLOGY

Furniture of the New Zealand Colonial Era: An Illustrated History 1830–1900 by William Cottrell (Reed)

READERS CHOICE

Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones (Penguin)

BEST FIRST BOOK, FICTION

The Sound of Butterflies by Rachael King (Black Swan)

BEST FIRST BOOK, POETRY

Secret Heart by Airini Beautrais (Victoria University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, NON-FICTION

Furniture of the New Zealand Colonial Era: An Illustrated History 1830–1900 by William Cottrell (Reed)

BEST REVIEW PAGES

The Listener

BEST REVIEWER

David Eggleton

2008

BOOK OF THE YEAR

Opportunity by Charlotte Grimshaw (Vintage)

NON-FICTION

Wetlands of New Zealand: A Bitter-Sweet Story by Janet Hunt (Random House)

FICTION

Opportunity by Charlotte Grimshaw (Vintage)

POETRY

Cold Snack by Janet Charman (Auckland University Press)

HISTORY

Te Tau Ihu o Te Waka: A History of Nelson and Marlborough (Volume II: Te Ara Hou — The New Society) by Hilary Mitchell and John Mitchell (Huia)

BIOGRAPHY

The Life and Times of James Walter Chapman-Taylor by Judy Siers (Millwood)

ENVIRONMENT

Wetlands of New Zealand: A Bitter-Sweet Story by Janet Hunt (Random House)

LIFESTYLE & CONTEMPORARY CULTURE

Mau Moko: The World of Māori Tattoo by Ngahuia Te Awekotuku and Linda Waimarie Nikora and Mohi Rua and Rolinda Karapu (Viking)

ILLUSTRATIVE

Bill Hammond: Jingle Jangle Morning by Jennifer Hay, Ron Brownson, Chris Knox and Laurence Aberhart, designed by Aaron Beehre (Christchurch Art Gallery)

REFERENCE & ANTHOLOGY

A Nest of Singing Birds: 100 Years of the New Zealand School Journal by Gregory O’Brien (Learning Media)

MAORI LANGUAGE

Te Tū a Te Toka: He Ieretanga nō ngā Tai e Whā edited by Huriana Raven and Piripi Walker (Tōtika Publications)

READERS CHOICE

The Blue by Mary McCallum (Penguin)

BEST FIRST BOOK, FICTION

The Blue by Mary McCallum (Penguin)

BEST FIRST BOOK, POETRY

Incognito by Jessica Le Bas (Auckland University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, NON-FICTION

The Great Sacred Forest of Tāne: Te wao tapu nui a Tāne by Alan Clarke (Reed)

BEST REVIEW PAGES

The Listener

BEST REVIEWER

Charlotte Grimshaw

2009

BOOK OF THE YEAR

A Novel About My Wife by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury)

NON-FICTION

Rita Angus: An Artist’s Life by Jill Trevelyan (Te Papa Press)

FICTION

A Novel About My Wife by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury)

POETRY

The Rocky Shore by Jenny Bornholdt (Victoria University Press)

HISTORY

Buying the Land, Selling the Land: Governments and Māori Land in the North Island 1865–1921 by Richard Boast (Victoria University Press)

BIOGRAPHY

Rita Angus: An Artist’s Life by Jill Trevelyan (Te Papa Press)

ENVIRONMENT

A Continent on the Move: New Zealand Geoscience into the 21st Century edited by Ian J. Graham (Geological Society of New Zealand in association with GNS Science)

LIFESTYLE & CONTEMPORARY CULTURE

Ladies, A Plate: Traditional Home Baking by Alexa Johnston (Penguin)

ILLUSTRATIVE

Making the Molecules Dance: Ceramics, 1948–2008 by Len Castle (Lopdell House Gallery)

REFERENCE & ANTHOLOGY

Collected Poems: 1951–2006 by C. K. Stead (Auckland University Press)

MAORI LANGUAGE

He Pātaka Kupu: Te Kai a te rangatira by Māori Language Commission (Ruapo)

