'Fresh, inspiring' New Voices of Aotearoa announced

The country’s ten best upcoming authors to read and follow have been selected in the inaugural New Voices of Aotearoa List.

They are: Wellington essayist Una Cruickshank; Raglan journalist, videographer and nature writer Kate Evans; Gisborne trapper, environmentalist and author Sam Gibson; Auckland actor, producer, radio host and author Matt Heath; Christchurch editor and writer of techno-thrillers, science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction Judy Mohr; Wellington novelist Olive Nuttall; Wellington taangata turi-raised anthologist and novelist Michelle Rahurahu (Ngāti Rahurahu, Ngāti Tahu–Ngāti Whaoa); Auckland novelist and reviewer Josie Shapiro; Auckland writer and arts worker, Saraid de Silva; and Auckland television screen writer and producer and author Gavin Strawhan.

Established by The Coalition for Books, ten New Voices of Aotearoa recipients will be selected annually by a judging panel, and subsequently amplified for their career potential following the critical and commercial success of their first books, the importance of their writing to local readers and whether their writing has something distinctive to offer.

One of this year’s six New Voices of Aotearoa judges, five-time Bram Stoker Award-winner and recipient of the New Zealand Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement in Fiction, Lee Murray, says the 2025 New Voices represent writers from various genres, backgrounds, whenua and publication journeys, each showcasing the breadth and depth of the literary talent pushing the needle forward in Aotearoa.

‘In turns fresh, inspiring, challenging, and surprising, the judges saw potential for an ongoing writing career in each author selected.

‘Choosing just ten from over thirty worthy nominations generated some robust discussion.

‘We are proud to present this group of storytellers as the inaugural New Voices of Aotearoa,’ she says.

Una Cruickshank won the E.H. McCormick Prize for Best First Book of General Non-Fiction at the 2025 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards for her debut essay collectionThe Chthonic Cycle (Te Herenga Waka University Press). The judges noted, ‘her unique voice, so deftly used throughout The Chthonic Cycle, is vivid, original, and compelling.’

Few would think a book about the humble feijoa could make a bestselling book, but in internationally award-winning journalist Kate Evans’s hand, it did just that in Feijoa: A Story of Obsession and Belonging (Moa Press, 2024). ‘The feijoa divides New Zealanders but Kate Evans’s paean to the fruit won’t. The lengths she goes to in her research, the thoroughness with which she captures every imaginable facet of the feijoa, the tale she tells and how she tells it – all are irresistible,’ the judges said.

Sam Gibson’s Sam the Trap Man (Allen & Unwin NZ) spent six weeks on the bestseller charts after publication in August 2024. ‘Sam Gibson is a yarn spinner that could keep anyone engaged, and his writing ushers in a new generation of tall tales from the bush with a new and ever-increasing love for ngahere, awa and moana,’ said the judges.

Matt Heath’s witty, wise and irreverent first book A Life Less Punishing (Allen & Unwin NZ) was a runaway bestseller on publication in 2024. The judges noted, ‘By his own admission, a man who’s “spent the past 25 years acting like an idiot on any medium that will have me” is not the first person you’d think of for a philosophically inclined guide to happiness, but Matt Heath proves a natural.’

Self-confessed science geek Judy L. Mohr’s first book Hidden Traps of the Internet focuses on how to build a safe online platform. Her futuristic technothriller Dancing in the Purple Rain (Black Wolf Productions), out in August this year couldn’t be further from innocuous…A world ravaged by pandemics and poisoned by acid rain, with experimental pharmaceuticals genetically engineering the population to adapt to the toxic atmosphere is coming to a bookstore near you. The judges said, ‘Cautionary and compelling, with echoes of Butler, Wyndham and Carroll, Judy L. Mohr’s Dancing in the Purple Rain is an important work from a dynamic new voice in speculative fiction’.

Olive Nuttall is described by Starling magazine as a biological puppycat girl. Her novel kitten (Te Herenga Waka Press, 2024) was hailed as ‘one of the most important books I've read in years’ by Pip Adam in a Newsroom review. ‘Olive Nuttall brings a fresh and insightful trans perspective in her darkly funny yet poignant work, kitten. She doesn’t pull any punches with its in-your-face vulnerability,’ said the judges.

Michelle Rahurahu won the Hubert Church Award for Best First Book of Fiction at the 2025 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards for her novel Poorhara (Te Herenga Waka University Press). The judges said, ‘the authenticity and innovative word choices in Michelle Rahurahu’s writing, and her weaving of the past and present, full of symbolism and meaning, make us excited to see what she does next.’

Josie Shapiro won the inaugural Allen & Unwin Fiction Prize for the manuscript that became her debut novel Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts. It was a critical and commercial success, described by Claire Mabey in The Spinoff as ‘a balm for everyone who survived the misogyny of the 2000s.’ ‘Josie Shapiro is a true delight to read. Her writing brings forth a new and dynamic voice for contemporary Aotearoa fiction that all the judges were excited to read more of,’ noted the judges. Josie Shapiro’s second novel Good Things Come and Go will be published by Allen & Unwin NZ in November this year.

Saraid de Silva’s debut novel Amma (Moa Press) was longlisted for the internationally coveted Women’s Prize and was a #1 bestseller in New Zealand in 2024. ‘de Silva’s writing is outstanding, bringing out unique and stimulating voices and insights, and she is only at the beginning of what should be a long and successful career,’ said the judges. Saraid de Silva is currently working on her next novel.

Gavin Strawhan was winner of the 2023 Allen & Unwin Fiction Prize with his debut crime novel The Call. He is an internationally and locally lauded screenwriter and executive producer with credits including Mercy Peak, Being Eve, Filthy Rich, Kaitangata Twitch and Jackson’s Wharf. He also co-wrote the feature film Matariki. The judges noted, ‘an assured and exciting addition to Aotearoa’s growing crime canon, Gavin Strawhan’s The Call is a vivid and compelling read – and his propulsive style will keep you gripped until the very last page.’

Coalition for Books chair Melanie Laville-Moore says the initiative shines a spotlight on the ten best new voices in Aotearoa writing each year, making it easy for readers to know who to look out for in store and online.

‘New Voices of Aotearoa is a dynamic new promotion aimed at identifying, nurturing and increasing readership and sales for brilliant new emerging writing talent.

‘These up-and-coming authors, whether writing in fiction or non-fiction for adults, have been selected for their ability to engage readers with page-turning, entertaining, moving, “right now and what’s next” books,’ she says.

New Voices of Aotearoa 2025 was judged by reviewer and former books editor of The Dominion Post (now The Post) and books and culture editor of the New Zealand Listener Guy Somerset; author, editor, podcaster, and curator of the Nelson Arts Festival’s literary programme, Pukapuka Talks Kerry Sunderland; fiction writer, and mentor for the Māori Literature Trust’s Te Papa Tupu programme and the NZ Society of Authors Jacquie McRae (Tainui and Ngati Koata); editor, manuscript assessor, mentor and revered former publisher Harriet Allan; Unity Books Wellington buyer and writer Melissa Oliver; and Lee Murray.

The Coalition for Books is grateful for the support of Mātātuhi Foundation in establishing New Voices Aotearoa.

Check out our reading list for details of the selected books.