English teachers are being told they need to encourage young readers to thumb through New Zealand literature, as eagerly as they do international books.

Sixteen finalists of the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards have been announced ahead of a public awards ceremony being held at the Auckland Writer's Festival in May.

Book Awards trust chair Nicola Legat said while New Zealand's literature scene is getting stronger, it's in the classroom that Kiwis need to be taught to value our stories as much as those from other countries.

"If you've got an English teacher at school who gives you a bad feeling about doing a New Zealand novel being compulsory, everyone in the class lets out a big sigh."

"That's kind of where that conditioning starts."

Judges had the unenviable task of whittling down a list of 250 books to just 16 finalists, and it included a first-time novelist.

David Coventry's debut book "The Invisible Mile" is among nominees in the fiction category, and is in the running for a $50,000 literary award.

Legat said judges were looking for great stories and compelling characters - in some cases reading nominated books four or five times.

"They're looking for something that affects you and tugs at your heartstrings and your emotions I guess, books that move you, but also books that show writing practice as a craft at a very high level."

Previous fiction winners have included Eleanor Catton with The Luminaries, Paula Morris with Rangatira, and As the Earth Turns Silver, by Alison Wong. 

The 2016 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards finalists are:

Fiction
The Back of His Head, by Patrick Evans (Victoria University Press)
Chappy, by Patricia Grace (Penguin Random House)
Coming Rain, by Stephen Daisley (Text Publishing)
The Invisible Mile, by David Coventry (Victoria University Press)

Poetry
How to be Dead in a Year of Snakes, by Chris Tse (Auckland University Press)
The Night We Ate the Baby, by Tim Upperton (Haunui Press)
Song of the Ghost in the Machine, by Roger Horrocks (Victoria University Press)
The Conch Trumpet, by David Eggleton (Otago University Press)

General Non-Fiction
Maurice Gee: Life and Work, by Rachel Barrowman (Victoria University Press)
The Villa at the Edge of the Empire: One Hundred Ways to Read a City, by Fiona Farrell (Penguin Random House)
Māori Boy: A Memoir of Childhood, by Witi Ihimaera (Penguin Random House)
Lost and Gone Away, by Lynn Jenner (Auckland University Press)

Illustrated Non-Fiction
Te Ara Puoro: A Journey into the World of Māori Music, by Richard Nunns (Potton and Burton)
New Zealand Photography Collected, by Athol McCredie (Te Papa Press)
Tangata Whenua: An Illustrated History by Atholl Anderson, Judith Binney, Aroha Harris (Bridget Williams Books)
Real Modern: Everyday New Zealand in the 1950s and 1960s, by Bronwyn Labrum (Te Papa Press)