Sir Julius Vogel Award Finalists – 2022

Fan Categories

Special Awards

Angelique is the author of the novel Isobar Precinct (The Cuba Press, 2021), a genre-bending work combining social realism, sci-fi, detective drama and fantasy which is mostly set in and around Tāmaki Makaurau’s Karangahape Road. Centering on people who are often shunted to society’s margins, it explores the shattering repercussions of a volatile drug for both its most vulnerable users and those who hold the power to transform or destroy. It was selected as one of the 100 Best Books of 2021 by the NZ Listener, shortlisted for the NZ Booklovers Best Adult Fiction Award, and included in the Best Books 2021 selection at the Academy of New Zealand Literature. 

Excerpts from Isobar Precinct have appeared in anthologies Ko Aotearoa Tātou | We Are New Zealand and A Clear Dawn: New Asian Voices from Aotearoa New Zealand. Some of her short fiction has been published in NZ Listener, Newsroom, and an upcoming Mexican anthology published by AMETLI and Ediciones Del Lirio. She was one of six writers commissioned by the Nelson Arts Festival to write and record a work of creative nonfiction for their 2021 Writing Home: An Antidote to Feeling Stranded digital series. She has served as a literary advisor to the Going West Writers Festival, Auckland, and most recently was a judge for the Refugee Writers Collective writing competition. Angelique has a Master of Creative Writing from the University of Auckland and works as a communications manager, reviewer and translator. 

Twitter: @KasmaraAng 
Instagram: @kasmaraangelique

Graci Kim

Graci Kim is the bestselling author of The Last Fallen Star, book one in the Korean mythology-inspired middle grade fantasy series. Called a “sparkling yarn” by Entertainment Weekly, the Gifted Clans trilogy has been optioned by the Disney Channel for a live-action television series, and was named a 2021 Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for “Best Middle Grade & Children’s Book”, an Amazon Editor’s pick for Best Book, an Indigo Best Book, and a Publisher’s Lunch Buzz Book. Her work deals with issues around belonging, identity, and finding one’s voice, with a particular emphasis on found families and unbreakable sibling relationships.

Graci is also a contributing author of The Cursed Carnival and Other Calamities short story collection, published by Rick Riordan Presents (Disney Hyperion), which became an instant New York Times bestseller.

In a previous life, Graci was a diplomat for the New Zealand foreign service, a cooking show host, and once ran a business that turned children’s drawings into cuddly toys. She lives in New Zealand with her husband and daughter. You can find her sometimes on Twitter (@gracikim), more often on Instagram (@gracikimwrites), and always at her website (www.gracikim.com).

Professional Categories