For the first time in the 21-year history of the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement", all three categories were won by women. Lee Murray picked up the fiction award, non-fiction went to Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith, and Tusiata Avia picked up the poetry prize.
Lee Murray is a third-generation Chinese New Zealander and the first person of Chinese heritage to be recognised. Tusiata Avia is the first woman of Pasifika heritage to receive one of the awards and Linda Tuhiwai Smith is the first wahine Māori to receive the non-fiction award.
Over the next three Saturdays, each of the award winners will be joining us to celebrate their win and share a short extract from their work.
We're kicking off with Lee Murray, who reads an extract from her recently published sci-fi novella Despatches.
Photo: Sandra Simpson
