Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry

The Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry is an award at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards, presented annually to the winner of the poetry category. The winner receives a NZ$10,000 prize.[1]

History edit

The New Zealand Book Awards were set up by the New Zealand Literary Fund, a government organisation, in 1976. Annual awards were presented for literary merit in fiction, non-fiction, poetry and (later) book production.[2]

The Goodman Fielder Wattie Book Awards, New Zealand's other principal literary awards event, did not specifically award poetry prizes until 1994, when sponsorship was taken over by Montana Wines and the event's name was changed to the Montana Book Awards.[2] In 1994 and 1995, the Montana Book Awards included a category for poetry.[3]

In 1996, the two awards events were merged to create the Montana New Zealand Book Awards, and offering prizes in six categories, including poetry. In 2010, the New Zealand Post took over as sponsor, having supported the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults for the previous 14 years.[4][5][2]

In 2015, Auckland property development firm Ockham Residential assumed sponsorship of the awards. No prizes were presented in that year. The Poetry Award was presented from 2016 to 2019. In 2020, the name of the award was changed to the Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry.[1]

Winners of the Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry, 2020–present edit

Winners of the Ockham New Zealand Book Award for Poetry, 2016–2019 edit

Winners of the New Zealand Post Book Award for Poetry, 2010–2014 edit

Winners of the Montana New Zealand Book Award for Poetry, 1996–2009 edit

Winners of the Montana Book Award for Poetry, 1994–1995 edit

Winners of the New Zealand Book Award for Poetry, 1976–1995 edit

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b "About the Awards". New Zealand Book Awards Trust. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Derby, Mark. "Page 2. Literary awards, 1950s onwards". Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  3. ^ "Montana Book Awards". Christchurch City Libraries. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  4. ^ Hamilton, Stephen (1997). "Recognition, and rewards of success". Book & Print in New Zealand : A Guide to Print Culture in Aotearoa. Wellington, NZ: Victoria University Press. ISBN 0-86473-331-3. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  5. ^ "History of the New Zealand Book Awards". Christchurch City Libraries. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  6. ^ "Catherine Chidgey wins major prize at 2023 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards". Radio New Zealand. 17 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  7. ^ "2022 Awards". New Zealand Book Awards Trust. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  8. ^ "Beautrais wins 2021 Ockham New Zealand Book Award for fiction". Books+Publishing. 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.

External links edit