Author: Susan Devoy Reviewer: Chris Long

“Over my lifetime I have given most things a crack when presented with the opportunity,” Susan Devoy writes in her funny and fascinating new biography, Dame Suzy D: My Story.

From self-described ‘working-class girl’ to Dame, Race Relations Commissioner to reality TV star, unbeatable squash world number one to all-too-relatable mother of four…

April 2024 release

Editors: Catherine Hammond, Shaun Higgins Reviewer: David Veart

In 1848, two decades after a French inventor mixed daylight with a cocktail of chemicals to fix the view outside his window onto a metal plate, photography arrived in Aotearoa. How did these 'portraits in a machine' reveal Maori and Pakeha to themselves and to each other? Were the first photographs 'a good likeness' or were they tricksters? What stories do they capture of the changing landscape of Aotearoa?

April 2024 release

Author: Judy Bailey Reviewer: Catherine Milford

'A deep dive into an area that affects all of us, if we’re lucky.' Catherine Milford reviews Evolving by journalist, news anchor, television presenter, and mother of the nation, Judy Bailey and finds solace in the book’s running thread ‘that getting older doesn’t have to mean becoming invisible.'

April 2024 release

Author: Ashia Ismail-Singer

A cookbook for the ultimate entertainer. Try your hand at this baklava cheesecake, a Middle Eastern-inspired treat, perfect for any celebration.

April 2024 release

Author: Rachel Clare Publisher: Bateman Books

Aotearoa’s native owl is a watchful guardian of the night. Make your own ruru out of a pinecone and seed pods. If you can’t find eucalyptus seed pods for the eyes, go foraging for another type of round seed pod or use small stones.

Read an extract from Play Wild

Released April 2024

Authors: Rebecca Rice, Matiu Baker, Katie Cooper, Michael Fitzgerald Reviewer: David Veart

This selection transcends its colonial origins literally in 'The Colonial Museum' creating a powerful narrative using the artefacts woven together with subtle curation and a strong Māori voice, a voice which doesn't simply murmur 'ghostly' echoes from the past but instead speaks truth powerfully into the present.

March 2024 release

Author: Ineke Meredith Reviewer: Himali McInnes

“Being entrusted with another person’s life, plunging your hands into their body cavities while they are in a sedated coma, takes a lot of nerve. A confident exterior belies the very human doctor underneath. This beautifully written memoir deftly paints human flesh and vulnerability onto those God-like creatures we see in scrubs and reminds us that medical professionals do bring their whole selves into each patient encounter.”

March 2024 release

Author: Trevor Auger Reviewer: Chris Long

“Auger keeps the central narrative thread squarely focused on reporting matches, with The Three Quicks subsequently aimed more at the patient test cricket purists over casual white ball enthusiasts with shorter attention spans. Heavily results and statistics-focused, it harks back to a time when cricket almanacs were poured over, and test cricket wasn't staring down the existential threats it now faces.”

March 2024 release

Author: Kate Evans. Reviewer: Jo McCarroll.

Botany, science, history, politics, human rights, philosophy and even economics (although the feijoa's incredible economic potential – while widely agreed to exist – is generally thought to not yet have been realised) are all deftly woven into and around Evans' personal narrative, which is itself sprinkled with arcane and intriguing asides

February 2024 release

Author: Rachel Haydon Illustrator: Pippa Keel Publisher: Te Papa Press

Looking for different kinds of shells is heaps of fun for kids. In Aotearoa New Zealand we have a lot of creatures that live in shells at our beaches and estuaries.

Read an extract from The Beach Activity Book.

Released January 2024

Author: Abbas Nazari. Reviewer: Graham Reid

“Within his story, Nazari pulls back to offer the bigger picture: the history of Afghanistan, the rise of the Taliban, convoluted global politics, demonisation of migrants, this country’s generous treatment of refugees, Afghanistan today and the Christchurch mosque killings. But he sketches into his writing small yet telling incidents from that childhood of flight and fear.”

January 2024 release

Author: Jane Robertson. Reviewer: Bob Frame.

This sumptuous social and environmental history of Whakaraupō Lyttelton Harbour takes the reader around the harbour that separates Ōtautahi Christchurch from Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū Banks Peninsula.

October 2023 release

Author: Claire McCall

In May 2022, Kiwi journalist Claire McCall and her partner set off on an epic walking adventure to tackle a freshly minted long-distance trail called the Hexatrek in its pioneer year. The 3034km route connects the highest, most spectacular mountains and national parks in France and travels through the Vosges, the Alps, the Écrins and the Pyrenees among others.

December 2023 release

Author: Vanessa Hatley-Owen

Vanessa Hatley-Owen says the idea for her latest children’s book The Littlest Lifeguard came about while she was on a family holiday at the beach.

January 2024 release

Authors: Sarah and Otis Frizzell

Brunch of champions! Try your hand at this fresh summery, full-of-flavour recipe for huevos rancheros from The Lucky Taco Cookbook.

July 2023 release

Author: Michael Van de Elzen

Is there a dish that evokes the New Zealand summer more than freshly caught fish? Try your hand at Michael Van de Elzen’s Snapper with Tomato Kasundi & Roasted Red Capsicums.

September 2023 release

Author: Tess Eden

Thinking about eating more plant-based foods in 2024? Start with something really delicious. Try this macadamia cranberry rocky road recipe from Tess Eden’s book Eden Vegan. Yum!

November 2023 release

Author: Anton Blank. Editor: Witi Ihimaera

‘Humans are entitled to live a life they value. I think this is the starting and end point when we consider racism towards Indigenous peoples and migrant cultures. It is the aspirational goal. I have mana, you have mana…’

Read Anton Blank’s essay ‘Indigenous migrations’ extracted from Ngā Kupu Wero.

Released August 2023

Te Awhi Rito Reading Ambassadors Alan Dingley (current) and Ben Brown (former) on books, reading and why rangatahi do – or do not – find it enjoyable…

Leafy green inspiration must have been floating, spore-like in the air, in 2023. From art books to more whimsical first-person narrative natural history to the illustrative work of Donovan Bixley, it was definitely the year of the intriguing plant book!