Well the lucky few have been weeded out from the vast array (by NZ standards) of books written and nominated in 2004. Nearly 200 of them have been read and mulled over by the judges, and here they are. The Montanas have entered the building.

Graham Beattie, convenor of said judges, said ‘the local book publishing industry is in good heart fuelled as it is by many talented writers, both new and experienced, across all genres.’ Wellington writers and critics John McCrystal and Laura Kroetsch joined him in the judges sanctum.

So without further ado, the finalists are:

DEUTZ MEDAL FOR FICTION

Book Book by Fiona Farrell (published by Vintage)
Mansfield by C K Stead (published by Vintage)
Tarzan Presley by Nigel Cox (published by Victoria University Press)
Tu by Patricia Grace (published by Penguin Books)
What Happen Then, Mr Bones? by Charlotte Randall (published by Penguin Books)

DEUTZ MEDAL FOR POETRY

Fool Moon by Murray Edmond (published by Auckland University Press)
Nice morning for it, Adam by Vincent O’Sullivan (published by Victoria University Press)
The Red Tram by C K Stead (published by Auckland University Press)

MONTANA MEDAL FOR NON FICTION

Biography

Chronicle of the Unsung by Martin Edmond (published by Auckland University Press)
Ghost Dance by Douglas Wright (published by Penguin Books)
Toss Woollaston: A Life in Letters edited by Jill Trevelyan (published by Te Papa Press)

History

The Anzac Experience: New Zealand, Australia and Empire in the First World War by Christopher Pugsley (published by Reed Publishing)
At Home: A Century of New Zealand Design by Douglas Lloyd Jenkins (published by Godwit)
A Carved Cloak for Tahu by Mere Whaanga (published by Auckland University Press)

Reference & Anthology

The New Zealand Oxford Dictionary edited by Tony Deverson & Graeme Kennedy (published by Oxford University Press)
Spirit Abroad: A Second Selection of New Zealand Spiritual Verse edited by Paul Morris, Harry Ricketts & Mike Grimshaw (published by Godwit)
The Wide White Page: Writers Imagine Antarctica edited by Bill Manhire (published by Victoria University Press)

Lifestyle & Contemporary Culture

Celebrating New Zealand Wine by Joëlle Thomson, photography by Andrew Coffey (published by New Holland Publishers)
Hip Hop Music in Aotearoa by Gareth Shute (published Reed Publishing)
Made in Morocco: A Journey of Exotic Tastes and Places by Julie Le Clerc & John Bougen (published by Penguin Books)

Environment

Flight of the Huia: Ecology and Conservation of New Zealand’s Frogs, Reptiles, Birds and Mammals by Kerry-Jayne Wilson (published by Canterbury University Press)
The Frozen Coast: Sea Kayaking the Antarctic Peninsula by Graham Charles, Mark Jones, Marcus Waters & Sarah Moodie (published by Craig Potton Publishing)
Tiritiri Matangi: A Model of Conservation by Anne Rimmer (published by Tandem Press)

Illustrative

Handboek: Ans Westra Photographs by Luit Bieringa (published by BWX (Blair Wakefield Exhibitions))
Icons Ng_ Taonga: >From the Collections of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa by The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (published by Te Papa Press)
Michael Smither: Painter by Trish Gribben & Michael Smither (published by Ron Sang Publications)

The Montana New Zealand Book Awards also recognise the role of the critic with the Reviewer of the Year Award and Best Review Page or Programme Award. The judges for this year’s awards are Ruth Todd, presenter of the National Radio’s iconic New Zealand book programme, Bookmarks and John Ahradsen, long-standing Wellington bookseller.

REVIEWER OF THE YEAR

Finalists for the Reviewer of the Year Award are David Eggleton, Anna Rogers and Tony Simpson.

REVIEW PAGE OR PROGRAMME OF THE YEAR

Finalists for the Best Review Page or Programme Award are The New Zealand Herald’s Canvas magazine, North & South and New Zealand Books.

This year, for the first time, the winner of the Poetry category will be announced on Montana Poetry Day, Friday 22 July. The winner of the Poetry category will then be judged alongside the winner of the Fiction category for the Deutz Medal. All other category winners plus the winners of the supreme awards – the Deutz Medal for Fiction or Poetry and the Montana Medal for Non Fiction – will be announced at a gala dinner in Wellington on Monday 25 July 2005. Which you can go to, if you want.

Don’t forget you can now cast your vote for the Readers Choice award. Go to the website, voting closes at 5pm on Friday 15 July.

Have a good weekend people. Snuggle up, back Tuesday.