Dunedin writer Rhian Gallagher has been short-listed in the poetry category for her poem Shift, published by Auckland University Press.
The winners will be announced in Auckland on August 1.
More than 160 books were submitted for this year's awards.
The judges said the calibre and originality of entries this year was so high, changes needed to be made to the awards' structure because they found it "very difficult" to limit themselves to three finalists in the fiction and poetry categories.
"Having all the categories restored to five finalists would more accurately represent the quality and breadth of New Zealand's writing," judging panel convener Chris Bourke said.
The judges unanimously found five finalists in the general and illustrated non-fiction categories, and the same diversity was present in the fiction and poetry and should be reflected in the short lists, Mr Bourke said.
The 2012 judging panel is multi-award winning poet, writer, critic and journalist David Eggleton; writer, publisher, book designer and typesetter Mary Egan; poet, reviewer, writer and anthologist Paula Green; writer and Maori and Pacific literature specialist Reina Whaitiri (Kai Tahu); and Mr Bourke, a journalist, producer and writer who won last year's New Zealand Post Book of the Year prize.
Changes to the New Zealand Post Awards structure three years ago saw a reduction in fiction and poetry finalists from five to three and in the number of categories from eight to four.
Chairman of the book awards governance group, Sam Elworthy, said he appreciated the candour of the judging panel.
"We are committed to ensuring writers are best served with these awards and the reduction in fiction and poetry finalists was made after extensive consultation with the literary community. Nonetheless, getting the right format for the country's premier book awards is all-important. It is a challenge the [group] accept."
He said the awards were under review and exciting changes could be anticipated next year.
The finalists are:
Fiction: From Under the Overcoat, by Sue Orr (Vintage, Random House NZ); Rangatira, by Paula Morris (Penguin Group, NZ); The Trouble With Fire, by Fiona Kidman (Vintage, Random House NZ).
Poetry: The Leaf-ride, by Dinah Hawken (Victoria University Press); Shift, by Rhian Gallagher (Auckland University Press); Thicket, by Anna Jackson (Auckland University Press).
General non-fiction: Bligh: William Bligh in the South Seas, by Anne Salmond (Viking, Penguin Group, NZ); The Broken Book, by Fiona Farrell (Auckland University Press); The Hungry Heart: Journeys with William Colenso, by Peter Wells (Vintage, Random House NZ); So Brilliantly Clever: Parker, Hulme and the Murder that Shocked the World, by Peter Graham (Awa Press); Tupaia: The Remarkable Story of Captain Cook's Polynesian Navigator, by Joan Druett(Random House NZ).
Illustrated non-fiction: A Micronaut in the Wide World: The Imaginative Life and Times of Graham Percy, by Gregory O'Brien (Auckland University Press); New Zealand Film - An Illustrated History, by Diane Pivac with Frank Stark and Lawrence McDonald (Te Papa Press); New Zealand's Native Trees, by John Dawson and Rob Lucas (Craig Potton Publishing); Playing with Fire: Auckland Studio Potters Society Turns 50, by Peter Lange and Stuart Newby (Studio Potters Society in conjunction with the National Institute of Creative Arts and Industries Centre for New Zealand Art Research and Discovery); Whatu Kakahu/Maori Cloaks, by Awhina Tamarapa (Te Papa Press).
