Craft New Zealand: The Art of the Craftsman by Doreen Blumhardt and Brian Brake (Reed, 1981)
2nd
Other Halves by Sue McCauley (Hodder & Stoughton, 1982)
3rd
The South Island of New Zealand from the Road by Robin Morrison (Alister Taylor, 1981)
New Zealand Book Awards
Poetry
Collected Poems, 1974–1981 by Alistair Campbell (Alister Taylor, 1981)
Fiction
Meg by Maurice Gee (Penguin, 1981)
Fiction
Dandy Edison for Lunch and Other Stories by Vincent O'Sullivan (McIndoe, 1981)
Non-Fiction
The South Island of New Zealand from the Road by Robin Morrison (Alister Taylor, 1981)
Book Production (Major Award)
Portrait of Frances Hodgkins by Eric McCormick (Auckland University Press, 1981)
Book Production (Further Awards)
Lindsay Missen for Craft New Zealand: The Art of the Craftsman by Doreen Blumhardt and Brian Brake (Reed, 1981) and The Oxford History of New Zealand by Bridget Williams and W. H. Oliver (Oxford University Press, 1981)
Book Production (Further Awards)
Neysa Moss for Good Looks by Bill Manhire (Auckland University Press & Oxford University Press, 1982), In the Glass Case: Essays on New Zealand Literature by C. K. Stead (Auckland University Press & Oxford University Press, 1981), and Portrait of Frances Hodgkins by Eric McCormick (Auckland University Press, 1981)
