A celebration of Aotearoa New Zealand’s wonderful diversity of fishes, combining stunning photography with fascinating natural history stories

MEDIA RELEASE FISHES OF AOTEAROA Paul Caiger  “Nature, and in particular fishes, have kept me captivated for as long as I can remember. Spending time with fish in their natural habitat fills me with a simple joy. And observing any fish in the wild makes me appreciate that they each …

Dame of Aotearoa children’s literature steals Harry Potter’s crown

MEDIA RELEASE Whitcoulls announce their Kids’ Top 50 Books List today (Friday, September 22, 2023) and with it reveal Dame Lynley Dodd’s classic book Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy steals Harry Potter’s crown as the nation’s favourite children’s book. First published in 1983, Dodd’s book also celebrates another significant milestone …

Definitive, bestselling New Zealand tramping guide fully revised and photographed

MEDIA RELEASE Tramping in Aotearoa: New Zealand’s Top 45 Tracks SHAUN BARNETT Published by Potton & Burton, September 15, 2023, RRP: $49.99 Tramping has been part of our national psyche for more than a century, predicated on our love of wild places and being outdoors. Modern research also tells us …

Candid and deeply personal memoir about life on an alternative rural commune outside Nelson

MEDIA RELEASE Commue: Chasing a utopian dream in Aotearoa OLIVE JONES Published by Potton & Burton, September 15, 2023, RRP: $39.99 Former commune member Olive Jones was a teenager when she joined a group of hippies, idealists and subsistence farmers at Tahuna Farm in Nelson and 21 when they bought …

Stunning air-to-air photography of Sir Peter Jackson’s internationally significant collection of World War 1 aircraft

MEDIA RELEASE Vintage Aviators: Aircraft of the Great War GAVIN CONROY Published by Potton & Burton, September 15, 2023, RRP: $79.99 The military aircraft which flew in World War 1 paved the way for aviation as we know it today and leading aviation photographer and pilot Gavin Conroy captures them …

The power of mana waka to inspire a people

MEDIA RELEASE Ngātokimatawhaorua: The biography of a waka JEFF EVANS Published by Massey University Press, 10 August 2023, RRP: $ 50.00 The mighty waka taua Ngātokimatawhaorua, whose home is the Treaty Grounds at Waitangi, was built under the aegis of Waikato leader Te Kirihaehae Te Puea Hērangi to commemorate the …

Historical fiction series takes top spot – even more popular with Kiwi readers than Harry Potter!

MEDIA RELEASE Historical fiction series takes top spot – even more popular with Kiwi readers than Harry Potter! Thousands of Kiwi readers vote for a range of diverse genres in the Whitcoulls Top 100 Books List annually and for many years, J. K. Rowling’s phenomenally successful Harry Potter Series has …

The power of architecture to express and transform

MEDIA RELEASE Rewi: Āta haere, kia tere Jade Kake & Jeremy Hansen Published by Massey University Press, 14 September 2023, RRP: $75.00  The untimely death of legendary architect Rewi Thompson (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Raukawa) robbed us of a visionary thinker who believed that great architecture is crafted through careful consideration …

The surprising story of mysticism in Aotearoa and its colourful characters

Shadow Worlds: A History of the Occult and Esoteric in New Zealand ANDREW PAUL WOOD Historian, critic, and culture journalist Andrew Paul Wood takes a deep dive into the history of the occult and esoteric in Aotearoa in his engrossing book, Shadow Worlds, published by Massey University Press in July. …