Damon Salesa's An Indigenous Ocean: Pacific Essays received the General Non-Fiction Award with the judges commenting that it 'asserts the Pacific’s ongoing impact worldwide, despite marginalisation by New Zealand and others, and will maintain its relevance for generations'. They praised the book as a 'scholarly but highly accessible collection of essays' that allows indigenous voices to share their stories, reflecting Salesa's profound grasp of Pacific histories and contemporary issues.
Ryan Bodman's Rugby League in New Zealand: A People’s History received the Judith Binney Prize for Illustrated Non-Fiction in the Best First Book Awards category. The judges noted, 'You don’t have to have seen a rugby league game, or even like sport, to be enchanted by Ryan Bodman’s debut book. This is a meticulously researched and engagingly written social history, packed full of stories about what rugby league has meant not just to the players and their supporters, but also to entire communities.'
Damon's award marks the third consecutive year a BWB author has won the General Non-Fiction Award, following Vincent O'Malley in 2022 and Ned Fletcher in 2023.
You can click here to read the full results.