Li Chen and her winning book Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat
Photo: Supplied / Vijay Paul
The first winner of a New Zealand Book Award for Children and Young Adults from China expressed shock Thursday at receiving the junior fiction gong at this year’s ceremony.
Author/illustrator Li Chen, who lived in Auckland before moving to Hamilton, received the award for producing a “delightful feline-fuelled” graphic novel titled Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat.
The story follows the adventures of a young cat named Beans, who aspires to become a detective.
“I feel really shocked,” Chen said on learning she had won the award. “It was an honour already to be a finalist.”
Chen received the prize during a ceremony on Wednesday night at Pipitea Marae in Wellington.
She told RNZ she had “so much fun” interacting with students at an awards event at the National Library ahead of the ceremony.
“They were holding [my books] up during my talks and I got to sign a bunch of things,” she said. “That was just so heartwarming.”
Coming to New Zealand from Beijing at the age of five, Chen always enjoyed drawing pictures and reading books.
However, her parents were initially not keen on Chen becoming an artist, so she turned to architecture at university to stay as close as possible to her dreams.
Producing comics on the side while working an office job at the University of Auckland, Chen finally managed to pursue illustration full time in 2012.
The winning title was inspired by Chen’s two rescue pet cats – duly named Copy and Paste – as well as her interest in detective stories and the neighbourhood Chen had lived in during her time in Auckland.
“[The cats] stayed with me for so long and I’ve fallen in love with them,” she said. “They both have such unique personalities and … my two main characters are sort of based on them.”
Chen’s second book, which contains a variety of short stories centred around Detective Beans, just came out last month.
Chen is currently working on a third title in the series.
“If you like something that’s a bit wholesome and a bit cute and a bit funny, then please check it out. If you love cats, most importantly, please check it out,” Chen said.
“I worked really hard on them and, not to sound a bit up myself, but I think they’re pretty good and I’m really proud of them.”
Feana Tu’akoi, convenor of judges for the 2025 awards, said Chen’s book is an “absolute delight”.
“It’s beautifully conceived, gloriously illustrated, charming, off-beat and hilarious,” Tu’akoi said.
“We loved the quirky, adorable characters, the mad-cap side-stories and the plot-twisty mayhem created by a hard-boiled kitty detective.
“It’s a skilfully crafted, expert example of the genre that hits on multiple levels and oozes creativity, joy and cuteness.”
Tu’akoi said New Zealand’s publishing industry was becoming more diverse with authors and illustrators from various ethnic backgrounds – something that wasn’t common before.
“There are lots of ways to be Kiwi in Aotearoa, so we need lots of different stories and images in our books,” Tu’akoi said.
“It’s vital that kids get to read about people and places they identify with and have access to books written by people from lots of different cultures.
“Not only does this show that their stories are valued, it shows that they themselves are valued, exactly how they are and that Aotearoa is their place – no matter where they or their ancestors hail from.”
This year’s supreme award, the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year Award, was given to Ross Calman for The Treaty of Waitangi.
The awards are governed by registered charity New Zealand Book Awards Trust, with seven categories and nine awards.
Thirty-two books were short-listed for the final round of judging, selected from 156 submissions.
2025 winners
Margaret Mahy Book of the Year Award
The Treaty of Waitangi, Ross Calman (Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa, Kāi Tahu)
BookHub Picture Book Award
Titiro Look, Gavin Bishop (Tainui, Ngāti Awa), translated by Darryn Joseph (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Rereahu)
Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction
Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat, Li Chen
Young Adult Fiction Award
The Paradise Generation, Sanna Thompson
Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction
The Treaty of Waitangi, Ross Calman (Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa, Kāi Tahu)
Russell Clark Award for Illustration
Hineraukatauri me Te Ara Pūoro, illustrated by Rehua Wilson (Te Aupouri, Te Rarawa), written by Elizabeth Gray (Ngāti Rēhia, Ngāti Uepōhatu, Tama Ūpoko ki te awa tipua, Ngāti Tūwharetoa anō hoki)
Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for a Book Originally Written in Te Reo Māori
Hineraukatauri me Te Ara Pūoro, Elizabeth Gray (Ngāti Rēhia, Ngāti Uepōhatu, Tama Ūpoko ki te awa tipua, Ngāti Tūwharetoa anō hoki), illustrated by Rehua Wilson (Te Aupouri, Te Rarawa)
Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for a Book Translated into Te Reo Māori
A Ariā me te Atua o te Kūmara, written by Witi Ihimaera (TeWhānau a Kai, Rongowhakaata, Te Aitanga a Mahaki, Ngāti Porou), translated by Hēni Jacob (Ngāti Raukawa), illustrated by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Ngāti Kahungunu, Kāi Tahu)
NZSA Best First Book Award
The Raven’s Eye Runaways, Claire Mabey