Bookshops really get behind their NZCYA displays
Bookshops around the country enthusiastically took up the challenge to create the most eye-catching and effective displays of the material provided and finalist titles featured in the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults this year. It made the task of the selection committee in a competition co-ordinated by the NZ Book Awards Trust and Booksellers Aotearoa NZ a difficult one, but in the end Good Books in Wellington and Take Note Hokitika came out tops for the first prizes of $500 in Book Tokens each
Good Books' clever use of the finalist promotional material, while slightly irreverent, was very creative (who doesn’t love a mini bookshelf!). And while the decision had already been made, their revisited window display in the immediate lead up to the awards ceremony, and their lovely winners display post the announcement, made our heart’s glow.
Take Note Hokitika’s strong window display drawing customers into the store where the finalist books were all stacked on a dedicated plinth made them the clear winner for the South Island prize.
Two runners-up were chosen to receive a free pizza lunch courtesy of NZCYA sponsors Hell Pizza: Paige's Book Gallery in Whanganui and Dorothy Butler Children’s Bookshop in Auckland.
Thanks go to all the bookshops across the motu who put their point-of-sale material to such strong use. Figures tracked by Nielsen who income from the average weekly sales of the finalists over the shortlisted period more than doubled the average revenue for these books prior to the announcement. Which just goes to show that good displays sell books. You will find material to promote the 2021 NZCYA winners on the awards’ resources page.