Finalists in the newly created Te Kōrero Pono- Non-Fiction Politics category.
The growth of interest in Māori politics has been recognised in this year’s Massey University Ngā Kupu Ora Awards: Celebrating Māori Books and Journalism.
The ninth annual Ngā Kupu Ora Awards has seen politics added as a non-fiction category to cater for the number of books published in 2016 on the topic. Book awards judge Dr Darryn Joseph commented “It shouldn’t surprise us in a post-settlement era that the growth in this area captures the zeitgeist of people, politics and reconciliation.”
Māori non-fiction publishing remains strong with five of the six categories in the awards dedicated to the genre.
Massey Assistant Vice-Chancellor Māori and Pasifika Dr Charlotte Severne says the strength of the non-fiction category is the sign of an increasingly vibrant literary culture. “We are seeing Māori culture, philosophies and, most importantly, language recorded and shared. That’s incredibly important and embodies the kaupapa of the Ngā Kupu Ora Awards.”
Once again, the range of topics covered in the awards is diverse from a historical fiction novel about the legendary racehorse Phar Lap, to the art of Gottfried Lindauer, to Māori proverbs and the first 10 years of Māori Television, all written, edited, or researched by Māori.
There are 15 finalists in this year’s awards and winners will be announced at a ceremony at Te Papa in Wellington on November 8. Finalists in the Māori Journalist of the Year Awards, held as part of Ngā Kupu Ora, will be announced next week.
The Ngā Kupu Ora Awards were established by Massey University in 2009 to celebrate and encourage excellence in Māori literature and publishing and last year were extended to include journalism.
A full list of the finalists can be found here.