History was made at last night's Ockham Book Awards, with two first time writers taking out the top fiction and non fiction prizes.
Becky Manawatu's novel Aue, a raw and heartbreaking story of two orphaned Maori brothers each struggling to survive, won the $55,000 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction and the Hubert Church Prize for best first book of Fiction.
Straitjacket Fits frontman Shayne Carter has also taken out both the first book and overall best book in the General Non Fiction category for his memoir Dead People I Have Known.
It's the first time debut Māori writers have won both top awards. In another first - because of Covid-19, the Ockham Book Awards ceremony has held online.
Standing Room Only's Lynn Freeman watched all the action.
