Reclaiming a language is a slow-burning process, both deeply personal and intricately connected to the socio-economic, historical and political conditions in which we live. In He Reo Tuku Iho: Tangata Whenua and Te Reo Māori, Awanui Te Huia focuses on the lived experiences of tangata whenua and explores ways in which they can reclaim te reo.Drawing..
NZ Listener Best Books of 2023Bird Life, the second novel by Booker Prize longlisted author Anna Smaill, is a lyrical and ambitious exploration of madness and what it is like to experience the world differently.In Ueno Park, Toyko, as workers and tourists gather for lunch, the pollen blows, a fountain erupts, pigeons scatter, and two women meet, ch..
This book, published on 15 December 2005, marks sixty years since the entire population of Banaba (Ocean Island) were relocated from their homeland, which now lies within the territory of Kiribati, to Rabi Island in Fiji, thus freeing up Banaba for continued phosphate mining, which enriched the agricultural industry of other countries, princi..
A clash of cultures in colonial Aotearoa/New Zealand.A tale of values, a clash of cultures, with life-or-death consequences.In 1840’s Aotearoa/New Zealand, this is the story of two yearnings: a Pākehā’s hunger for land and a Māori chief’s need to protect both a birth right and what he has taken from others. It is the story of two laws: British law ..
This is the story of a man, his family, and his determination to survive the Holocaust by fleeing Nazi-controlled Austria and Czechoslovakia. It’s all the more compelling for having been told without malice by a man who was both a grateful refugee and an essentially private person. It reveals how refugees were received in New Zealand in the late 19..
Christchurch, post quakes, and the earth is still settling. Containers line the damaged streets, whose inhabitants waver – like their city – suspended between disaster and recovery. Tony, very much alive, is declared dead, Gerald misreads one too many situations in his community patrol, and boomer Carla tries online dating. At the epicentre of thes..
Aaron was just five years old when they took his mother away …Raised by his aunt after losing his mother, he’s bullied by his uncle and tormented by his loathsome cousins. His dream of making something of his life, of becoming an entrepreneur like his late father, rapidly disappears in the wake of his miserable childhood.The sudden appearance of a ..
Audition is hurtling through space towards the event horizon. Squashed immobile into its rooms are three giants: Alba, Stanley and Drew. If they talk, the spaceship keeps moving; if they are silent, they resume growing.Talk they must, and as they do, Alba, Stanley and Drew recover their shared memory of what has been done to their incarcerated form..
This book is the result of a collaboration between academics at the University of Auckland Waipapa Taumata Rau and teachers in schools. It is an excellent resource for teachers wanting to teach about resilience, mental health, interpersonal skills, and wellbeing.It contains lesson plans for Years 1-6 designed to enhance learning to enable primary s..
The sixtieth birthday of the Royal New Zealand Ballet is a triumph for the vision of Poul Gnatt who, in 1953, led a troupe of dancers travelling the length and breadth of the country. This book, with over fifty contributors – including artistic directors, dancers and other notable characters – and more than 300 illustrations, is both a rich history..
A well-known writer, activist, and disability rights advocate, Henrietta Bollinger’s debut essay collection speaks to their experiences as a queer, disabled person, and as a twin. Articulations is a timely, personal, and poignant appraisal of life in Aotearoa New Zealand. Soundtracked by the Topp Twins, Anika Moa, Woody Guthrie and more, Bollinger’..
This eclectic memoir spans nearly 70 years, including over 50 years of medical experiences, and describes the intriguing journey of a doctor in a changing world. From working class roots in Glasgow, the author includes student adventures and travels, the rigours of postgraduate training, and the richness and variety of a peripatetic medical life. I..
The dreams of two young lovers are shattered when a small nation at the ripple-edge of the world is plunged into war.Grace Freeman, the daughter of an English immigrant family, leaves her home in Auckland to join the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, in a bid for independence from a controlling mother. Charlie Harrison, an inventive electrical engineer,..
In the late 1980s, two teenage girls found refuge from a world of cosy conformity, sexism and the nuclear arms race in protest and punk. Then, drawn in by a promise of meaning and purpose, they cast off their punk outfits and became born-again Christians. Unsure which fate would come first – nuclear annihilation or the Second Coming of Jesus – they..
In Liveability, Claire Orchard places us vividly in the lives, pasts, futures and homes of others: A young farmer obsessively photographs snowflakes in wintry Vermont. A pair of geckos named Romeo and Juliet live out their lives in an ice-cream container. A CPR manikin contemplates their resuscitator, Leonard Nimoy peers through the TV screen into ..
Against the backdrop of London in the Swinging Sixties, Penelope Lloyd-Hargreaves, recently called to the Bar, serves her pupillage under the supervision of Henry Morton, the senior barrister at Forsythe Chambers. Defending a young man framed for murder, Penny and Morton find their case is part of something far larger and more complex, involvi..
Like every other girl in her class, twelve-year-old Justine is drawn to her glamorous, charismatic new teacher, and longs to be her pet. However, when a thief begins to target the school, Justine’s sense that something isn't quite right grows ever stronger. With each twist of the plot, this gripping story of deception and the corrosive power of gui..
This book demonstrates how school leaders are able to successfully raise Māori student achievements to match that of their non-Māori peers, enable Māori students to do so “as Māori”, and benefit other marginalised students. ..
From returning to Ethiopia to find it wasn’t as her memory had left it, to the Australian Army and Bible school, and culminating in an 800-kilometre trek through the Camino, Alie Benge writes of searching and longing for a sense of place – whatever that may be. 'If home is love, can you have a home and yet be lonely? If you’re lonely, are you ..
A lone man stands apart from a formidable enemy.Caught behind enemy lines after the Battle of Mount Olympus, Sonny Wirima must make his way through mainland Greece and the Aegean Islands to find his lost Māori Battalion, with only his instincts and traditional beliefs to guide him.An inspiring narrative of courage and survival, of love and awakenin..
What is it truly like being a son or daughter who leaves home to live in an expat/migrant setting? How does it feel to be geographically separated from your parents, grandparents and other family members? Maybe you’ve left home for your studies, your career, a sense of adventure, for a challenge, for love. But how do you venture forth into your glo..
In these rigorous and challenging essays, writers from Aotearoa and Turtle Island (Canada and the United States of America) explore the well-being of takatāpui, two-spirit, and Māori and Indigenous LGBTQI+ communities. Themes include resistance, reclamation, empowerment, transformation and healing. Central to Honouring Our Ancestors is the knowledg..
What happens when one person refuses to tolerate injustice and gives everything they have to see it right? Edric Baker was driven by the idea that healthcare should be available for every person, rich or poor. In wartime Vietnam, he performed complex surgery on a patient, only to see him return and die from dysentery, a disease of poverty. Bak..