Thursday, 9 October 2025 Books+Publishing @booksandpublishing
Allen & Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand (A&U NZ) has announced Tauranga writer Anne Cleary as the winner of the 2025 Fiction Prize for her entry Apple Man.
According to the publisher, Apple Man is an ‘engaging psychological thriller about a young boy who goes missing while on a fishing trip with his father’.
Chosen from over 130 manuscripts, Cleary’s entry stood out for ‘the quality of its writing, its sympathetic, well-drawn characters and flawless pacing’, said judges.
Cleary receives a publishing contract and an advance against royalties of $10,000.
A&U NZ plans to publish Apple Man in mid-2026.
Category: Awards Local news