Author: Monika Killeen. Publisher: Lasavia Publishing Ltd

A gripping and touching psychological drama In her debut novel, Monika Killeen explores the mother-daughter relationship with clarity and honesty. Spanning four generations of daughters, their lives shaped by the turmoil of Eastern Europe in the twentieth century, An Inflammable Act of Kindness follows Meli on her journey from the shadows of her small town to the glaring blaze of the Dream City. From a little girl with a thousand questions for her grandma, to a young woman at boarding school, she bides her time before making an escape. The narrative weaves through times and places, piecing together the traumas, decisions and conflicts that make Meli who she is, fearlessly laying bare her inner emotional world.

13 January 2024

Author: Philippa Werry. Publisher: Oratia Books.

With six books now published, The NZ Series is a valuable non-fiction resource for general readers and schools, introducing complex subjects in simple, concise terms. In this seventh volume, Philippa Werry recounts the stories and experience of migration to Aotearoa — from the first Polynesian arrivals to the Dawn Raids, from the New Zealand Company to ten-pound Poms, from Dutch and Dalmatian refugees to today’s Asian Kiwi communities.

14 November 2023

Author: Roger McDonald. Publisher: Oratia Books.

For 50 years, people from all walks of life have stepped aboard first the Spirit of Adventure, and today the Spirit of New Zealand Te Waka Herenga Tangata o Aotearoa, for a voyage of personal discovery. Distinguished author Roger McDonald captures stories from over 70 people who have made ‘the Spirit’ part of their lives.

14 November 2023

Author: Greg Ryan. Publisher: Auckland University Press.

The story of beer and brewing in Aotearoa from Speights to Parrotdog and beyond. Richly illustrated, astute and entertaining, Continuous Ferment is both a fascinating analysis of New Zealand’s social history and a book for anyone with an enthusiasm for malt and hops, barrels and bottles, pilsners and porters.

09 November 2023

Author: Dame Anne Salmond. Publisher: Auckland University Press.

A collection of Dame Anne Salmond’s writings during 40 years – from Hui and Eruera through The Trial of the Cannibal Dog and to today’s debates about race and Te Tiriti.

09 November 2023

Author: Craig Hoyle. Publisher: HarperCollins NZ.

A heart-wrenching multigenerational family memoir by Craig Hoyle, an excommunicated member of the Exclusive Brethren.

01 November 2023

Author: Lis Cowey. Publisher: The Cuba Press.

A Feeling for Food began as a letter to two sons leaving home, giving them the recipes of the food they’d grown up with so they could feed themselves, but Lis Cowey soon realised she was giving them another kind of nourishment that was all about who they were, where they’d come from and the adventures awaiting them.

01 November 2023

Author: Rebecca Priestley. Publisher: Te Herenga Waka University Press.

End Times interweaves the stories of two periods in Rebecca’s life, both of which have at heart a sleepless fear of the end of the world. Along the way she asks: Why do people hold on to some ideas but reject others? How do you engage with someone whose beliefs are wildly different from your own? And where can we find hope when it sometimes feels as if we all live on a fault line that could rupture at any moment?

12 October 2023

Author: Ned Barraud. Publisher: Te Papa Press.

The oceans surrounding Aotearoa New Zealand are home to over a hundred astonishing and strange species of sharks and rays. This fact-filled book takes you down into the fascinating underwater lives of these expert hunters.

12 October 2023

Author: Ruby Tui. Illustrator: Samoni Cavender. Publisher: Allen & Unwin NZ.

After publishing her brilliant memoir, Ruby Tui is adored by everyone, including a huge number of very young fans. So now Ruby has written a picture book aimed at 4-to 7-year-olds.

03 October 2023

Author: Linda Jane Keegan. Illustrator: Isobel Joy Te Aho-White. Publisher: David Bateman Ltd.

A heartfelt story of loss and coming together, written by volunteer marine mammal medic Linda Jane Keegan with illustrations by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White.

29 September 2023

Editors: Marco Sonzogni & Sydney Shep. Publisher: The Cuba Press.

The celebrated Italian writer Italo Calvino’s novel Invisible Cities explored the intersection of reality and imagination through 11 wondrous chapters. A hundred years after his birth, 11 emerging writers from Aotearoa have taken a city from their own country and written a short story paying tribute to Calvino and addressing the bigger themes shaping their city in the 21st century.

29 September 2023

Author: Tony Eyre. Publisher: Mary Egan Publishing.

The Book Collector is a fascinating bibliomemoir of Tony Eyre’s lifetime joy of reading, the books and authors that have touched him, and how they have shaped his passion for book collecting.

20 September 2023

Authors: Nic Low & Phil Dadson. Publisher: Massey University Press.

The fifth in the ground-breaking kōrero series conceived and edited by Lloyd Jones, Little Doomsdays is another rich collaboration between an artist and a writer. This time legendary musician and painter Phil Dadson responds to a wildly innovative text that’s steeped in te ao Māori by Ngāi Tahu writer Nic Low.

14 September 2023

Author: Donovan Bixley. Publisher: Upstart Press.

Starting school is a big step up. Donovan Bixley’s The Great Kiwi School Day/Te Rā Kura Ki Aotearoa familiarise children and their parents with the structure of the kiwi school day and puts them at ease with elements of the New Zealand curriculum.

14 September 2023

Author: Richard von Sturmer. Publisher: Titus Books.

In 2020, Richard von Sturmer spent twelve months exploring the Waikato region, this book is the record of his discoveries, reveries and experiences. Illustrated by his finely observed photographs Walking with Rocks, Dreaming with Rivers is full of gateways into a hidden Waikato.

8 August 2023

Editors: Lynley Edmeades and Emma Neale. Publisher: Otago University Press.

Strong Words #3 showcases the best of the best of Aotearoa New Zealand’s contemporary essays from 2021 and 2022. Selected from entries into the Landfall Essay Competition, these essays are explorative, illuminating, provocative, beautifully written and – most of all – inspiring. Strong Words 3 is packed with Aotearoa New Zealand’s most compelling new writing and is essential reading.

25 July 2023

Author: Kath Beattie. Publisher: Scholastic New Zealand.

Cyclone Bola was one of the costliest cyclones in the history of New Zealand. When Amy's parents decide to go and sail a yacht back to NZ from Vanuatu, Amy is sent to stay with her great uncle and aunt on a vineyard near Gisborne. When reports of Bola start coming through, Amy's initial worry is for her parents... then the cyclone moves closer, and strikes the East Coast of NZ with devastating effect.

01 July 2023

Author: Kennedy Warne. Publisher: Massey University Press.

Perhaps the closest a human being comes to visiting another planet is to descend into the sea. In Soundings, Kennedy Warne connects his lifelong exploration of the underwater world with a global story of humanity’s relationship with the sea.

08 June 2023

Author: Dave Gunson. Publisher: David Bateman Ltd.

Author and illustrator Dave Gunson has embarked on a wacky and eye-opening tiki tour around Aotearoa New Zealand past and present, and has found the answers to fascinating and important questions.

01 June 2023