Esther Glen Award Facts for Kids

The Esther Glen Award is a very important prize for children's books in New Zealand. It's also known as the LIANZA Esther Glen Junior Fiction Award. This award celebrates the best books written for young people in New Zealand. It's the oldest and most famous award for children's literature there.

The Story Behind the Award

This special award was created to remember a New Zealand writer named Esther Glen (her full name was Alice Esther Glen). She lived from 1881 to 1940 and was one of the first well-known authors of children's books in New Zealand.

The award has been given out almost every year since 1945. The Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa (LIANZA) gives this award. It goes to a New Zealand author who has made the "most distinguished contribution to New Zealand literature for junior fiction." This means they wrote a really outstanding book for young readers.

Award Winners

Here are some of the amazing authors and books that have won the Esther Glen Award over the years:

1945: Stella Morice, The Book of Wiremu
1947: A. W. Reed, Myths and Legends of Maoriland
1950: Joan Smith, The Adventures of Nimble, Rumble and Tumble
1959: Maurice Duggan, Falter Tom and the Water Boy
1964: Lesley C. Powell, Turi, The Story of a Little Boy
1970: Margaret Mahy, A Lion in the Meadow
1973: Margaret Mahy, The First Margaret Mahy Story Book
1975: Eve Sutton and Lynley Dodd, My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes
1978: Ronda Armitage, The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch
1979: Joan de Hamel, Take the Long Path
1982: Katherine O’Brien, The Year of the Yelvertons
1983: Margaret Mahy, The Haunting
1984: Caroline Macdonald, Elephant Rock
1985: Margaret Mahy, The Changeover
1986: Maurice Gee, Motherstone
1988: Tessa Duder, Alex
1989: Jack Lasenby, The Mangrove Summer
1990: Tessa Duder, Alex in Winter
1991: William Taylor, Agnes the Sheep
1992: Tessa Duder, Alessandra: Alex in Rome
1993: Margaret Mahy, Underrunners
1994: Paula Boock, Sasscat to Win
1995: Maurice Gee, The Fat Man
1996: Janice Marriott, Crossroads
1997: Kate De Goldi, Sanctuary
1998: David Hill, Fat, four-eyed and useless
2001: Margaret Mahy, 24 Hours
2002: Alison Robertson, Knocked For Six
2003: David Hill, Right where it hurts
2004: Ken Catran, Jacko Moran, sniper
2005: Bernard Beckett, Malcolm and Juliet
2006: Elizabeth Knox, Dreamhunter
2007: Bernard Beckett, Genesis: A Novel
2008: Mandy Hager, Smashed
2009: Fleur Beale, Juno of Taris
2010: Richard Newsome, The Billionaire’s Curse
2011: Diana Menefy, Shadow of the Boyd
2012: Barbara Else, The travelling restaurant
2013: Rachael King, Red Rocks
2014: Joy Cowley, Dunger
2015: Leonie Agnew, Conrad Cooper's last stand
2016: Kate De Goldi, From the Cutting Room of Barney Kettle
2017: Tania Roxborogh, My New Zealand Story: Bastion Point
2018: Bren MacDibble, How to Bee
2019: Bren MacDibble, The Dog Runner
2020: Weng Wai Chan, Lizard's Tale
2021: Tania Roxborogh, Charile Tangaroa and the Creature from the Sea
2022: Leonie Agnew, The Memory Thief
2023: David Hill, Below

Esther Glen Award facts for kids

The Story Behind the Award

Award Winners

See also