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Story: Awards and prizes

Esther Glen Medal, 1986

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Esther Glen Medal, 1986

The Esther Glen Medal, awarded annually since 1945 for the best children's book written and produced in New Zealand, is a large bronze disc. One side shows a girl seated under a tree fern, looking out to sea. The other shows an open book flanked by tūī. This medal was awarded in 1986 to Maurice Gee for Motherstone. Esther Glen was a pioneering children's book author and editor. The medal is administered by the Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa (LIANZA).

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: Curios-023-006

Courtesy of Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Mark Derby, Awards and prizes – Awards and their origins, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/object/44674/esther-glen-medal-1986 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Mark Derby, published 26 March 2014, updated 1 April 2020.