Books by Aotearoa’s South Asian Writers
As Diwali, the festival of lights, approaches guest editor Saraid de Silva has curated a selection of books by Aotearoa’s South Asian Writers for Kete.
Read Saraid’s editorial The Diaspora Grows Louder on this selection and find out more information about each book, below.
Our thanks to Vasanti Unka for her stunning artwork.
For an absorbing late-night read
When I Reach for Your Pulse
In this electrifying poetry debut, Rushi Vyas untangles slippery personal and political histories in the wake of a parent's suicide
Author: Rushi Vyas
Publisher: Otago University Press
ISBN: 9781990048616
RRP: $30
Released: September 2023
Paperback
There Should Have Been Eight
In this chilling thriller from New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh, a remote estate in New Zealand’s Southern Alps hosts a reunion no one will ever forget.
Author: Nalini Singh
Publisher: Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand
ISBN: 9781399611558
RRP: $37.99
Released: 23 November 2023
Paperback
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Slow Down You’re Here
Kavita is stuck in a dead-end marriage. A parent of two small kids, she is the family’s main breadwinner. An old flame unexpectedly offers her a week away on Waiheke. If she were to go, she’s not sure when — or if — she’d come back.
Author: Brannavan Gnanalingam
Publisher: Lawrence & Gibson
ISBN: 9780473617325
RRP: $25
Released: April 2022
Paperback
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For reconnecting with community
Past the Tower Under the Tree: Twelve Stories of Learning in Community
From street theatre to rap, from the tattoo hut to the meditation hall, each contributor offers a window into unexpected contexts and rich forms of practice.
Editors: Balamohan Shingade and Erena Shingade
Publisher: Gloria Books
ISBN: 9780473662509
RRP: $38
Released: May 2023
A Clear Dawn: New Asian Voices from Aotearoa New Zealand
This landmark collection of poetry, fiction and essays by emerging writers is the first-ever anthology of Asian New Zealand creative writing.
Editors: Paula Morris and Alison Wong
Publisher: Auckland University Press
ISBN: 9781869409470
RRP: $59.99
Released: May 2021
Paperback
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For when you want to peel off the top layer and look at things more closely
Visible Cities: Lockdown to liberation, stress to sustainability Aotearoa fiction inspired by Italo Calvino
Calvino’s Invisible Cities explored the intersection of reality and imagination. Now, 11 emerging writers from Aotearoa have each written a short story focussing on a city from their own country.
Editors: Marco Sonzogni and Sydney Shep
Publisher: The Cuba Press
ISBN: 9781988595740
RRP: $30.00
Released: September 2023
Paperback
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Caste in Bengal: Histories of Hierarchy, Exclusion and Resistance
Edited by Te Herenga Waka University Emeritus Professor of History Sekhar Bandyopadhyay, this collection of essays tackles the disputed issue of caste and whether it matters in Bengal.
Editors: Sekhar Bandyopadhyay and Tania Sarkar
Publisher: Permanent Black
ISBN: 9788178246758
RRP: $20 (approximate)
Released: June 2023
Paperback
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For when you want to start and finish a book in one sitting
The Two-Tailed Snake
This novella by Christchurch-based short fiction maestro Nod Ghosh is set in North-east India in 1945. Fourteen-year old Joya doesn’t pay much attention to ‘political business’, but then her father disappears without a trace…
Author: Nod Ghosh
Publisher: Fairlight Books
ISBN: 97881914148422
RRP: $34
Released: September 2023
Paperback
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The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida
Colombo, 1990. Maali Almeida, war photographer, gambler and closet queen, wakes up dead in what seems like a celestial visa office… Winner of the 2022 Booker Prize this is an epic, searing satire by Sri Lankan (via Whanganui) author Shehan Karunatilaka.
Author: Shehan Karunatilaka
Publisher: Profile Books
ISBN: 9781914502064
RRP: $37
Released in New Zealand: August 2022
Paperback
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Anachhue Sparsh
Auckland-based Dr Sunita Sharma traverses love, sacrifice, gender inequality and more in her Hindi language poetry collection.
Author: Dr Sunita Sharma
Publisher: Booksclinic Publishing
ISBN: 9789355351579
Released: January 2022
Paperback
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For reading together
The Grandmothers of Pikitea Street
The Grandmothers of Pikitea Street – who whakapapa to Aotearoa, Ethiopia, Samoa, Europe, India and China – share traditions, food and stories with their grandchildren.
Author: Renisa Viraj Maki, illustrated by Nikki Slade Robinson, translated by Kanapu Rangitauira
Publisher: Oratia
RRP:$22.99
ISBN: 9781990042171
Released: September 2022
Paperback (bilingual English and te reo Māori)
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The Bad Smell Hotel
It’s 2050 and the world is very different. But why are so many people checking in to bad smell hotels? A story by father–daughter writing team Leela and Rajorshi Chakraborti.
Authors: Leela (11) and Rajorshi Chakraborti
Publisher: The Cuba Press
RRP: $25
ISBN: 9781991150851
Released: May 2023
Paperback
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Bad Panda — the Cake Escape
A new, hilarious series from award-winning author Swapna Haddow. Lin the panda is sick of being labelled cute. She’s also on a mission to find her best friend who has disappeared!
Author: Swapna Haddow
Publisher: Faber
RRP: $16.99
ISBN: 9780571352456
Released: August 2022
Paperback
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Lucy and the Dark
A funny and enjoyable story about a child who faces her fears and makes friends with the Dark. Lucy and Dark’s adventures are charmingly illustrated by Vasanti Unka.
Author: Melinda Syzmanik
Publisher: Picture Puffin
ISBN: 9780143778011
RRP: $21
Released: August 2023
Paperback
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I am the Universe
This stunning story demonstrating the scale of the Universe and our place in it was created specially for children aged three years and up.
Author/illustrator: Vasanti Unka
Publisher: Picture Puffin
RRP: $25
ISBN: 9780143773443
Released: September 2020
Hardback
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Books to look forward to — released in 2024
Amma
Moving between cities and generations, Amma follows three women on very different paths, against a backdrop of shifting cultures. As circumstance force them apart, it will take the most profound love to knit them back together.
Author: Saraid de Silva
Publisher: Moa Press
Release date: March 2024
When I Open the Shop
Told in three parts over three days between 2012 and 2021, When I Open the Shop is a darkly funny, lyrical, angry and occasionally surreal novel.
Author: Romesh Dissanayake
Publisher: Te Herenga Waka University Press
Release date: March 2024