Show-Stopping Celebration Of Women Artists In Aotearoa Judged Best-Designed Book

18 September 2025

A show-stopping celebration of women and their art has been deemed the supreme winner at the 2025 PANZ Book Design Awards.

Sight Lines: Women and Art in Aotearoa by Kirsty Baker (Auckland University Press), designed by Katie Kerr (Studio Katie Kerr) was awarded the Gerard Reid Award for Best Book sponsored by NielsenIQ BookData during a joyous ceremony held this evening in Auckland. Sight Lines also received the Penguin Random House New Zealand Award for Best Illustrated Book.

“This book should be perched atop every household's bookshelf,” said convenor of judges Chloe Blades. “The unusual and distinctive pairing of bright orange and olive green is a bold choice, which paired with the design of the cover, has an air of assertiveness and intrigue. The trust placed upon the designer to create something both readable and worth gifting, or keeping for generations to come, has paid off.”

The judges said each page reveals a new thoughtful touch, from the distinct typographic styles to the alternating background colours and layout. The reader is navigated with pleasure, delicately, through the complexity that many contributors writing on 35 different artists brings. With all of these effective and highly-contemplated design elements converging, the end result is a book worthy of the artists and their art within.

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When announcing the supreme award, the judges also gave special mention to another contender; worm, root, wort... & bane by Ann Shelton (Alice Austen House Press), designed by Duncan Munro of Lucky Stairs Studio, praising the energetic and eclectic design. worm, root, wort... & bane was also recognised with the HarperCollins Publishers Award for Best Cover and shared the Bookhub People’s Choice Award with Fenoga Tāoga Niue I Aotearoa: Niue Heritage Journey In Aotearoa edited by Molima Molly Pihigia QSM, Toluma'anave Barbara Makuati-Afitu, Kolokesa Uafa Mahina-Tuai, Hikule'o Fe'aomoeako Melaia Mahina and Janson Chau (Mafola Press), designed by Janson Chau (Alt Group).

The Upstart Press Award for Best Non-Illustrated Book went to Japan: An Autobiography by Peter Shaw (Six Point Press), cover designed by Arch MacDonnell, interior by Arch MacDonnell & Jane MacDonnell (Inhouse). The judges said the “elegance of this book is astounding, and each page is exciting to land on” and they felt the title leads the way for the future of travel writing books. Japan also won the Te Papa Press Award for Best Typography.

This year saw a particularly strong field of entries for the Scholastic New Zealand Award for Best Children’s Book and the judges ended up awarding the prize jointly to two titles.

A Lot of Silly by Joy Cowley & David Barrow (Gecko Press), designed by Vida Kelly, stood out for the way the design reflected the joy of the book itself and perfectly complemented the wonderfully ludicrous illustrations. While The Dream Factory / Te Wheketere Moemoeā by Steph Matuku & Zak Ātea (Huia Publishers), designed by Te Kani Price and Sophie Hooper, perfectly captured the brief of a dream-like aesthetic, with the judges declaring the end result a beauty to behold.

The always highly anticipated Allen & Unwin Award for Best Commercial Book for Adults went to Amma by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press), cover designed by Megan van Staden, interior by Simon Paterson Bookhouse. While Oikos — An Ode to Food, Family & Friends by Theo Papouis (Oikos), designed by Seachange, won the hotly contested 1010 Printing Award for Best Cookbook.

The Awards also recognise the best in Aotearoa's vibrant educational publishing scene with the PANZ Award for Best Education Book or Series — Primary going to My Matariki Colouring and Activity Book by Rangi Matamua, Miriama Kamo & Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Scholastic New Zealand), cover designed by Vida Kelly, interior by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White and Vida Kelly.

Finally, Sarah-Louise Crawford of Huia Publishers was recognised as the Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand Emerging Designer Award. Her practice draws deeply on kaupapa Māori values, and the judges felt it shows how cultural meaning and typographic clarity can work together. They said Sarah demonstrates care, precision, and a growing confidence in balancing cultural richness with wide appeal.

The PANZ Book Design Awards were established by the Publishers Association of New Zealand Te Rau o Tākupu (PANZ) to promote excellence in, and provide recognition for, the best book design in New Zealand.

