Gender studies lecturer Chris Brickell won the NZSA E. H. McCormick Best First Book Award for his illustrated non-fiction book Mates and Lovers: A History of Gay New Zealand.
The book (published by Godwit) explores gay male identities, developed in New Zealand since the mid-19th century, and examines the processes through which sex and intimate relationships between men came to reflect prevailing social circumstances.
It looks at how the gay sexual identity, with which we are now familiar, evolved over time.
The awards judging panel said Dr Brickell's book was a fascinating and pioneering exploration of a significant part of New Zealand's social history.
"Mates and Lovers finds a balance between serious and popular history that does justice to both."
Dr Brickell was awarded $2500.
Emily Perkins won the Montana Medal for fiction or poetry with Novel About My Wife.
The book, about a grieving husband reconstructing events that led to his wife's death, was described by judges' convenor Mark Williams as "highly assured fiction by a writer working at the height of her powers".
The two runners-up in the fiction category - The 10PM Question by Kate De Goldi, which also won the Readers Choice Award, and Acid Song by Bernard Beckett - are published by Dunedin's Longacre Press.
Wellington writer Jill Trevelyan won the Non-Fiction award for her biography on a celebrated artist, Rita Angus: An Artist's Life.
The judging panel, English literature academic Dr Williams, journalist Margo White, and novelist Jane Westaway, said Trevelyan's book was a "treasure".
The full list of the book awards winners is. -
Montana Medal for fiction or poetry and fiction: Novel About My Wife by Emily Perkins.
Fiction runners-up: The 10PM Question by Kate De Goldi and Acid Song by Bernard Beckett.
Poetry: The Rocky Shore by Jenny Bornholdt.
Montana Medal for non-fiction winner and biography: Rita Angus: An Artist's Life, by Jill Trevelyan.
Environment winner: A Continent on the Move: New Zealand Geoscience into the 21st Century edited by Ian J. Graham.
History: Buying the Land, Selling the Land by Richard Boast.
Reference and anthology: Collected Poems 1951-2006 by C. K. Stead.
Lifestyle and contemporary culture: Ladies, A Plate: Traditional Home Baking by Alexa Johnston.
Illustrative: Len Castle: Making the Molecules Dance by Len Castle.
