Tessa Duder Award facts for kids
The Storylines Tessa Duder Award is a special prize in New Zealand. It celebrates amazing new books written for young adults, usually for readers aged 13 and older. This award helps new authors get their stories published and reach many readers.
About the Award
The Storylines Tessa Duder Award started in 2010. It was first supported by HarperCollins Publishers. Now, Walker Books Australia helps sponsor this important award.
The award is named after a wonderful New Zealand writer, Tessa Duder. She is famous for her great contributions to children's books. Tessa Duder has not only written many popular books but has also worked hard to support and promote children's literature in New Zealand.
If an author wins this award, they receive a cash prize. Even better, their winning story gets the chance to be published as a real book!
Award Ceremony
The Tessa Duder Award is given out at the Storylines Margaret Mahy Awards Day. This event is a big celebration of children's books in New Zealand. Other important awards are also announced here, like the Margaret Mahy Award, the Tom Fitzgibbon Award, the Joy Cowley Award, and the Gaelyn Gordon Award for a Much-Loved Book.
The awards day takes place in Auckland. It's usually held on the weekend closest to April 2nd. This date is special because it's International Children’s Book Day. It's also the birthday of the famous storyteller Hans Christian Andersen.
How to Enter
This award is open to all writers in New Zealand. You can be a new writer who has never been published before, or an experienced author.
The award is given out every two years. Writers send in their stories, called manuscripts, by the end of October. The winners are announced the following March. If a story wins, it usually gets published as a book the next year.
Sometimes, if the judges don't find a story that meets the high standards for publication, no award is given that year. This ensures that only the very best books receive the prize.
Past Winners
Here are some of the talented authors who have won the Storylines Tessa Duder Award:
- 2011: Hugh Brown won for his story, which was later published as Reach. This book was a finalist in the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards in 2013.
- 2012: Rachel Stedman won for her manuscript, published as A Necklace of Souls. It won the Best First Book award in the New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults in 2014.
- 2013: No award was given this year.
- 2015: No award was given this year.
- 2016: Gareth Ward won for his manuscript, The Sin Chronicles: New Blood. It was published as The Traitor and the Thief and was a finalist in the New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults in 2018.
- 2018: Tina Shaw won for her manuscript, Ursa.
- 2020: Cristina Sanders won for her manuscript, Displaced.
- 2022: Leonie Agnew won for her manuscript, which was published as The Impossible Story of Hannah Kemp.
See also
- List of New Zealand literary awards
