The 14th Ngaio Marsh Awards celebrating excellence in crime, mystery, thriller, and suspense writing in New Zealand, announced Best Novel, Best Non-Fiction, and Best First Novel winners at its annual awards ceremony Friday, November 17, 2023, in Christchurch, New Zealand. Founded in 2010, the award is named after celebrated Golden Age crime writer Ngaio Marsh.

“It was a superb night to cap an outstanding year for the Ngaio Marsh Awards, with our terrifically strong and varied group of finalists,” says founder Craig Sisterson. “This year’s winners are world-class writers, who collectively showcase how our local take on one of the world’s most popular forms of storytelling—and our Kiwi creative artists in general—can like our sportspeople match up against the best from anywhere.”

Congratulations to all the winners.

BEST NOVEL
Remember Me, by Charity Norman (Allen & Unwin)

BEST NON-FICTION
Missing Persons, by Steve Braunias (HarperCollins)

BEST FIRST NOVEL
Better the Blood, by Michael Bennett (Simon & Schuster)

Pictured L–R: Michael Bennett, Charity Norman, and Steve Braunias. Photo courtesy of NGAIO Marsh Awards