NEW RELEASES (28.8.25)
All your choices are good! Take your pick from our selection of books straight out of the carton, and click through to our website to secure your copies. We can dispatch your books by overnight courier or have them ready to collect from our door.
Juvenilia by Hera Lindsay Bird $45
Juvenilia wrangles the flamboyant, provocative pique of youth into a poetry collection highly focused and desperately alive. This first US collection of Lindsay Hera Bird’s poems contains 32 pieces, including material from Hera Lindsay Bird and Pamper Me to Hell and Back. [Paperback]
"If you have forgotten what a poem is, you should read Hera Lindsay Bird's poems. if you haven't forgotten what a poem is, you should forget immediately and then read Hera Lindsay Bird's poems." —Kimmy Walters
"Without doubt the most arresting and original new young poet, on the page and in performance." —Carol Ann Duffy
Hardship and Hope: Stories of resistance in the fight against poverty in Aotearoa by Rebecca Macfie $20
”The people in this book face the uncertainty and the risks, and choose to wield fierce hope over passivity and cynicism to help shape a better future.” In papakāinga, schools, marae and communities from Te Hauke to Porirua, Papakura to Aranui, award-winning journalist Rebecca Macfi e discovers powerful local responses to poverty. Expanding on her New Zealand Listener series, Macfie reveals the everyday struggles whānau face across the country and lays bare the systems that perpetuate poverty. Hardship and Hope grounds the national poverty crisis in the lived realities of the people and organisations leading local initiatives to confront injustice and build a fairer future. [Paperback]
>>”What do I know of hardship?”
>>From the ground up.
>>Why journalism still matters.
>>Other books in this excellent series.
Pakukore: Poverty, by design edited by Rebecca Macfie, Graeme Whimp, and Brigitte Bönisch-Brednich $20
Poverty is not the result of individual failure or misfortune. It is a product of the design of our economic and institutional systems. Pakukore brings together leading thinkers and practitioners to expose the systemic nature of poverty in Aotearoa and explore pathways for change. From education, health and housing to government finance, welfare and justice, this book shows how inequality is embedded in the structures of our society. It offers analysis from economists, public health experts, legal scholars, community leaders and those working at the front lines of social need. Contributors include: Sue Bradford, Huhana Hickey, Callum Katene, Lisa Marriott, Tracey McIntosh, Hana O’Regan, Sarah-Jane Paine, Craig Renney, Bill Rosenberg, Max Rashbrooke, Jin Russell, Miriana Stephens, Nikki Turner. [Paperback]
Exophony: Voyages outside the mother tongue by Yoko Tawada (translated by Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda) $35
”I am trying to learn, with my tongue, sounds that are unfamiliar to me. A foreign-sounding word learned out of curiosity is not ‘imitation’ per se. All of these things I learn leave traces that slowly grow to coexist with my accent. And that balancing act goes on changing indefinitely.”
How perfect that Yoko Tawada's first essay in English dives deep into her lifelong fascination with the possibilities opened up by cross-hybridising languages. Tawada famously writes in both Japanese and German, but her interest in language reaches beyond any mere dichotomy. The term ‘exophonic’, which she first heard in Senegal, has a special allure for the author: "I was already familiar with similar terms, 'immigrant literature’, or 'creole literature’, but 'exophonic' had a much broader meaning, referring to the general experience of existing outside of one's mother tongue." Tawada revels in explorations of cross-cultural and intra-language possibilities (and along the way deals several nice sharp raps to the primacy of English). The accent here, as in her fiction, is the art of drawing closer to the world through defamiliarisation. Never entertaining a received thought, Tawada seeks the still-to-be-discovered truths, as well as what might possibly be invented entirely whole cloth. Exophony opens a new vista into Yoko Tawada's world, and delivers more of her signature erudite wit — at once cross-grained and generous, laser-focused and multidimensional, slyly ironic and warmly companionable. [Paperback]
”The beauty of Tawada's work is that she treats the uncertain footing of the second language learner-and of the native speaker looking back on their first language with new eyes-not as a source of anxiety, but as a source of boundless creative potential.” —Reed McConnell, The Baffler
”For audiences familiar with Tawada's recent novels, Exophony is an ideal complement, illuminating, exploring, and experiencing 'the space between languages — the poetic ravine between them’.” —Terry Hong, Booklist
>>Beyond merely existing.
