Wellington writer Jill Trevelyan won book of the year at the New Zealand Post Book Awards last night for her "stunning" and meticulously researched biography of Wellington art dealer Peter McLeavey.
The book -- Peter McLeavey: The life and times of a New Zealand art dealer -- also won the general non-fiction award at the ceremony at Te Papa in Wellington, netting the author a total prize of $25,000.
Catton did not walk away empty-handed, however, winning two awards for The Luminaries -- the novel which last year made Catton, then aged 27, the youngest author to win the prestigious Man Booker Prize for Fiction.
The novelist pledged to donate all of her prize money towards a new type of grant for writers, which would encourage them to read.
Trevelyan said she felt "flabbergasted" by the win, and joked that perhaps there had been a mistake.
"I was just so sure Eleanor Catton would win, because I think she's such an extraordinary writer. It's overwhelming. I haven't made sense of it -- it's going to take me a long time to digest this."
Trevelyan said McLeavey's story was one she felt needed to be told: "It's the story of one man who had a mission to bring art to lives of people."
Catton said the awards meant a great deal, and it had been "a frankly astonishing year". She was not disappointed The Luminaries did not win the top award.
Catton told the awards ceremony she was in "the extraordinary position" of making a living from her writing, and she wanted to put her prize money towards a new type of literary grant.
The grant would give writers an opportunity to read and allow them to embark on projects for which they had "no idea of where they're going to end up".
"A lot of the grants that are available for writers in New Zealand require the writer in question to have already come up with an idea for a book -- and that was not at all the case for me with writing The Luminaries."
The judges said Trevelyan's book -- which followed her vivid biography of New Zealand artist Rita Angus -- was "symphonic" and "a stunning book, brilliant in every respect".
Broadcaster Miriama Kamo, who convened a panel of five judges, said the book not only told the story of McLeavey's life, gallery, love of art, and deep friendships with artists -- it also explored the emerging art scene in Wellington and across the country.
The judges also lavished praise on Catton's second novel, calling The Luminaries sprawling and brilliant.
"There's a virtuosity to the work that affirms every accolade, that justifies all praise. Eleanor Catton is an extraordinary writer who has conducted a bold experiment and, in the tradition of great and celebrated risk-takers, it has paid off richly."
The top poetry award went to Us, then by New Zealand Poet Laureate Vincent O'Sullivan, while the illustrated non-fiction award went to Coast: A New Zealand journey by writer Bruce Ansley and photographer Jane Ussher.
Trevelyan's book beat three other non-fiction finalists -- Lloyd Jones' A History of Silence, Rebecca Macfie's Tragedy at Pike River Mine, and David Grant's The Mighty Totara: The life and times of Norman Kirk.
Catton's novel won over three fiction finalists -- Anne Kennedy's The Last Days of the National Costume, Charlotte Randall's The Bright Side of my Condition, and Damien Wilkins' book Max Gate.
The judging panel -- which included broadcaster Kim Hill, artist Dick Frizzell, writer Elizabeth Smither, and literary critic Peter Simpson -- said they were impressed by the standard and variety of titles.
NZ POST BOOK AWARD WINNERS
* Book of the Year ($15,000 prize)
Peter McLeavey: The life and times of a New Zealand art dealer by Jill Trevelyan (Te Papa Press)
* General non-fiction ($10,000 prize)
Peter McLeavey: The life and times of a New Zealand art dealer by Jill Trevelyan (Te Papa Press)
* Fiction ($10,000 prize)
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton (Victoria University Press)
* Poetry ($10,000 prize)
Us, then by Vincent O'Sullivan (Victoria University Press)
* Illustrated non-fiction ($10,000 prize)
Coast: A New Zealand journey by Bruce Ansley and Jane Ussher (Random House NZ/Godwit)
* Nielsen Booksellers' Choice ($2500 prize)
Molesworth: Stories from New Zealand's largest high country station by Harry Broad and Rob Suisted (Craig Potton Publishing)
* People's Choice ($5000 prize)
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton (Victoria University Press)
* New Zealand Society of Authors best first book ($2500 prize each, announced 16 July)
Tough by Amy Head (Victoria University Press)
Horse with Hat by Marty Smith (Victoria University Press)
Tragedy at Pike River Mine by Rebecca Macfie (Awa Press)
- Matthew Backhouse of APNZ
