Randell Cottage writers were strongly represented in the 2019 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards: three of our ‘family’ –Tina Makereti, Vincent O’Sullivan and Fiona Kidman – had novels included in the long list for the Acorn Foundation Prize for Fiction. Weeks passed, the judges deliberated, three were whittled down to two, and on the night, it was Dame Fiona Kidman who took the crown. This Mortal Boy (Penguin Random House) is a re-examination of the life and execution of the young Irish migrant Paddy Black. Congratulations Fiona!

Dame Fiona is pictured here with Harriet Allan of Penguin Random House (centre) and Margo McCool from the Acorn Foundation.