Contributions in Te Reo Māori recognised

Media release: Tuesday 11 August, 2009

Contributions to children’s literature in Te Reo Māori recognised

The LIANZA Children’s Book Awards, managed by the Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa, were awarded last night at a ceremony hosted by Caffe L’affare in Wellington.

The recipient of the Te Kura Pounamu Award, established in 1995 for the most distinguished contribution to literature for children or young people written in Te Reo Māori , was Peti Nohotima for her novel Mihiroa, put out by a new publisher, He Kupenga Hao I te Reo.

Alice Heather, Convenor of the LIANZA Te Kura Pounamu judging panel said “this is the first time a novel has won this award and we are delighted to select Mihiroa as an example of a top quality, engaging te reo Maori fiction written for young teenagers”.

“This is an exceptional novel for its descriptive narrative and one that sets the benchmark for fictional writing for this age group” Ms Heather said.

Four new awards originally used for Māori Language Week have been re-introduced by Te Ropu Whakahau, the organisation uniting Maori librarians and information specialists, to enable the recognition of both nonfiction and fiction across all age levels as part of Te Kura Pounamu award.

The taonga were originally donated by the Wellington LIANZA Region; Buddy Tainui of Ngai Tahu & Aoraki LIANZA Region; Palmerston North City Libraries and the fourth award was donated in remembrance of Hoani Te Whatahoro Jury.

Te Tohu Hoani Te Whatuhoro Jury mō te wahanga pukapuka pono was awarded to James Te Tuhi and Ross Gregory for their nonfiction title Toheroa published by Huia.

Katerina Te Heikoko Mataira was awarded the Te Tohu Pounamu m te wahanga Kaiwhakamaori for her translation of Hinemoa te Toa published by Scholastic.

The recipient of the Te Tohu Taurapa mō te wahanga Pukapuka Pikitia best picture book, was Tim Tipene for Hinemoa te Toa.

Te Tohu Nga Kete e toru mō te wahanga Pukapuka Paki, the fiction award was also awarded to Peti Nohotima for Mihiroa.

Also awarded last night were; the Esther Glen Award to Fleur Beale for her young adult novel Juno of Taris (Random House), Robyn Belton received the Russell Clark Award for Herbert: The Brave Sea Dog (Craig Potton Publishing) and Veronika Meduna and Rebecca Priestly were the recipients of the Elsie Locke Award for Atoms, Dinosaurs and DNA (Random House).

Together the LIANZA Children’s Book Awards celebrate the unique contribution New Zealand authors and illustrators make to our cultural heritage and national identity.

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