READERS CHOICE

The 10pm Question by Kate De Goldi (Longacre Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, FICTION

The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton (Victoria University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, POETRY

Everything Talks by Sam Sampson (Auckland University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, NON-FICTION

Mates & Lovers: A History of Gay New Zealand by Chris Brickell (Godwit)

BEST REVIEW PAGES

The Listener

BEST REVIEWER

David Eggleton

2010

BOOK OF THE YEAR

Encircled Lands: Te Urewera, 1820–1921 by Judith Binney (Bridget Williams Books)

FICTION

As the Earth Turns Silver by Alison Wong (Penguin)

POETRY

Just This by Brian Turner (Victoria University Press)

GENERAL NON-FICTION

Encircled Lands: Te Urewera, 1820–1921 by Judith Binney (Bridget Williams Books)

ILLUSTRATED NON-FICTION

Go Fish: Recipes and Stories from the New Zealand Coast by Al Brown (Random House)

READERS CHOICE

Go Fish: Recipes and Stories from the New Zealand Coast by Al Brown (Random House)

BEST FIRST BOOK, FICTION

Relief by Anna Taylor (Victoria University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, POETRY

Fast Talking PI by Selina Tusitala Marsh (Auckland University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, NON-FICTION

Trust: A True Story of Women and Gangs by Pip Desmond (Random House)

2011

BOOK OF THE YEAR

Blue Smoke: The Lost Dawn of New Zealand Popular Music 1918–1964 by Chris Bourke (Auckland University Press)

FICTION

The Hut Builder by Laurence Fearnley (Penguin)

POETRY

The Mirror of Simple Annihilated Souls by Kate Camp (Victoria University Press)

GENERAL NON-FICTION

Blue Smoke: The Lost Dawn of New Zealand Popular Music 1918–1964 by Chris Bourke (Auckland University Press)

ILLUSTRATED NON-FICTION

The Passing World: The Passing of Life: John Hovell and the Art of Kowhaiwhai by Damian Skinner (Rim Books)

READERS CHOICE

Blue Smoke: The Lost Dawn of New Zealand Popular Music 1918–1964 by Chris Bourke (Auckland University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, FICTION

Everything We Hoped For by Pip Adam (Victoria University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, POETRY

Dear Sweet Harry by Lynn Jenner (Auckland University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, NON-FICTION

Whaikōrero: The World of Māori Oratory by Poia Rewi (Auckland University Press)

2012

BOOK OF THE YEAR

New Zealand’s Native Trees by John Dawson and Rob Lucas (Craig Potton Publishing)

FICTION

Rangatira by Paula Morris (Penguin)

POETRY

Shift by Rhian Gallagher (Auckland University Press)

GENERAL NON-FICTION

Tupaia: The Remarkable Story of Captain Cook’s Polynesian Navigator by Joan Druett (Random House)

ILLUSTRATED NON-FICTION

New Zealand’s Native Trees by John Dawson and Rob Lucas (Craig Potton Publishing)

MAORI LANGUAGE

Tōku Reo, Tōku Ohooho: My Language, My Inspiration by Chris Winitana (Huia)

READERS CHOICE

From Under the Overcoat by Sue Orr (Vintage)

BEST FIRST BOOK, FICTION

Wulf by Hamish Clayton (Penguin)

BEST FIRST BOOK, POETRY

Briefcase by John Adams (Auckland University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, NON-FICTION

New Zealand Design by Michael Smythe (Random House)

2013

BOOK OF THE YEAR

The Big Music by Kristy Gunn (Faber & Faber)

FICTION

The Big Music by Kristy Gunn (Faber & Faber)

POETRY

The Darling North by Anne Kennedy (Auckland University Press)

GENERAL NON-FICTION

Civilisation: Twenty Places on the Edge of the World by Steve Braunias (Awa Press)

