Well what a dork I am, thinking late last night that the NZ Post press release was embargoed til' today. It wasn't – I could have put the winners up last night! Doh. Anyway, LeafSalon's heartiest congratulations go to Joy Cowley for her book Hunter which has won the NZ Post Book of the Year. (That's her in the middle with the PM and John Allen, CEO of NZ Post). The judges said it was so good, in fact, that it has the 'potential to become a classic of fiction writing for young readers on the international stage'. Crikey.

I was listening to Joy this morning talking on National Radio to That Woman (I'm sorry, but bring back Linda for the love of god) and I was so captivated that I sat in my car at the mall for about ten minutes listening to the end. Apparently she was offered a journalist job at some tender age – outrageous for a girl back then to plunge into this iniquitous role – but her parents firmly said no, and got her a job in a chemist. But she said this was good in retrospect because it gave her a new kind of discipline in ways of thinking and working that she used in her writing later.

She also said (this is what I was listening to at the end, all agog) that she had to get married to her very young husband because she was pregnant, and when he left her and then took their four children, she tried to commit suicide and had this amazing near-death experience. She said that once she knew that this life is just a kind of 'sleep' between one level of consciousness and another, she became another person, because 'once you lose your fear of death, you lose your fear of everything' and life becomes very much easier. Which is nice to know! I looked at the mall with fresh eyes ...

Anyway, back to the books: congratulations to everyone really, especially Tim Tipene and Huhana Smith, whose honoured book Haere – Farewell, Jack, farewell reviewed yesterday. And all the others who worked their butts off to bring us and our children their lovely words and pictures. Well done.

The winner of each category got $5,000. The winner of the New Zealand Post Book of the Year takes home an extra $5,000. The winner of the Best First Book and the Children’s Choice Award receive prize money of $1,000 each. The honour awards were presented in each category in recognition of particular features in each book. So without further ado, here are the winners.

New Zealand Post Book of the Year
Hunter by Joy Cowley (Puffin)

Junior Fiction Category
Hunter by Joy Cowley (Puffin)

Honour Award: Sil by Jill Harris (Longacre Press)

Young Adult Fiction Category

With Lots of Love from Georgia by Brigid Lowry (Allen & Unwin)

Honour Award: Kaitangata Twitch by Margaret Mahy (Allen & Unwin)

Picture Book Category
A Booming in the Night by Ben Brown, illustrated by Helen Taylor (Reed Publishing)

Honour Award: Haere – Farewell, Jack, farewell by Tim Tipene, illustrated by Huhana Smith (Huia Publishers)

Non Fiction Category
Scarecrow Army: The Anzacs at Gallipoli by Leon Davidson (Black Dog Books)

Honour Award: Blue New Zealand: Plants, Animals, Environments – A Visual Guide by Glenys Stace (Puffin)

Best First Book Award
The Unknown Zone by Phil Smith (Random House New Zealand)

Children’s Choice Award
Nobody’s Dog written by Jennifer Beck and illustrated by Lindy Fisher (Scholastic New Zealand).

Now you know what to read this winter. But make sure you read Dreamhunter as well.