What would it mean to have your new book shortlisted for the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults? An email comes out of the blue--what do you think in that moment? Kete asked several of the newly announced finalists these questions. Read on to see what they answered.

Sacha Cotter and Josh Morgan - A Guide to Rocks (Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata) (Huia Publishers), shortlisted for the BookHub Picture Book Award 

What were you doing when you heard?

Sacha: 'I was at work collecting books from a basement when I saw the email from our publisher asking us to sign a letter of confidentiality so she could tell us some good news. Josh was working from home. I immediately messaged Josh and was like "Oh my god, oh my god, Josh!!! Sign the letter! Sign the letter!!!!!!" I think our publisher has never heard back from us so fast, ha ha.'

What does being named a finalist mean to you?

Sacha and Josh: 'It's immense on so many levels. To be recognised alongside all the talented writers, illustrators, translators and publishers who we greatly admire, is the stuff of dreams. 

Our self-belief and confidence as a writer and illustrator (and humans in general!) tends to be precarious, so being selected as finalists gives us that nudge to say ... hey - keep going!

Being named a finalist is a truly special honour. We created A Guide to Rocks because we wanted to encourage tamariki and adults alike to talk about the tough stuff. Being here with that important message means everything.'

Toby Morris - Pūkeko Who-keko? (Penguin Random House), shortlisted for the BookHub Picture Book Award 

'I think I'd stopped to get a coffee on my morning dog walk when I saw an email about it and it made my day. It was great timing really - just that week I'd started working on a new book which is always half exciting and half daunting - so getting the news was very validating and encouraging. It felt like a timely reminder to trust my creative gut!

I'm so honoured and excited to be a finalist in the NZCYA awards, it means a lot! Kids’ books get taken for granted sometimes, but the standard of new stuff coming out in Aotearoa is very high right now - we have so many talented people working hard making original and meaningful stories. It feels extra special that this book has resonated with kids and that I can sit alongside so many of my favourite authors and illustrators.'

Heather Haylock, Koro Wēta (Oratia Books), shortlisted for the BookHub Picture Book Award

'I was half way through baking a cake – I was so excited when I found out about the shortlisting, I got the recipe all muddled up and forgot to put in the baking powder. The cake came out like a round brick. Even the birds weren’t interested in eating it.

Being named a finalist means a lot to me. I know awards aren’t everything – I write for the joy of it and I write for the children who will have my books in their hands. But the external validation of the judges naming Koro Wētā as a finalist is very, very encouraging indeed, and a tribute to the whole team that brought this pukapuka together. The icing on the cake!

(I did have another go at baking a cake later once I’d calmed down and it was very delicious.)'

Swapna Haddow, The Terrible Trio 1: The (not so) Superheroes (Scholastic New Zealand), shortlisted for the Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction

'I was in my stripy pyjamas and unpacking from a family holiday, ready to be hit by the holiday blues when I received the awesome news. I was pretty jet lagged and for a moment I thought I’d imagined it! My stripy pyjamas are now officially my lucky pyjamas.

I'm so thrilled that The Terrible Trio: The (not so) Superheroes is a finalist and sharing a stage with so many incredible books. The NZCYA awards is an awesome platform for showcasing all the wonderful things happening in children's books in Aotearoa and I'm beyond honoured that Team Terrible Trio is a part of that this year.'

Brian Falkner, Spider Games: In the City of Spies (Bateman Books), shortlisted for the Wheelers Books Young Adult Fiction Award 

'I was teaching a holiday writing camp for young writers at Kristin School in Auckland when I heard the news. I was so excited that it took all my willpower not to announce it to the whole room.”

Being shortlisted for New Zealand’s most prestigious awards for children’s literature means a great deal to me, because this book is one of the most personal stories I’ve written. It’s wonderful to see how strongly it has connected with readers.'

Al Brown, Hooked: Learning to Fish, illustrated by Hope McConnell (Allen & Unwin Aotearoa), shortlisted for the Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction

'Super stoked to be named as a finalist for the 2026 NZ Book Awards, for Children and Young Adults. It was such a fun project and while personally for me, it was aimed at getting the young to put their screens down for a moment, and to experience the joy of picking up a fishing rod, heading out in nature to hook a fish.  Ultimately, as it turned out, it sort of morphed into a reference book for all anglers. Think storytelling, how to’s, kit lists, gear guide, sustainability & safety, and of course a bunch of recipes……there is something for everyone.'

Kawata Teepa (Tūhoe, Te Whakatōhea ) Translator for He Taonga te Toka (Huia Publishers), shortlisted for the Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Awards

'Well, working for and at a publisher, lo and behold I was working on (you guessed it) another picture book which is at the planning and concept stage at this point. No rest for the wicked. But being named finalist is always a privilege and an honor, and exciting too. Always an honor to contribute to literature for our tamariki across Aotearoa. Kia ora me ngā mihi nui.'

Zeb Tamihana Nicklin (Pāhauwera, Ruapani, Tūhoe, Tāmanuhiri), Te Onehaumako (Huia Publishers), shortlisted for the NZSA Best First Book Award 
'I was going through my emails as I do each morning and came across the email. I read the email and yelled out to my wife, “My book is a finalist!” My wife then inquired further and I read the email to her. I usually have to steal my kisses from her, but she kissed me and congratulated me! Great moment.

Being a finalist has definitely kicked me into gear to keep writing, and I have and nearly completed another book since the news with one other book started and another framework for a third outlined. So, as like when I have attended book awards in the past it inspires you more to keep writing not that I need extrinsic motivation, but it is reassuring.'

Scroll down to check out all the finalist books, or see the full news announcement here.