Mountain Book Competition

1. First Editions – to be eligible for the 2026 NZMFF Mountain Book Competition, Books must be published after 2016.
2. New editions of previously published titles may be eligible if previous editions have not been entered in the competition in the past. Each title may be entered in the competition only once.
3. Entries may be submitted by authors or publishers. Please coordinate to avoid duplication.
4. All works must be in English.
5. To be eligible for the Nankervis & Bamford NZ Mountain Book of the Year award, the book must be set in the mountains of NZ, or written by a New Zealander or permanent resident. 
6. Entries must be still in print and available for purchase from within New Zealand, or from a New Zealand-based distributor*, in sufficient quantity for sale at the festival book stall.
7. Books must be 100% human authored. Use of A.I. tools to check grammar, spelling, or to assist with brainstorming or polish is permitted. The inclusion of A.I. generated text (i.e. scenes authored by an A.I. tool like ChatGPT based on a prompt) is not permitted. Please contact us with questions.

*Overseas authors/publishers can still send judging copies from overseas, but sale quantities must come from within New Zealand. 

1. Entries close on March 15, 2026. Early entries are encouraged and appreciated. A fully completed entry form and a hard copy of the book must be received by this time. 
2. E-books or PDFs are not eligible, as physical qualities of the book are considered in the judging criteria. 
3. Book entries must be accompanied by a synopsis of a maximum of 100 words. Other promotional materials such as media releases, reviews, etc, may be sent separately to programme@mountainfilm.nz but are not a requirement.
4. Book entries must include a medium-resolution image file (JPEG preferred, max 2Mb) of the book cover (or author if the cover is not yet confirmed).

1. Each title can be entered in one category only. The competition organisers reserve the right to re-categorise any entry as they see fit. Fiction titles or those which do not match the festival theme will not be considered for judging. 
2. The competition organisers reserve the right to promote the entry as they see fit using; short excerpts of the text, any associated imagery and/or accompanying material supplied by the entrant.
3. If a book is selected as a finalist, the entrant agrees to provide an additional TWO copies of the book for judging purposes at the entrants expense. 
4. At the discretion of the competition organisers, winning authors and publishers may be notified in advance.
5. Decisions made by the jury will be final.
6. All books entered will be made available for viewing at the Festival Library during the 2026 event.
7. All books entered will be donated to a local library after the festival. Authors may request the copy to be returned to them, at the authors expense.
8. The dispatch of any entry to the Festival implies acceptance of these regulations by the entrant.

1. All book entries shipped from outside New Zealand must include a completed customs declaration attached to the outside of the parcel. Please note that the declared value should be equivalent to the cost of materials only. The use of retail values on international shipments may generate duty and/or taxes; these will be charged back to the sender.
2. Shipping, customs duty and taxes are the responsibility of the entrant.

1. The festival may invite publishers to provide titles for sale at the festival: It is a condition of entry that the title is in print and available for sale on request. 
2. All books requested for sale will be sold by Wanaka Paper Plus from a stand at the festival.  
3. Self published titles: We’ll put you in touch with Paper Plus. It is then the authors responsibility to provide the copies to directly Paper Plus. They will be sold on a ‘sale on behalf’ basis, with unsold copies returned to the author (at the authors own expense).
4. Titles published through a commercial publishing house: We’ll let Paper Plus know you’d like your book on sale. It will then be the responsibility of Paper Plus to place a normal commercial order for the books from your publisher.