The New Zealand Book Awards Trust has announced that submissions are now open for the 2020 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. These annual awards recognise and celebrate the best books for young readers published in New Zealand. Titles with release dates between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2020 will be considered for the 2020 awards.

There are two submission dates. Publishers are asked to observe the guidelines for sending entries in two tranches, which are in place for ease of sending to judges.

Submissions for books published between 1 April 2019 and 30 November 2019 are now open and will close at 5pm on Thursday 12 December 2019. For books published between 1 December 2019 and 31 March 2020, submissions open on 13 December and will close at 5pm on Friday 21 February 2020.

For books in the second tranche, bound page proofs will be accepted where books are not yet printed. In such cases, finished books must arrive with the Awards Administrator, New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, Attn: Joy Sellen, 72 Waripori Street, Wellington 6023, by 5pm on Wednesday 25 March 2020.

All entries must be submitted online at www.nzbookawards.nz and fees paid by credit card via the online submission form. A Call for Entries pack with eligibility criteria and other information can be found here.

The judges of the 2020 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults will be announced later this month, and their shortlist will be made public on Thursday 4 June 2020. The awards ceremony to be held in Wellington on 12 August 2020, preceded by a series of large-scale Books Alive events featuring finalist authors, in several centres around New Zealand.

The New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults are supported by Creative New Zealand, HELL Pizza, the Wright Family Foundation, LIANZA, Wellington City Council and Nielsen Book, and are administered by the New Zealand Book Awards Trust.

Any queries about the Awards should be directed to the Awards Administrator at childrensawards@nzbookawards.org.nz.