Anne Kennedy, David Hill and Claudia Orange are this year’s winners of the Prime Minister’s Awards for Literary Achievement.
Organised annually by Creative New Zealand, the awards, which have run since 2003, celebrate writers from Aotearoa who have made a significant contribution to Kiwi literature in the genres of fiction, non-fiction and poetry.
The winner of each category receives $60,000.
Meanwhile Monty Soutar (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, Ngāti Kahungunu) was the winner of the $100,000 Michael King Writer’s Fellowship for his Kāwai – a saga from the uttermost end of the Earth.
Due to the ongoing complexities of Covid-19 and split alert levels, Creative New Zealand made the decision to cancel the 2021 awards ceremony, which is typically held with the prime minister.
Kennedy won the award for poetry, Hill for fiction and Orange for non-fiction.
Kennedy, based in Auckland, is an acclaimed poet, novelist and screenwriter, and is known for her innovative, ambitious writing. She was shortlisted for the 2020 Ockham NZ Book Award for Poetry for her most recent collection, Moth Hour.
Hill, who lives in New Plymouth, is a prolific and highly-regarded Kiwi writer, playwright, poet, columnist and critic. Best-known for his popular and award-winning body of work for young people, ranging from picture books to teenage fiction, he has published more than 40 titles.
His novels have been published internationally and translated into several languages, and his short stories and plays for young people have been broadcast in Aotearoa and overseas.
Orange, from Wellington, who was a Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa director for many years, is currently a research associate at the museum. Her most recent book, The Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti o Waitangi: An Illustrated History (2021) is widely acclaimed.
“On behalf of the Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa, I’m so excited to offer our warmest congratulations to David, Anne and Dame Claudia – such treasured and accomplished writers drawn from across the motu, with diverse tales to tell. Thank you for your continued passion, skill and devotion to New Zealand literature,” said Arts Council chairwoman Caren Rangi.
