KEY POINTS:
Two dead authors are finalists in the 2007 Montana New Zealand Book awards.
Janet Frame, who died in 2004, and Nigel Cox, who died last year, were among the 26 finalists announced yesterday.
Frame's The Goose Bath, published posthumously, was one of the finalists in the poetry category while Cox's The Cowboy Dog was a fiction finalist.
More than 220 books were submitted to the awards this year.
Judges' convener Dr Paul Millar said the finalists in the non-fiction category were particularly strong.
"Many of these books are publications of great beauty and significance that focus in original ways on New Zealand's uniqueness and diversity."
The awards are divided into eight categories, which each have a top prize of $5000.
The winner of the poetry category will be announced on July 27, Montana Poetry Day, and the others on July 30.
Nine authors were also nominated in the fiction, poetry and non-fiction categories of the New Zealand Society of Authors best first book awards, which each have a $2500 prize.
- NZPA