>>Books by Yoko Tawada.
Pastoral Care by John Prins $35
Nine clear-eyed, witty and beautifully written stories centred on daily life in twenty-first-century Aotearoa New Zealand. On the shores of Lake Pukaki; in kitchens, bedrooms and Lego-strewn living rooms; at school events; walking the dog, pushing a buggy, or stuck in traffic with a child kicking the back of the driver’s seat — Prins blends wry humour and emotional depth to illuminate the dark gulf between youthful dreams and the reality of adult obligations. John Prins reinvigorates the tradition of social realism in New Zealand short fiction, investing character, scene and dialogue with a distinctive, engaging voice.[Paperback]
The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera $42
Eight-year-old Kahu craves her great-grandfather's love and attention. But he is focused on his duties as chief of a Māori tribe in Whangara, on the east coast of New Zealand — a tribe that claims descent from the legendary ‘whale rider’. In every generation since the whale rider, a male has inherited the title of chief. But now there is no male heir — there's only Kahu. She should be the next in line for the title, but her great-grandfather is blinded by tradition and sees no use for a girl. Kahu will not be ignored. And in her struggle, she has a unique ally: the whale rider himself, from whom she has inherited the ability to communicate with whales. Once that sacred gift is revealed, Kahu may be able to reestablish her people's ancestral connections, earn her great-grandfather's attention, and lead her tribe to a bold new future. An attractive new edition, with an introduction by Shilo Kino and cover art by Huriana Kopeke-Te Aho. [Paperback with French flaps]
I Found Myself… The last dreams by Naguib Mafouz (translated from Alaric by Hisham Matar), with photographs by Diana Matar $45
”I found myself in our old house in El Abbassiya, visiting my mother. She received me with perplexing indifference and then left the room. I assumed she'd gone to make coffee, but she never returned.” [Dream 216]
In his final years, the Egyptian Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz drew on his dreams, combining the mystery of what we experience in the night with the deep wells of his narrative art. These last dreams, stunning poetic vignettes — now brought beautifully into English for the first time by the novelist Hisham Matar — appear here with dreamlike photographs by the famous American photographer Diana Matar, which both mysteriously rhyme with Mahfouz's nocturnal reveries and, allowing the reader a chance to dream in turn, open up the texts. These sketches and stories are tersely haunting miniatures. Recurring female characters may be figures of Cairo herself, especially one much-missed lover from Mahfouz's youth. Friends, family, rulers of Egypt, and many known or enigmatic others women float through these affecting brief tales dreamed by a mind too fertile ever to rest, even in slumber. A personal introduction by Hisham Matar, recollecting how he and his wife met Mahfouz in Cairo not long after the assassination attempt on the author, is moving and likewise indelible. [Paperback]
>>Read an extract.
>>Look inside.
Chemistry by Damien Wilkins $28
From the author of Delirious, winner of the 2025 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction, Chemistry — first published in 2002 — is a riveting story about families in crisis. Jamie, a forty-one-year-old drug addict recovering from surgery, goes somewhere he hasn’t been in years — home, to Timaru, where his brother happens to be a chemist and his sister a doctor. Surely those two, with their access to pharmaceuticals — and their blood ties — will help him. And if that fails, their insomniac mother has various prescriptions rattling around in the cupboards of the old family home. An old hand at deception, Jamie occupies one pole in this novel; at the other there is Sally, who is on the methadone programme and has a colicky baby, and Shane, the father of the baby, who has tried to go straight and is now watching his life leak away at the cheese factory. New edition. [Paperback]
”Chemistry is a work of quietly cumulative power. Wonderfully funny, thoughtful, thought-provoking, and moving.” —Elizabeth Knox
”Wilkins has managed to do that hard thing in this novel — write about his characters as citizens of a particular place and make that place real, multiple and textured. His clear and beautiful prose and his sinewy grip on narrative make it a joy to read.” —Lydia Wevers
”A terrifically good book, so cleverly constructed and managed. It's a work of real tenderness.” —Jim Crace
Ghost Cities by Siang Lu $38
A novel drawing on Chinese history to explore the absurdity of modern life and work. Ghost Cities — inspired by the vacant, uninhabited megacities of China — follows multiple narratives, including one in which a young man named Xiang is fired from his job as a translator at Sydney's Chinese Consulate after it is discovered he doesn't speak a word of Chinese and has been relying entirely on Google Translate for his work. How is his relocation to one such ghost city connected to a parallel odyssey in which an ancient Emperor creates a thousand doubles of Himself? Or where a horny mountain gains sentience? Where a chess-playing automaton hides a deadly secret? Or a tale in which every book in the known Empire is destroyed — then recreated, page by page and book by book — all in the name of love and art? Allegorical and imaginative, Ghost Cities will appeal to readers of Haruki Murakami and Italo Calvino. [Paperback]
Winner of the 2025 Miles Franklin Literary Award.
