A senior academic will lead the judging panel in the country’s most prestigious book awards this year. Mark Williams, author and professor of English at Victoria University will judge the 2009 Montana New Zealand Book Awards together with award-winning writer, reviewer and editor, Jane Westaway and literary critic, journalist and editor, Margo White.
This year’s judging panel say the field is rich with established and new writers and there is an especially large number of beautifully produced books to consider.
‘We are looking for excellence across the whole range of New Zealand books dealing with subjects as various as art, cooking, war, gardening, and gay lifestyles. With around 215 books to read and 15 separate prizes to award, we have full reading schedules. We are advised by experts in each of the eight main categories: fiction, poetry, history, biography, reference and anthology, lifestyle and contemporary culture, illustrative, and environment…The judges’ responsibilities are collective and we shall all read and, together with our advisors, debate our judgments across the whole range of books submitted,’ says convenor, Mark Williams.
In selecting finalists and winners, judges take into account each book’s enduring literary merit and overall authorship; quality of illustration and graphic presentation; production values, general design and the standard of editing and the impact of the book on the community, with emphasis on issues such as quality, topicality, public interest, entertainment, cultural and educational values and life span of the book.
For more information about the judges and advisors.
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