The longlist has been selected for the 2025 Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction. The shortlist will be announced on October 2 and the winner on November 4. To see the 12 longlisted titles, click here.
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Emma Collicott was named this year's winner of the Margaret Mahy Illustration Prize by Hachette Aotearoa NZ and the Margaret Mahy Estate for her illustrations of Mahy's children's book The Man Whose Mother Was a Pirate. The winner receives NZ$2,000 (about US$1,180), NZ$500 (about US$295) worth of Hachette books, and the opportunity to develop her submission into a published work.
The judging panel praised Collicott's choice to use watercolors for her illustrations, and the cleverly plotted and humorous sub-narratives hidden within the spreads, sprinkled with "uniquely Aotearoan touches. A strong feature of Collicott's illustrations was their clarity and accessibility, offering a quirky charm for children while still holding interest for adults. The line drawings, enriched by a lively color range, added a delightful vibrancy and appeal to the work. One of the more complex aspects of the task lay in balancing the images for a younger audience with a rich vocabulary and detailed text, yet this was managed thoughtfully and with creative endeavor."
Hachette Aotearoa NZ managing director Mel Winder said: "The Man Whose Mother Was a Pirate is one of my favorite stories. Who doesn't love a story about a subversive mother! The opportunity to reinterpret the way this classic story looks is incredibly exciting, and I look forward to seeing how Emma Collicott takes up the challenge."