The 2022 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards will be held in Auckland on May 11 2022 as an in-person event, the New Zealand Book Awards Trust has confirmed.

“Having fully researched high-quality virtual options, assessed again the risk and reward of virtual versus in-person, and looked at the steadily dropping case numbers both nationally and in Auckland, we have concluded that we can mount a safe event at the Red level,” says Trust chair Nicola Legat.

“In a year when literary events have been cancelled or postponed as the result of Covid, we are delighted that publishers and authors are going to be able to gather for this significant awards evening.”

The event will be held at the Q Theatre on Queen Street. In order to comply with the regulations under Red, tickets will be limited to finalist authors, publishers, sponsors and their immediate circles. Should Auckland move to Orange before May 11 these constraints will be adjusted. The proceedings will be filmed and live-streamed for those not in attendance.

The 11 May ceremony will announce four category winners from a shortlist of 16 books: the $60,000 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction, the Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry, the Booksellers Aotearoa NZ Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction and the General Non-Fiction Award, each with prize money of $10,000. Four debut writers in each of the subject categories will also each receive a Crystal Arts Trust Best First Book Award, worth $2,500.

The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are also supported by naming sponsor Ockham Residential and Creative New Zealand, and staged in collaboration with the Auckland Writers Festival.