New Voices of Aotearoa. Nominations are open!
The Coalition for Books is excited to launch the inaugural promotion New Voices for Aotearoa, with support from the Mātātuhi Foundation, to highlight up and coming New Zealand authors. Nominations can be submitted using the form at the bottom of this page from Friday 11 April until 11:59pm Wednesday 30 April. Forms received after this time will not be considered.
New Voices of Aotearoa will showcase new and emerging authors of Aotearoa New Zealand adult fiction and non-fiction. It is aimed at identifying, nurturing and increasing readership and sales for brilliant new emerging writing talent.
Each year, a panel of experts – writers, booksellers, publishers, reviewers and librarians – will be convened to select 10 New Voices of Aotearoa. To qualify for this year’s competition, an author must have published a first book in 2024 or be publishing their first book in 2025. Authors with a second book due to release before December 31st 2025 are also eligible. Full guidelines and criteria are listed below.
The New Voices list will be announced annually in late June and will be amplified through a publicity campaign and promotional collaboration with booksellers, libraries and festivals.
Our thanks to Mātātuhi Foundation for their support for this initiative.
Promotion guidelines and criteria:
Nominated writers must have published at least one and no more than two books.
If a writer has published one book only, this book must have been published between January 2024 and June 2025. If the writer’s is publishing a second book, it must be scheduled for publication by December this year.
Collections of poetry, as well as books for children or YA readers, are not part of the 2025 promotion. If a nominated writer has published two books, both must be fiction or nonfiction written for adults.
There is no fee to nominate a writer. Nominations can be submitted by a publisher or an individual.
Entries must be received by 11:59pm Wednesday 30 April.
1. Printed books are considered published when first made available for distribution in New Zealand.
2. A printed book must be made available to all booksellers to purchase at usual trade terms for on-sale to members of the public, and will also be in stock and available for bookstores and the public to purchase should the book be selected as a finalist.
3. Principal authors must be New Zealand citizens (by birth, naturalisation, or immigration) or be permanently residing in New Zealand. Evidence of permanent residency is required to confirm that all principal contributors meet this requirement. The work of New Zealand citizens living overseas is eligible if the book meets other criteria and has been published by a New Zealand or overseas publisher during the period stipulated for eligibility. The principal author(s) must be the major contributor(s) of the book being submitted, with at least 50 percent input. Publishers must clearly define the 50 percent of the work which has been written by the principal author(s).
4. Deceased authors’ books are not eligible for entry.
5. Reprints and re-issues of previously published works are not eligible. A new print run of a previously published book, without alteration, is considered a reprint. A new issue of a previously published book, where minimal alteration has been made (e.g. jacket design, format, imprint etc) is considered a reissue.