Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction
The Elsie Locke Non-Fiction Award was first awarded in 2002 by the Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa. It aimed to encourage the production of the best non-fiction writing for young New Zealanders. The award was previously known as the LIANZA Young People's Non-Fiction Award, before being renamed in honour of Elsie Locke. The LIANZA Elsie Locke Non-Fiction Award became the Elsie Locke Non-Fiction Award when the LIANZA Awards merged with the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults in 2016.
History
The LIANZA Elsie Locke Non-Fiction Award was an initiative of the Library and information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa. The LIANZA Children and Young Adult Book Awards began in 1945 with the Esther Glen Award. Later they expanded to encompass a wide range of awards for non-fiction, young adult, illustration, works in Te Reo Māori and librarian’s choice as well as fiction. The Awards were judged by a panel of experienced librarians.The non-fiction award, established in 1986, was first known as the LIANZA Young People’s Non-Fiction Award. Its aim was to encourage the writing and production of high-quality non-fiction books for young New Zealand readers.
In 2002, it was renamed the LIANZA Elsie Locke Non-fiction Award to commemorate the life and work of Elsie Locke, whose own fiction and non-fiction for children often focused on New Zealand history. Elsie Locke was a writer, historian, peace activist and campaigner for women’s rights, social justice, nuclear disarmament and the environment. She won a number of awards for her writing including the Gaelyn Gordon Award for a Much-Loved Book and the Margaret Mahy Medal. Her historical children’s novels included The Runaway Settlers, The End of the Harbour and A Canoe in the Mist, and her non-fiction for young people included Two Peoples, One Land: A History of Aotearoa.
In 2016, the LIANZA Awards were merged with the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. The Award is now called the Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction.
List of recipients
| Year | Book |
| 2002 | I am a Spider by Simon Pollard |
| 2003 | Which New Zealand Insect? by Andrew Crowe |
| 2004 | A Bird in the Hand: Keeping New Zealand Wildlife Safe by Janet Hunt |
| 2005 | Welcome to the South Seas: Contemporary New Zealand Art for Young People by Gregory O’Brien |
| 2006 | Developments in New Zealand History by Kevin Boon |
| 2007 | Red Haze: Australians and New Zealanders in Vietnam by Leon Davidson |
| 2008 | Draw New Zealand Birds: A Step-by-step Guide by Heather Arnold |
| 2009 | Atoms, dinosaurs & DNA: 68 Great New Zealand Scientists by Veronika Meduna and Rebecca Priestley |
| 2010 | Dear Alison: A New Zealand Soldier's Story from Stalag 383 edited by Simon Pollard |
| 2011 | The Kiwi Fossil Hunter’s Handbook by James Crampton and Marianna Terezow |
| 2012 | Nice Day for a War: Adventures of a Kiwi Soldier in World War I by Matt Elliott and Chris Slane |
| 2013 | At the Beach: Explore & Discover the New Zealand Seashore by Ned Barraud and Gillian Candler |
| 2014 | Wearable Wonders by Fifi Colston |
| 2015 | Māori Art for Kids by Norm Heke and Julie Noanoa |
| 2016 | ANZAC Heroes by Maria Gill, ill. Marco Ivancic |
| 2016 | Finalists: Changing Times: The Story of a New Zealand Town and its Newspaper by Bob Kerr ; See what I can see: New Zealand Photography for the Young and Curious by Gregory O’Brien ; The Beginner’s Guide to Adventure Sport in New Zealand by Steve Gurney ; Whose Beak is This? by Gillian Candler, ill. Fraser Williamson |
| 2017 | Jack and Charlie: Boys of the Bush by Josh James Marcotte and Jack Marcotte |
| 2017 | Finalists: From Moa to Dinosaurs by Gillian Candler, ill. Ned Barraud, The Cuckoo and the Warbler by Kennedy Warne, ill. Heather Hunt, The Genius of Bugs by Simon Pollard, Torty and the Soldier by Jennifer Beck, ill. Fifi Colston |
| 2018 | Aotearoa: The New Zealand Story written and illustrated by Gavin Bishop |
| 2018 | Finalists: Explore! Aotearoa by Bronwen Wall, ill. Kimberly Andrews ; New Zealand's Great White Sharks by Alison Ballance ; Sky High: Jean Batten's Incredible Flying Adventures by David Hill, ill. Phoebe Morris ; The New Zealand Wars by Philippa Werry |
| 2019 | Art-tastic by Sarah Pepperle |
| 2019 | Finalists: Go Girl: A Storybook of Epic NZ Women by Barbara Else ; Ko Mauao te Maunga: Legend of Mauao by Debbie McCauley, ill. Debbie Tipuna and trans. Tamati Waaka ; New Zealand’s Backyard Beasts by Ned Barraud ; Whose Home is This? by Gillian Candler, ill. Fraser Williamson |