Te Herenga Waka Victoria University Professor Damien Wilkins has walked away with the biggest prize in Aotearoa New Zealand literature for his novel DELIRIOUS, a novel about grief and loss, (Te Herenga Waka University Press), after arriving in the very nick of time at the glittering Ockham New Zealand Book Awards ceremony last night.

The three other category winners were editor, novelist and poet Emma Neale, winning the Mary and Biggs Award for Poetry with her insightful collection Liar, Liar, Lick, Spit (Otago University Press); curator, critic, activist, and the first female Māori Emeritus Professor from a university Ngāhuia te Awekōtuku (Te Arawa, Ngāpuhi, Waikato) taking the General Non-Fiction Award with her fascinating, genre-defying memoir Hine Toa (HarperCollins); and art historians Deidre Brown (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu) and Ngarino Ellis (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou), who scooped the BookHub Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction with their epic and beautiful Toi Te Mana (Auckland University Press).

The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards ceremony is held every year in the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, with a live band, an enthusiastic MC, and arts ministers, authors, publicists, publishers, and book lovers in attendance. Last night CJ from Ngati Whatua welcomed attendees and writers to the whenua before Nicola Legat, chair of the Book Awards Trust, opened the evening. Paul Goldsmith gave a brief speech highlighting the importance of the arts to everyone in Aotearoa, no matter their politics, and then emcee Miriama Kamo took over to facilitate the awards. This is the tenth year that much-beloved Ockham Residential has been principal sponsor of the event, and so there was a birthday song from the band, and streamers at the end of the event, as well as a brief speech from Ockham co-founder Mark Todd.

Four ‘Best First Book’ Awards, sponsored by the Mātātuhi Foundation, were also awarded, one each for the four categories mentioned above. The Hubert Church Award for Fiction went to Michelle Rahurahu for Poorhara (Te Herenga Waka University Press), the Jessie MacKay Prize for Poetry to Rex Letoa Paget for Manuali’i (Saufo’i Press), the Judith Binney Prize for Illustrated Non-Fiction to Kirsty Baker for Sight Lines (Auckland University Press); and the E.H. McCormick Prize for General Non-Fiction to Una Cruickshank for The Chthonic Cycle (Te Herenga Waka University Press).

The theatre was almost full with attendees. It was brilliant to see small publishers (Saufo’i Press, Spoor Books) represented amongst the finalists. Heartfelt, emotional and passionate speeches peppered the evening, and the readings from the finalists from their books, as always, were a delight.

The loser of the night goes to Air New Zealand, for the cancelled flights that led to several people being unable to attend the awards. But, in the end, despite this, the evening was crowned by Damien Wilkins’ dramatic entrance. He missed his winner announcement; Fergus Barrowman, as representative, had already given his winners’ speech; and the band was winding up a last performance when he ran onto the stage, just in time for the final streamers and to say a few words of his own.

Convenor of judges for the Acorn Foundation Fiction Prize, Thom Conroy, said of Delirious that ‘What stood out to the judges was the assured but understated touch of prose as it flows elegantly across decades, threads the intricacies of relationship, and fathoms the ongoing evolution of a couple’s grief. Intimate, funny, and, above all, honest, Delirious is an absorbing, inspiring novel, and a damn fine read.’

Judges’ full comments for the finalist books:

Holly Walker, Convenor of Judges for General Non-Fiction:

‘As well as painting a vivid picture of Ngāhuia te Awekōtuku’s early life, from her childhood on 'the pā' at Ōhinemutu to her many creative and academic achievements, it is also a fiery social and political history that chronicles the transformative second half of the 20th century in Aotearoa from a vital queer, Māori, feminist perspective.

‘From its extraordinary opening sentence, it weaves Māori and English storytelling traditions: “Once upon a time there was a pet tuatara named Kiriwhetū; her reptile skin was marked with stars.” Hine Toa is both a personal testimony and a taonga.’

Dr Thom Conroy, Convenor of Judges for Fiction:

‘With a gift for crisp, emotionally rich digression, Damien Wilkins immerses readers in Mary and Pete’s grapples with ageing and their contemplations of lost loved ones who still thrive in vivid memories.

‘What stood out to the judges was the assured but understated touch of prose as it flows elegantly across decades, threads the intricacies of relationship, and fathoms the ongoing evolution of a couple’s grief.

‘Intimate, funny, and, above all, honest, Delirious is an absorbing, inspiring novel, and a damn fine read.’

Chris Szekely, Convenor of Judges for Illustrated Non-Fiction:

‘Toi Te Mana is extensively researched and thoughtfully written, casting a wide inclusive net. The result is a beautifully designed visual tour de force, and a cultural framework that approaches toi mahi with intelligence and insight.

‘Itis dedicated to the late Jonathan Mane-Wheoki (Ngāpuhi, Te Aupōuri, Ngāti Kurī), one of the three authors responsible for this magnum opus. Congratulations to Professors Deirdre Brown and Ngarino Ellis for carrying the baton to completion, a herculean task akin to the mahi of Maui himself.’

David Eggleton, Convenor of Judges for Poetry:

‘Liar, Liar, Lick, Spit displays an exceptional ability to turn confessional anecdotes into quicksilvery flashes of insight.

It’s a book about fibs and fables; and telling true stories which are perceived by others as tall stories; and the knock-on or flow-on effects of distrust, the scales dropping from one's eyes. It's about power and a sense of powerlessness; it's about belief and the loss of belief, it's about trust and disillusion; it's about disenchantment with fairytales. It's about compassion.

‘Emma Neale is a writer fantastically sensitive to figurative language and its possibilities.’