The 2025 PANZ Book Design Award winners are:

Gerard Reid Award for Best Book sponsored by NielsenIQ BookData Book

· Sight Lines: Women and Art in Aotearoa by Kirsty Baker (Auckland University Press). Designed by Katie Kerr (Studio Katie Kerr)

· Special judges’ mention to:
worm, root, wort... & bane by Ann Shelton (Alice Austen House Press). Designed by Duncan Munro (Lucky Stairs Studio)

Penguin Random House New Zealand Award for Best Illustrated Book

· Sight Lines: Women and Art in Aotearoa by Kirsty Baker (Auckland University Press). Designed by Katie Kerr (Studio Katie Kerr)

Upstart Press Award for Best Non-Illustrated Book

· Japan: An Autobiography by Peter Shaw (Six Point Press). Cover designed by Arch MacDonnell, interior by Arch MacDonnell & Jane MacDonnell (Inhouse)

Scholastic New Zealand Award for Best Children’s Book – JOINT WINNERS

· A Lot of Silly by Joy Cowley & David Barrow (Gecko Press). Designed by Vida Kelly

· The Dream Factory / Te Wheketere Moemoeā by Steph Matuku & Zak Ātea (Huia Publishers). Designed by Te Kani Price & Sophie Hooper (Huia Publishers)

PANZ Award for Best Education Book or Series — Primary

· My Matariki Colouring and Activity Book by Rangi Matamua, Miriama Kamo & Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Scholastic New Zealand). Cover designed by Vida Kelly, interior by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White and Vida Kelly,

1010 Printing Award for Best Cookbook

· Oikos — An Ode to Food, Family & Friends by Theo Papouis (Oikos). Designed by Seachange

Allen & Unwin Award for Best Commercial Book for Adults

· Amma by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press). Cover designed by Megan van Staden, interior by Simon Paterson Bookhouse

HarperCollins Publishers Award for Best Cover

· worm, root, wort... & bane by Ann Shelton (Alice Austen House Press). Designed by Duncan Munro (Lucky Stairs Studio)

Te Papa Press Award for Best Typography

· Japan: An Autobiography by Peter Shaw (Six Point Press). Cover designed by Arch MacDonnell, interior by Arch MacDonnell & Jane MacDonnell (Inhouse)

Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand Emerging Designer Award

Sarah-Louise Crawford

· Charlie Tangaroa and the God of War by T K Roxborogh (Huia Publishers)

· Te Huarahi Māori: A Māori-Medium Initial Teacher Education Programme edited by Peter J. Keegan, Tania Cliffe-Tautari, Ruth Lemon and Tauwehe Tamati (Huia Publishers)

Bookhub People’s Choice Award – JOINT WINNERS

· worm, root, wort... & bane by Ann Shelton (Alice Austen House Press). Designed by Duncan Munro (Lucky Stairs Studio)

· Fenoga Tāoga Niue I Aotearoa: Niue Heritage Journey In Aotearoa edited by Molima Molly Pihigia QSM, Toluma'anave Barbara Makuati-Afitu, Kolokesa Uafa Mahina-Tuai, Hikule'o Fe'aomoeako Melaia Mahina and Janson Chau (Mafola Press). Designed by Janson Chau (Alt Group)

THE JUDGING PANEL:

Chloe Blades (Convenor) is a manager at Unity Books in Auckland, where she’s been bookselling since 2017, and is also a Director on the Board of Booksellers New Zealand. Last year Chloe was on the PANZ Book Design Awards judging panel and recently organised and chaired a panel at Unity on AI and the future of creativity and design, alongside a BBC journalist, Data Analyst, and the Founder of Crane Brothers. She’s an artist based in West Auckland, too, featuring in August’s Your Home and Garden magazine with exhibitions coming up at Art in the Park and Titirangi’s Upstairs Gallery.

Eva Charlton is a graphic designer based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland who specialises in design for the arts and culture sector. She currently works as Graphic Designer for design studio Extended Whānau and on independent projects, collaborating with artists, curators, and writers. Recent projects include the publications Rewi: Ata Haere, Kia Tere and Ana Iti: What is that Salty Voice? and the rebrand of Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery in Whanganui. Eva previously worked as Graphic Designer for The Dowse Art Museum in Te Awakairangi Lower Hutt and holds a Bachelor of Design from Auckland University of Technology.

Dr Jo Bailey is a designer based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington. Her roots before emigrating to Aotearoa are in the UK. As a designer she is interested in ‘good design’ in all ways: functional, beautiful, equitable and inclusive. Her practice focuses on making complex information more accessible and engaging. That’s frequently through graphic and book design (she has designed titles for many publishers in Aotearoa and beyond), and also science communication, which was the focus of her PhD research. She is an educator and researcher at Toi Rauwhārangi College of Creative Arts, Massey University, where she co-leads the Visual Communication Design programme. This is Jo’s second time judging the PANZ Book Design Awards.

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