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

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: 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: 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: Dame Anne Salmond. Reviewer: David Veart.

‘When we are yet again debating the modern meaning of Te Tiriti, with questions on Māori representation on councils, co-governance and suggestions of  a referendum on the future of our ‘founding document.’ Against all this Dame Anne Salmond’s latest book presents a more nuanced point of view …’

November 2023 release