Esther Glen Award facts for kids
The Esther Glen Award is a really important prize for books written for kids and young people in New Zealand. It's the oldest and most famous award for children's books there!
What is the Esther Glen Award?
This special award was created to remember a New Zealand writer named Esther Glen (1881–1940). She was one of the first famous authors to write books for children in New Zealand.
The award has been given out almost every year since 1945. It's given by a group called the Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa (LIANZA). They give it to a New Zealand author who has written "the most distinguished contribution to New Zealand literature for junior fiction." This means the best book for younger readers!
Who Has Won the Award?
Many talented New Zealand authors have won the Esther Glen Award over the years. Here are some of the winners:
- 1945: Stella Morice, The Book of Wiremu
- 1970: Margaret Mahy, A Lion in the Meadow
- 1975: Eve Sutton and Lynley Dodd, My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes
- 1983: Margaret Mahy, The Haunting
- 1985: Margaret Mahy, The Changeover
- 1988: Tessa Duder, Alex
- 1990: Tessa Duder, Alex in Winter
- 1992: Tessa Duder, Alessandra: Alex in Rome
- 1995: Maurice Gee, The Fat Man
- 2001: Margaret Mahy, 24 Hours
- 2003: David Hill, Right where it hurts
- 2007: Bernard Beckett, Genesis: A Novel
- 2014: Joy Cowley, Dunger
- 2016: Kate De Goldi, From the Cutting Room of Barney Kettle
- 2018: Bren MacDibble, How to Bee
- 2021: Tania Roxborogh, Charile Tangaroa and the Creature from the Sea
- 2022: Leonie Agnew, The Memory Thief
- 2023: David Hill, Below
See also
- List of New Zealand literary awards
