The $65,000 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction will be judged by regional bookshop owner Millie Blackwell (convenor); novelist, writer and reviewer Linda Burgess; and award-winning author and writing teacher Shilo Kino (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Te Ata). They will be joined in deciding the ultimate winner from their shortlist of four by an international judge.

The Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry will be judged by actor, writer and experimental artist Josiah Morgan (he/him, Kāi Tahu, Ngāti Maniapoto) (convenor); renowned novelist, poet and memoirist Dame Fiona Kidman; and award-winning poet, writer and translator Mikaela Nyman.

The General Non-Fiction Award will be judged by historian and author Neill Atkinson (convenor); Samoan journalist and broadcaster Susana Lei‘ataua; and academic, writer and reviewer Thomas McLean.

The BookHub Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction will be judged by dress historian, curator, and award-winning author Claire Regnault (convenor); researcher and educator in library and information studies Spencer Lilley (Te Ātiawa, Muaūpoko, Ngāpuhi); and writer, editor, arts programmer and curator Emma Ng.