The shortlists for the Ockham New Zealand Books Awards were announced this morning as the 10-long lists have been whittled down to just four titles in each of the four categories.

Otago University Press continued its traditionally strong performance in the poetry section and will pin its hopes on Canterbury-based runner-up Joanna Preston for its collection Fall.

New Zealand Book Awards Trust spokeswoman Paula Morris said the shortlists were surprising and surprisingly diverse.

“Shortlisted writers range from iconic names to emerging voices; publishers range from multinationals to small independents.

“The quality of our writers, illustrators, editors and publishers makes these awards increasingly competitive and the winners impossible to predict,” she said.

The winners will be announced on May 11.

Fiction: A good winterGigi Fenster; TangleBryan Walpert; Greta and ValdinRebecca K. Reilly; KurangaitukuWhiti Hereaka.

Poetry: RangikuraTayi Tibble; sleep with stonesBarford Series; The sea enters a wallAnne Kennedy; FallJoanna Preston.

Illustrated non-fiction: Dressed: Fashionable dress in Aotearoa New Zealand 1840 to 1910Claire Regnault; NUKU: Stories of 100 Indigenous WomenQiane Matata-Sipu; Shifting Grounds: Deep Stories of Tamaki Makaurau AucklandLucy Mackintosh; The architect and the artists: Hackshaw, McCahon, DibbleBrigitte Hackshaw.

General non-fiction: From the center: the life of a writerPatricia Grace; The Alarmist: Fifty years of measuring climate changeDave Lowe; The mirror bookCharlotte Grimshaw; Voices of New Zealand Wars | He Reo no nga Pakanga o AotearoaVincent O’Malley.