Spectrum Print Book Design Awards

Past award winners
2007 Winners

The Spectrum Print Book Design Awards were established by the Book Publishers Association of New Zealand (BPANZ) in 1997 to recognise excellence in the design and typography of books. Redefined award criteria have resulted in accolades for a range of book genres and a move away from the domination of art books in recent years. Two new categories have been added to the awards: to join Best Book, Best Cover, Best Typography and Best Use of Illustration are Best Educational and Best Non-Illustrated.

This annual competition is the only event where the publishing industry recognises the work of book designers. Judges look for books with design features appropriate to their audience and showing flair, imagination and innovation.

The winners will be announced at the Booksellers' NZ Industry Awards Dinner in late July

For further information please click here for the BPANZ website.

BPANZ Book Design Awards 2008 SHORTLIST

SHORTLIST	DESIGNER	AUTHOR	PUBLISHER
Non-Illustrated Book
The Wild Green Yonder	Graeme Leather/Dexter Fry	Philippa Jamieson	New Holland Publishers NZ
Dear To Me	Aland Deare	Amnesty International	Random House
A Perfect World	Catherine Griffiths	David Cohen	Random House
Illustrated Book
Aberhart	Sarah Maxey	Laurence Aberhart	Victoria University Press
New Zealand’s Wilderness Heritage	Robbie Burton	Les Molloy	Craig Potton Publishing
Bill Hammond: Jingle Jangle Morning	Aaron Beehre	Jennifer Hay et al	Christchurch Art Gallery
Educational Book
What is a Bird?	Vasanti Unka	Feana Tu’Akoi	Scholastic NZ
Astronomy Aotearoa	Marie Low	Robert Shaw	Pearson Education NZ
Rubbish!	Ruby-Anne Fenning	Rachael Goddard	Raupo Publishing
Children’s Book
The King’s Bubbles	Ruth Paul & Mary McIntyre	Ruth Paul	Scholastic NZ
Willy’s Dad	Murray Dewhurst & Scott Tulloch	Scott Tulloch	HarperCollins Publishers NZ
The Bean’s Story	Vasanti Unka	Tatiana Aslund	Scholastic NZ

2007 Winners
Eagle’s Complete Trees and Shrubs of New Zealand, written and illustrated by Audrey Eagle and published by Te Papa Press, swooped away with half of the awards on offer in the 2007 Spectrum Print Book Design Awards.. Designers Neil Pardington (Base Two) and Robyn Sivewright (Afineline) won Best Illustrated Book, Best Cover, and Best Book overall for their work on this landmark publication. This was Pardington’s third consecutive win.

Audrey Eagle’s botanical drawings were first published in 1975 by William Collins (New Zealand) Ltd; with a second volume following in 1983. As well as all of the artwork from the previous two volumes, the new volumes contain over 170 new paintings and drawings by Eagle, and showcase every presently known tree and shrub in New Zealand.

The treatment of Eagle’s Complete Trees and Shrubs of New Zealand by Pardington (covers) and Sivewright (interiors) has also helped to earn Audrey Eagle and Te Papa Press a nomination for Best Illustrated Book at the Montana Book Awards.

‘The judges unanimously agreed that this magnificent two-volume set easily met, and indeed surpassed, the criteria by which the entries had to be judged.’ said Denis Welch, Deputy Editor of the New Zealand Listener and convenor of judges. ‘Decades will pass and Eagle’s will stand on the shelf as a monumental achievement of scholarship, art and design.’

Brief Lives (Auckland University Press) won designers Sarah Maxey and Katrina Duncan, along with artist Brendan O’Brien, the Best Non-Illustrated category of the awards.

The other winners were Cheryl Rowe, awarded Best Children’s Book for Legends of Ngatoro-i-rangi (Reed Publishing), and Rose Miller, awarded Best Educational Book for Te Kete Kupu (Huia Publishers) – the first children’s dictionary completely in te reo Māori.

‘The high overall standard of the entries indicates a publishing industry in remarkably good shape,’ said Welch, who was joined on the panel by bookseller Beth Davies and William Chen, founding Art Director of Metro magazine and Art Director of Cuisine.

The book design awards have been run annually since 1997 by the Book Publishers Association of New Zealand.

The full list of winners is as follows:

BEST BOOK
Eagle’s Complete Trees and Shrubs of New Zealand
Author Audrey Eagle Designer Covers by Neil Pardington (Base Two) interior by Robyn Sivewright (Afineline) Publisher Te Papa Press

BEST COVER
Eagle’s Complete Trees and Shrubs of New Zealand
Author Audrey Eagle Designer
Covers by Neil Pardington (Base Two)
Publisher Te Papa Press

BEST NON-ILLUSTRATED BOOK
Brief Lives
Author Chris Price
Designer Cover by Sarah Maxey, interior by Katrina Duncan
Publisher Auckland University Press

BEST ILLUSTRATED BOOK
Eagle’s Complete Trees & Shrubs of New Zealand
Author Audrey Eagle Designer Covers by Neil Pardington (Base Two) interior by Robyn Sivewright (Afineline)
Publisher Te Papa Press

BEST EDUCATIONAL BOOK
Te Kete Kupu
Author Huia Publishers
Designer Rose Miller
Publisher Huia Publishers (NZ) Ltd

BEST CHILDREN’S BOOK
Legends of Ngatoro-i-rangi
Author Mervyn Taiaroa and Karen Taiaroa-Smithies
Designer Cheryl Rowe
Publisher Reed Publishing (NZ) Ltd