2026 Awards

The $65,000 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction will be judged by novelist, short story writer and reviewer Craig Cliff (convenor); novelist, poet and Arts Foundation Te Tumi Toi Laureate Alison Wong; and bookseller, writer and reviewer Melissa Oliver (Ngāti Porou). They are joined in deciding the ultimate winner from their shortlist of four by international judge, Canadian Leslie Hurtig, artistic director of the Vancouver Writers Fest and a respected literary juror.

The Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry will be judged by poet, musician and multi-disciplinary artist Daren Kamali (convenor); poet, writer, performer and editor Jordan Hamel; and writer, musician and translator Claudia Jardine.

The General Non-Fiction Award will be judged by journalist, author and reviewer Philip Matthews (convenor); academic and writer Georgina Tuari Stewart (Ngāpuhi-nui-tonu, Pare Hauraki); and screen director, producer, and author Dan Salmon.

The BookHub Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction will be judged by art historian and curator Lauren Gutsell (convenor); photographer, moving-image artist, writer and academic Natalie Robertson (Ngāti Porou, Clann Dhonnchaidh); and non-fiction writer and former magazine editor Rebekah White.

The Te Mūrau o te Tuhi Māori Language Award will be judged by author, publisher, and Associate Professor, Pūkenga Reo Dr Hone Waengarangi Morris of Ngāi Te Rangitotohu ki Rangitāne, Ngāti Mārau ki Kahungunu.