Congratulations to all the finalists listed below!
Picture Book Award Finalists Hare & Ruru: A Quiet Moment, Laura Shallcrass (Beatnik Publishing)
Hound the Detective, Kimberly Andrews (Penguin Random House NZ)
Kōwhai and the Giants, Kate Parker (Mary Egan Publishing)
The Hug Blanket, Chris Gurney, illustrated by Lael Chisholm (Scholastic New Zealand)
This Is Where I Stand, Philippa Werry, illustrated by Kieran Rynhart (Scholastic New Zealand)
Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Junior Fiction Award Finalists Across the Risen Sea, Bren MacDibble (Allen & Unwin)
Charlie Tangaroa and the Creature from the Sea, T K Roxborogh, illustrated by Phoebe Morris (Huia Publishers)
Red Edge, Des Hunt (Scholastic New Zealand)
The Inkberg Enigma, Jonathan King (Gecko Press)
The Tunnel of Dreams, Bernard Beckett (Text Publishing)
Young Adult Fiction Award Finalists
Draw Me a Hero, N K Ashworth (Lasavia Publishing)
Fire's Caress, Lani Wendt Young, (OneTree House)
Katipo Joe: Spycraft, Brian Falkner (Scholastic New Zealand)
The King's Nightingale, Sherryl Jordan (Scholastic New Zealand) The Pōrangi Boy, Shilo Kino (Huia Publishers)
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Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction Finalists
Egg and Spoon: An Illustrated Cookbook, Alexandra Tylee, illustrated by Giselle Clarkson (Gecko Press) Mophead Tu: The Queen's Poem, Selina Tusitala Marsh (Auckland University Press)
New Zealand Disasters, Maria Gill, illustrated by Marco Ivančić (Scholastic New Zealand)
North and South, Sandra Morris (Walker Books Australia) You're Joking: Become an Expert Joke-Teller, Tom E. Moffatt, illustrated by Paul Beavis (Write Laugh Books)
Russell Clark Award for Illustration Finalists
Hare & Ruru: A Quiet Moment, Laura Shallcrass (Beatnik Publishing)
I Am the Universe, Vasanti Unka (Penguin Random House NZ)
Kōwhai and the Giants, Kate Parker (Mary Egan Publishing)
Moon & Sun, Malene Laugesen, written by Melinda Szymanik (Upstart Press) Te Uruuru Whenua o Ngātoroirangi, Laya Mutton-Rogers, written by Chris Winitana (Huia Publishers)
Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award Finalists
Aroha Te Whai Ora, Rebekah Lipp, illustrated by Craig Phillips and translated by Karena Kelly (Wildling Books)
Mihi, Gavin Bishop (Gecko Press)
Pīpī Kiwi, Helen Taylor, translated by Hēni Jacob (Penguin Random House NZ)
Ngake me Whātaitai, Ben Ngaia, illustrated by Laya Mutton-Rogers (Huia Publishers) Te Uruuru Whenua o Ngātoroirangi, Chris Winitana, illustrated by Laya Mutton-Rogers (Huia Publishers)
Best First Book Award Finalists
Laura Shallcrass for Hare & Ruru: A Quiet Moment (Beatnik Publishing)
Kate Parker for Kōwhai and the Giants (Mary Egan Publishing)
Jonathan King for The Inkberg Enigma (Gecko Press)
Amy Haarhoff (illustrator) for The Midnight Adventures of Ruru and Kiwi, written by Clare Scott (Penguin Random House NZ) Shilo Kino for The Pōrangi Boy (Huia Publishers)