ILLUSTRATED NON-FICTION

Pat Hanly by Gregory O’Brien and Gil Hanly (Ron Sang Publications)

READERS CHOICE

Patched: The History of Gangs in New Zealand by Jarrod Gilbert (Auckland University Press)

BOOKSELLERS CHOICE

Shelter from the Storm: The Story of New Zealand’s Backcountry Huts by Shaun Barnett and Rob Brown and Geoff Spearpoint (Craig Potton Publishing)

MAORI LANGUAGE

Ngā Waituhi o Rēhua by Katerina Te Heikōkō Mataira (Huia)

BEST FIRST BOOK, FICTION

I Got His Blood On Me by Lawrence Patchett (Victoria University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, POETRY

Graft by Helen Heath (Victoria University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, NON-FICTION

Moa: The Life and Death of New Zealand’s Legendary Bird by Quinn Berenston (Craig Potton Publishing)

2014

BOOK OF THE YEAR

Peter McLeavey: The Life and Times of a New Zealand Art Dealer by Jill Trevelyan (Te Papa Press)

FICTION

The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton (Victoria University Press)

POETRY

Us, Then by Vincent O’Sullivan (Victoria University Press)

GENERAL NON-FICTION

Peter McLeavey: The Life and Times of a New Zealand Art Dealer by Jill Trevelyan (Te Papa Press)

ILLUSTRATED NON-FICTION

Coast: A New Zealand Journey by Bruce Ansley and Jane Ussher (Godwit)

READERS CHOICE

The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton (Victoria University Press)

BOOKSELLERS CHOICE

Molesworth: Stories from New Zealand’s Largest High Country Station by Harry Broad, photography by Rob Suisted (Craig Potton Publishing)

BEST FIRST BOOK, FICTION

Tough by Amy Head (Victoria University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, POETRY

Horse with Hat by Marty Smith (Victoria University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, NON-FICTION

Tragedy at Pike River Mine: How and Why 29 Men Died by Rebecca Macfie (Awa Press)

2016

FICTION

Coming Rain by Stephen Daisley (Text Publishing)

GENERAL NON-FICTION

Māori Boy: A Memoir of Childhood by Witi Ihimaera (Vintage)

ILLUSTRATED NON-FICTION

Tangata Whenua: An Illustrated History by Atholl Anderson, Judith Binney and Aroha Harris (Bridget Williams Books)

POETRY

The Conch Trumpet by David Eggleton (Otago University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, FICTION

The Invisible Mile by David Coventry (Victoria University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, ILLUSTRATED NON-FICTION

Te Ara Puoro: A Journey into the World of Māori Music by Richard Nunns with Allan Thomas (Potton & Burton)

BEST FIRST BOOK, GENERAL NON-FICTION

Panguru and the City, Kāinga Tahi, Kāinga Rua: An Urban Migration History by Melissa Matutina Williams (Bridget Williams Books)

BEST FIRST BOOK, POETRY

How to be Dead in a Year of Snakes by Chris Tse (Auckland University Press)

2017

FICTION

The Wish Child by Catherine Chidgey (Victoria University Press)

POETRY

Fits & Starts by Andrew Johnston (Victoria University Press)

ILLUSTRATED NON-FICTION

A History of New Zealand Women by Barbara Brookes (Bridget Williams Books)

GENERAL NON-FICTION

Can You Tolerate This? by Ashleigh Young (Victoria University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, FICTION

Black Ice Matter by Gina Cole (Huia Publishers)

BEST FIRST BOOK, POETRY

Hera Lindsay Bird by Hera Lindsay Bird (Victoria University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, ILLUSTRATED NON-FICTION

A Whakapapa of Tradition: One Hundred Years of Ngāti Porou Carving, 1830-1930 by Ngarino Ellis (Auckland University Press)

BEST FIRST BOOK, GENERAL NON-FICTION

My Father’s Island by Adam Dudding (Victoria University Press)

The Spinoff Review of Books is brought to you by Unity Books