Random House New Zealand took away all three of the Thorpe-Bowker awards for publishers last night, winning Best Promotional and Sales Support, New Zealand Publishing (which the company has held for past six years) and, the ultimate accolade, the Publisher of the Year Award.
“I feel as if we have won a gold at the Olympics,” says RHNZ Managing Director Karen Ferns. “Winning three out of the possible three publisher awards, as voted by our customers, is stunning recognition of the all-round talented team at Random House New Zealand, and in particular of our commitment to local New Zealand publishing.”
The Random House Vintage title The Conductor, by Sarah Quigley, was also honoured last night, sharing the highly coveted Booksellers’ Choice Award with Craig Potton Publishing’s The Trees of New Zealand.
Publishing Director Nicola Legat comments that “The success of The Conductor demonstrates that New Zealand writers can hold their own against the best from overseas.”
Earlier in the week three Random House New Zealand authors were honoured at the NZ Post Book Awards. Joan Druett won the General Non-Fiction Award for her book Tupaia: The Remarkable Story of Captain Cook’s Polynesian Navigator, Sue Orr received the People’s Choice Award for her short story collection From Under the Overcoat, and Michael Smythe was awarded the NZSA EH McCormick Best First Book Award for Non-Fiction for New Zealand By Design.