Picture book pair take the top prize at NZCYA awards
Popular picture book author and illustrator team Sacha Cotter and Josh Morgan (Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata) have claimed the top prize at the 2026 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults for the second time in their careers.
Their vibrantly illustrated A Guide to Rocks, which deals with difficult feelings and was described by the judges as 'storytelling at its finest' received the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year Award at the culmination of a joyful ceremony celebrating the very best of children's literature in Aotearoa held last night at Wellington’s Pipitea Marae. The duo won the same accolade for The Bomb in 2019.
A Guide to Rocks also won the BookHub Picture Book Award, while its te reo Māori edition, He Taonga te Toka, translated by Kawata Teepa (Tūhoe, Te Whakatōhea), received the Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for a Book translated into Te Reo Māori.
Judges praised the book for its quintessentially New Zealand text and painterly illustrations, describing it as a book that 'teaches, entertains and empowers'. They said the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year Award recognises a category winner that achieves outstanding overall excellence – a sincere, standout work that offers exceptional writing, illustration and design, and has the lasting quality to endure in Aotearoa beyond the awards.
The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults also recognised excellence across a further six categories on the night.
The Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction went to Dreamslinger by Graci Kim. 'Meticulous worldbuilding and characterisation are expertly combined with a humming plot,' said the judges, admiring how its inclusive cast ensures 'all readers feel seen and represented'.
The odyssey The Lost Saint won the Wheelers Books Award for Young Adult Fiction. 'Rachael Craw has built a world full of sensory detail and unpredictable peril,' the judges noted, combining 'sharp dialogue and wellcrafted character arcs that grip the reader right from its explosive start.'
Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Ngāti Kahungunu, Kāi Tahu) received the Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction for Whenua: Māori Pūrākau of Aotearoa. Judges described the book as 'an instant classic', praising its masterful, dynamic illustrations and text that brings the people and stories of pūrākau vividly to life in ways that feel familiar and relatable.
The Russell Clark Award for Illustration went to Kupe and the Great Octopus of Muturangi by Mat Tait, which retells the pūrākau of Kupe and his people chasing the great octopus of Muturangi across the ocean to Aotearoa. The judges praised Tait’s illustrations, saying they 'maximise the use of vibrant colour and illustration to make the story pop off each and every page'.
Mat Tait’s te reo Māori version, Kupe me te Wheke nui a Muturangi, won the Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for a Book Originally Written in Te Reo Māori, with judges noting it as 'an outstanding contribution to Māori children’s literature and a worthy recipient of recognition'.
The translation of He Taonga te Toka by Kawata Teepa (Tūhoe, Te Whakatōhea) received the Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for a Book Translated into Te Reo Māori. Judges praised the translation for its fluency, naturalness and accessibility, saying it made the book 'a truly memorable and deserving winner'.
The NZSA Best First Book Award was awarded to Te Onehaumako, a young adult novella written in te reo Māori by Zeb Tamihana Nicklin (Pāhauwera, Ruapani, Tūhoe, Tāmanuhiri). In a shortlist brimming with
accomplished and self-assured debuts, the judges described it as 'an important book that will spark meaningful conversations about sustainability and our shared environmental responsibilities'.
The full list of winners at the 2026 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults is below. A total of $70,500 in prize money was awarded.
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The Margaret Mahy Book of the Year $8500
A Guide to Rocks, Sacha Cotter, illustrated by Josh Morgan (Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata) (Huia Publishers)
BookHub Picture Book Award $8500
A Guide to Rocks, Sacha Cotter, illustrated by Josh Morgan (Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata) (Huia Publishers)
Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction $8500
Dreamslinger, Graci Kim (Penguin Random House New Zealand)
Wheelers Books Award for Young Adult Fiction $8500
The Lost Saint, Rachael Craw (Allen & Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand)
Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction $8500
Whenua: Māori Pūrākau of Aotearoa, Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Ngāti Kahungunu, Kāi Tahu) (Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand)
Russell Clark Award for Illustration $8500
Kupe and the Great Octopus of Muturangi, Mat Tait (Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō, Ngāti Kuia, Rangitāne o Wairau) (Allen & Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand)
Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for a Book Originally Written in Te Reo Māori $8500
Kupe me te Wheke nui a Muturangi, Mat Tait (Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō, Ngāti Kuia, Rangitāne o Wairau) (Allen & Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand)
Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for a Book Translated into Te Reo Māori $8500
He Taonga te Toka, Sacha Cotter, illustrated by Josh Morgan (Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata), translated by Kawata Teepa (Tūhoe, Te Whakatōhea ) (Huia Publishers)
NZSA Best First Book Award $2500
Te Onehaumako, Zeb Tamihana Nicklin (Pāhauwera, Ruapani, Tūhoe, Tāmanuhiri) (Huia Publishers)
The influence of the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults goes beyond a celebration of outstanding books. Through initiatives including Books Alive and the HELL Reading Challenge, the awards also encourage a lifelong love of reading among the country’s tamariki and rangatahi.
This year’s Books Alive programme brought the magic of the shortlisted titles to life, connecting finalist authors and illustrators with hundreds of school children through large-scale, immersive events. In partnership with WORD Christchurch, the programme ran over two days in the week preceding the awards ceremony in Ōtautahi, while in Pōneke, Wellington City Libraries hosted a range of booked out events at Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui on the day of the ceremony.
The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults also administer the hugely popular HELL Reading Challenge, now in its second decade. So far this year around 800 schools and libraries have signed up for the HELL Reading Challenge, and approximately 300,000 pizza wheels have been distributed – representing an estimated 2.1 million books read.
