New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults: YA Fiction Award

A note on the history of this award

Prior to 1993, there was no separate literary award in New Zealand recognising Young Adult fiction, but some winners of the Esther Glen Award for junior fiction would be considered part of the YA canon today. The YA Fiction Award proper came into existence in the year 1993 as part of the AIM Children’s Book Awards, and was known as the “Senior Fiction Award” from 1993-2004. In 1997, the AIM Children’s Book Awards became the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards, and then it changed again to the New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults in 2004, at which time the “Senior Fiction Award” became the “Young Adult Fiction Award.”

The overall awards are now known as the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, and the Young Adult Fiction Award currently carries prize money of NZ$7,500. In its distinguished history, it has been won by a number of the greats of New Zealand literature, with luminaries like Margaret Mahy, Jack Lasenby, Kate De Goldi, Maurice Gee, Tessa Duder, Elizabeth Knox and more in its list of recipients.

We have most of the award-winning books in our collection — explore the full list below.

Updated June 19, 2024
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Wellington City LibrariesYouth team at Wellington City Libraries
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Battlesaurus : rampage at Waterloo
Falkner, Brian
Paper Book
This riveting alt history reimagines the 1815 Battle of Waterloo as something other than a crushing defeat for the French emperor Napoléon Bonaparte, when he unleashes a terrible secret weapon--giant carnivorous survivors from pre-history--on his unsuspecting British and Prussian adversaries. In...

NZCYA Book Awards – Young Adult Fiction Award – 2016 winner

Into the river
Dawe, Ted.
Paper Book
Winner of the Margaret Mahy Award "Some rivers should not be swum in. Some rivers hold secrets that can never be told." Te Arepa is an adventurous Maori boy, bound to the history, customs and rituals of his people. Yet when he comes upon a giant eel while...

New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults – Young Adult Fiction Award – 2013 winner

The bridge
Higgins, Jane.
Paper Book
The City is divided. The bridges gated. In Southside, the hostiles live in squalor and desperation, waiting for a chance to overrun the residents of Cityside. nbsp; Nik is still in high school but is destined for a great career with the Internal Security and Intelligence Services, the...

New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults – Young Adult Fiction Award – 2012 Honour Award

Brainjack
Falkner, Brian
Paper Book
Another terrifying sci-fi page-turner from the author of The Tomorrow Code! Las Vegas is gone--destroyed in a terrorist attack. Black Hawk helicopters patrol the skies over New York City. And immersive online gaming is the most dangerous street drug around. In this dystopic near...

New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults – Young Adult Fiction Award – 2010 Children's Choice winner

The 10 pm question
De Goldi, Kate
Paper Book
Worry-prone Frankie keeps his family secret under control--until a bold, inquisitive girl enters his life--in this warm, witty, and captivating YA novel. Twelve-year-old Frankie Parsons is a talented kid with a quirky family, a best friend named Gigs, and a voice of anxiety...

New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults – Young Adult Fiction Award – 2009 winner

Salt
Gee, Maurice.
Paper Book
Salt is an utterly compelling fantasy adventure, the work of a master storyteller at the peak of his powers. When his father Tarl is captured and enslaved to work in Deep Salt, Hari vows to rescue him. This is a forbidding task: no one returns from Deep Salt. But Hari was born and...

New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults – Young Adult Fiction Award – 2008 winner

Genesis
Beckett, Bernard
Paper Book
A stunning novel that's as rich in ideas as it is in suspense, destined to become a modern classic of post-apocalyptic literature Anax thinks she knows history. Her grueling all-day Examination has just begun, and if she passes, she'll be admitted into the Academy--the...

New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults – Young Adult Fiction Award – 2007 winner

Alchemy
Mahy, Margaret.
Paper Book
Roland is intrigued that his classmate, the mysterious Jess, is studying alchemy. When a sinister magician from Roland's past gets involved in the mystery surrounding Jess, Roland realizes he is trapped in a dangerous web of magic, power, and greed.

New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards – Senior Fiction Award – 2003 winner

Dare truth or promise
Boock, Paula
Paper Book
When Louie and Willa first meet, they don't know their lives will soon be changed forever. Self-assured Louie is gearing up for another successful year in high school, starring in a production of Twelfth Night and running the Comedy Club. Kicked out of her last school and still stinging from a...

New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards – Senior Fiction Award – 1998 winner


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