Nor the Years Condemn by Robin Hyde $40
First published in 1938, Nor the Years Condemn explores the experiences of returned servicemen and women in the aftermath of World War I. Through the story of Douglas Stark, Hyde vividly portrays the disappointment and disillusionment of veterans who return to a New Zealand that falls short of the ideals they fought for. Far from the promised 'land fit for heroes', the nation grapples with the social upheaval and economic hardship of the 1920s and 1930s. Hyde's novel poignantly captures the emotional and societal challenges faced by those trying to rebuild their lives in a world that no longer seems to recognise their sacrifice. Back in print, with cover art by Gretchen Albrecht and a preface by Genevieve Scanlan. [Paperback]
”We are shown New Zealand in a world shattered by international conflict, a devastating pandemic, and economic depression. If this rhymes and feels resonant with where we stand in the world today, we are surely in greater need than ever of Hyde's humane perspective.” —Genevieve Scanlan
Wednesday’s Children by Robin Hyde $40
Set in 1930s New Zealand, the novel follows Wednesday Gilfillan, an independent woman who rejects societal expectations in favour of a life defined by artistic and emotional freedom. On an isolated island, she creates a home for her remarkable children and other characters drawn into her life by circumstance. The novel explores her journey through love, loss and survival, focusing on her defiance against the constraints imposed on women—particularly female artists—in a patriarchal society. In vivid prose, Hyde critiques middle-class respectability and delves into the personal costs of living an unconventional life. Back in print, with cover art by Star Gossage and a new preface and afterword by Genevieve Scanlan. [Paperback]
”Anyone who has ever felt torn between the urge to run away from the world and the urge to improve it will find something resonant in this book.” —Genevieve Scanlan
What’s Cooking in the Kremlin: A modern history of Russia through the kitchen door by Witold Szabłowski (translated from Polish by Antonia Lloyd-Jones) $30
A tale of feast and famine told from the kitchen — the narrative of one of the most complex, troubling and fascinating nations on earth. We will travel through Putin's Russia with Szabłowski as he learns the story of the chef who was shot alongside the Romonovs, and the Ukrainian woman who survived the Great Famine created by Stalin and still weeps with guilt; the soldiers on the Eastern front who roasted snails and made nettle soup as they fought back Hitler's army; the woman who cooked for Yuri Gagarin and the cosmonauts; and the man who ran the Kremlin kitchen during the years of plenty under Brezhnev. We will hear from the women who fed the firefighters at Chernobyl, and the story of the Crimean Tatars, who returned to their homeland after decades of exile, only to flee once Russia invaded Crimea again, in 2014. In tracking down these remarkable stories and voices, Witold Szablowski has written an account of modern Russia that reminds us of the human stories behind the history. [Paperback]
SPECIAL PRE-PUBLICATION OFFER
Mohua Gold: The history of the Golden Bay goldfields, 1864—1880 by Mike Johnston
The much-anticipated second volume of Mike Johnston’s authoritative and scholarly account of Golden Bay’s mining history will be available in October. STRIKE GOLD NOW and get your copy at a special price.
The product of over 25 years of extensive research, this remarkable book covers vital years in the region’s history, gives colour and detail to the lives of both permanent and opportunistic residents, and includes much on the advent of the economically risky reef or hard rock mining enterprises.
The companion to the esteemed but now sold-out Aorere Gold, this volume will command its place on any serious bookshelf of local, mining, or nineteenth-century history.
When ordering through our website, just enter the code GOLD when checking out for a 10% discount (the book will be $100 but you will get it for $90). Hurry, though: the offer is valid only until the end of September.