Allen & Unwin Aotearoa NZ announces winner of 2025 Fiction Prize

Allen & Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand is pleased to announce that the winner of our 2025 Fiction Prize is Tauranga writer, Anne Cleary. Her winning entry, Apple Man, is a hugely engaging psychological thriller about a young boy who goes missing while on a fishing trip with his father.

We received more than 130 manuscripts this year — a record number of entries. While there was a strong shortlist, the judges said Apple Man stood out for the quality of its writing, its sympathetic, well-drawn characters and flawless pacing.

Apple Man will be published in mid-2026. Along with being awarded a publishing contract, Anne receives an advance against royalties of $10,000.

Anne Cleary says, ‘Winning 2025's Allen & Unwin Fiction Prize feels incredible. Surreal. I am thrilled to bits, and so grateful for the wonderful opportunity of publication. To have such a respectable and successful publishing company believe in me is more than I could dream of.’

The prize was launched in 2022 to encourage strong fiction writing in Aotearoa New Zealand. The prize is open to all unpublished full-length manuscripts in the fiction genre between 70,000 and 100,000 words in length, written by citizens and residents of New Zealand. Both debut and already-published authors are eligible to enter.

The inaugural winner of the Allen & Unwin Aotearoa NZ Fiction Prize was Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts by Josie Shapiro, published in May 2023. Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts has been a critical and commercial success and has sold more than 12,000 copies. Josie Shapiro’s much anticipated second novel, Good Things Come and Go, will be published by Allen & Unwin Aotearoa NZ on 28 October.

The second winner was The Call by Gavin Strawhan, published in March 2024. The Call has gone on to sell 8,000 copies in New Zealand and Australia. Allen & Unwin Aotearoa NZ is publishing Gavin’s second novel, Slash, a follow-up to The Call, in 2026.

The Allen & Unwin Aotearoa NZ Fiction Prize 2026 will be open for entries from 1 October 2025 and will close on 31 March 2026.

For regular updates and details on how to enter, visit www.allenandunwin.co.nz.

Judges notes on Apple Man by Anne Cleary

‘We devoured Apple Man — its fast-paced plot, distinctly New Zealand setting and crisp, clean writing saw it the unanimous winner this year. Several judges commented on how polished the manuscript was and admired Anne's deftness in creating sympathetic characters who, despite their many flaws, you couldn't help but root for. Apple Man is a novel we can see many readers thoroughly enjoying and recommending to their friends.’