• The Selection Panel will choose 3 applications and rank then from 1 to 3.
• These recommendations will be presented to the CLNZ Board for their approval.
• The author of the 1st ranked application will be offered the Award. If this author is not able to accept the Award, it will then be offered to the next-ranked applicant

The recommended applications must:

• Add value to New Zealand’s non-fiction collection
• Be of interest to the NZ public / educators / students
• Be commercially viable (thus making it more likely to be published)
• Be by an author that the Selection Panel believes will deliver a work that can be published

A successful application is one that:

• Shows the applicant knows and can write accurately and engagingly in the field or genre
• Presents a New Zealand project that adds significantly to the field, body of work on the subject, or genre, is of high national significance and will not date quickly
• Presents a CV that shows the applicant’s achievements as a writer, significant experience in the field they propose to write in, or whose record gives the selectors confidence that they can achieve the project.
• Presents a well-organised and detailed outline of the project
• Presents a working plan that is realistically budgeted and time-lined
• Includes a written statement from a publisher that expresses interest in publishing the finished work (where available)

Other factors to be considered are:

• Does the project embody key people, movements or issues in NZ life?
• Is the project fully-developed with evidence of access to subjects, people and/or sources that will inform the work?
• Does the proposal clearly demonstrate that the proposed work is not duplicating existing publications and fills a ‘gap’ in NZ’s non-fiction list, including gaps in NZ education resources?
• Is the majority of the research completed with a chapter by chapter outline written?
• Is there evidence that the writer can deliver to a deadline?
• Is it a project that is likely to attract funding for the same purpose (ie. Writing) from CNZ or some other source? Ability to attract funding for other purposes (e.g. research or publisher support) should not count against the application
• Is the presentation of the application such that it shows the writer is well-organised and committed to seeing the project through?
• Does the proposal address consultation with Iwi, where relevant to the project?
• Is the project an original work rather than a compilation?
• Will text, rather than the images, be of prime importance?
• Will the financial assistance provided by the award make a significant difference to the applicant and make the writing of the project possible?

Historically, the CLNZ Board has endorsed the Selection Panel’s recommendations but does have the right to reject a recommendation if they have knowledge about an application that the Selection Panel may not have considered.