A stunning line-up of books feature as this year’s finalists in the Reference & Anthology and the Environment sections. This week we give you a breakdown of both sections, point you to some more information and invite you to enter the giveaway on NZLive.com.

It’s now only three weeks until the gala dinner at the Wellington Town Hall where the winners will be announced. The winner in each category receives a prize of $5,000. Each category winner is eligible for the Montana Medal for non fiction or the Montana Medal for poetry or fiction, both of which carry a prize of $10,000.

Reference & Anthology

Look This Way: New Zealand Writers on New Zealand Artists edited by Sally Blundell (Auckland University Press)

Sally Blundell has been a freelance journalist for nearly 20 years. She has written for a range of magazines specialising in art, literature and education. Her written work includes previews, reviews, artist profiles and articles. She is currently completing a PhD in English Literature at the University of Canterbury.

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Let’s take a look at this year’s finalists. And remember to enter the giveaway on NZLive.com.

Biography

The Best Man Who Ever Served the Crown? A Life of Donald McLean by Ray Fargher (Victoria University Press)

After war service with the 3rd NZ Division in the Pacific and a period of secondary teaching, much of Ray Fargher’s working life was spent as General Secretary of the Association of Teachers in Technical Institutes until retiring in 1986. He then spent the next four years chairing ministerial working parties advising on the reform of post-school vocational education and training, including the Probine-Fargher Report on The Organisation, Management and Funding of Continuing Education.

The Best Man Who Ever Served the Crown? A Life of Donald McLean is the first full biography of one of the key actors in the drama of 19th-century New Zealand land dealing and fills a gaping hole in New Zealand historiography. McLean was highly respected by Māori for his knowledge of Te Reo and respect for rank and protocol, and was closely involved in land dealings in the Taranaki and elsewhere that still have repercussions today.

Read a review or ‘Best Man’ at The NZ Listener
Buy ‘Best Man’ at Fishpond

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The 2008 Festival line-up is chock-a-block with good Kiwi talent and includes the largest number ever of feature-length New Zealand films. Well done, we say! Fourteen diverse works from the South to North Island represent the New Zealand of today in all its vibrant shades: idiosyncratic, traditional, outrageous, conformist, gritty, ephemeral.

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The winning book will, in the opinion of the judges, be a significant addition to the literature of New Zealand. Past winners in this category include Lloyd Jones for Mister Pip, Patricia Grace for Tu, Elizabeth Knox for The Vintners’ Luck and Craig Marriner for Stonedogs.

In a strange twist, the all-female finalist line-up for 2008 is a direct reversal of last year’s all-male showing.

Controversy has arisen over the fact only four books were short-listed this year, instead of the usual five. You can read more about this here, here, and here.

Let’s take a look at this year’s Fiction finalists. And don’t forget to enter the giveaway for a copy of one of the books on NZLive.com.

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The judging of New Zealand’s best books published during the 2007 calendar year is carried out across eight categories – Fiction, Poetry, Biography, History, Reference & Anthology, Environment, Illustrative, and Lifestyle & Contemporary Culture.

Each week we will be profiling one or two of these categories right here on the Lively blog. We will have links to reviews, news and interviews – all you need to know about the finalists. We also will have a copy of one of the books from each category to give away on NZLive.com.

Remember to come back each week to learn all about a new category and go into the draw to win one of these lovely books on Lively.

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Matariki is a time of celebration and reflection that everyone can take part in. Let NZLive.com introduce you to heaps of Matariki events where you can join in the spirit of the season.

There many ways to celebrate - from dawn services, drama and cook-offs to kapa haka, tours and tattooing. Matariki festivals, exhibitions and concerts abound.

Check out Te Ara - The encyclopedia of New Zealand to find out about the legends, significance to traditional harvests and the modern revival of Matariki. And if you want to know how to find Matariki, take a look at this great Beginners’ Guide to Matariki on the Signposts blog.

If you want to know more about the astronomy of Matariki, Te Papa, Waitangi Treaty Grounds and the Stardome Observatory are all running informative sessions. You’ll find some great things to do in the classroom on www.NZHistory.net.nz.

‘Amazing landscapes might be tourists’ first reason for visiting New Zealand, but the chance to explore local culture comes a close second…’

Read the newest NZLive.com featured article, provided by Tourism New Zealand.

Brazilian music isn’t just batucada drumming, samba shouting or bossa nova crooning. It’s all of that and a whole lot more. Each region has its own styles and traditions, and they borrow from each other and from everyone else. Not least The Beatles.

The four Minheiros who played last night offered songs from Pernambuco to Rio, including classics by some of the great names in the popular music of Brazil - Baden Powell, Edu Lobo, Chico Buarque, Chico Science - alongside originals. It’s all about melody, rhythm, tone and timbre, with lyrical fervour and performances that delight in their total accomplishment. I love this stuff, it’s irresistable, couldn’t stop my white-bread feet tapping.

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To be eligible, companies must have sponsored an arts event or organisation in the year to June 2008.

The winners will be announced by the Prime Minister at the black tie Awards Gala dinner at the Auckland Town Hall, Wednesday 30 July 2008. You can get your entry form at www.bulletpr.co.nz ]]> http://www.nzlive.com/blog/2008/05/19/sponsorship-of-the-arts-awards-entries-close-soon/feed/