The New Zealand Book Awards Trust Te Ohu Tiaki i Te Rau Hiringa takes immense pleasure in presenting the 29 finalist books in the 2023 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, a unique celebration of the contribution children’s authors and illustrators make to building national identity and cultural heritage in Aotearoa. Finalists have been selected in seven categories: Picture Book, Junior Fiction (the Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award), Young Adult Fiction, Non-Fiction (the Elsie Locke Award), Illustration (the Russell Clark Award), te reo Māori (the Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award), and Best First Book (the NZSA Award). Look out for the shortlisted titles in bookstores and libraries countrywide, and join us when we announce the winners at an awards ceremony in Wellington on 10 August.
