Designer Cameron Gibb was applauded at last night’s ceremony for a design that judge Peter Gilderdale said is of ‘the highest quality, and the judges ultimately had no hesitation in choosing this as the best book ... The Life & Love of Trees had an x‐factor that was hard to deny’.
We are pleased to announce that this year the premier award for the best book has been renamed the Gerard Reid Award for Best Book, sponsored by Nielsen. This is a fitting recognition of the major and lasting contribution Gerard made to book publishing, design and production in New 
Zealand. Book design is an area of publishing that Gerard and his wife Mary Egan championed, first with their company Egan Reid and latterly at Pindar NZ.
After discussion with PANZ, Nielsen BookData , the sponsor of the Best Book Award, readily agreed to the name change and their continuing sponsorship. Ka Meechan, Managing Director, Asia Pacific for Nielsen BookData, says they are especially proud to be the sponsors for the inaugural Gerard Reid Best Book Award.
After 25 years with Penguin New Zealand, Geoff Walker, Publishing Director, has announced that he will leave and move on to pursue other opportunities.
Geoff joined the company in 1985 and basically built the local publishing list from scratch. Under his direction and guidance our New Zealand local list grew to become one of the most acclaimed and respected in this country, winning pretty much every major award for outstanding fiction and non-fiction. It is due to Geoff that we include such notable authors in our stable as Patricia Grace, Lloyd Jones, Maurice Gee, Michael King and many others.
Geoff will leave Penguin at the end of 2010 and will be key in helping to set up the department to continue after his departure.