Aotearoa New Zealand Review of Books

Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Novel

A Sky Full of Fire
by Sarah Ell

A historical thriller rich with detail, drama and suspense

Rebecca HillOctober 14, 2026

Asian Essays Memoir Nonfiction

Lucky Creatures
by Joseph Trinidad

A collection of 'arresting, strange, and beautiful' essays

Maya Jackson-LiewOctober 9, 2026

Fiction Literary Fiction Novel

And How Are Things With You
by Mia Farlane

A novel of dark comedy and darker topics.

Stephanie JohnsonOctober 7, 2026

Fiction Literary Fiction Short Stories

Offshore Service
by Craig Cliff

An engaging collection of stories about reading, writing, bad jobs and good intentions.

Paula MorrisOctober 6, 2026

Fiction Literary Fiction Novel

That Was Not My Intention
by Frances Pavletich

A debut novel mines sex, drugs and conversation to interrogate the pretensions of youth

Maya Jackson-LiewOctober 2, 2026

Fiction Literary Fiction Māori Novel

One Day a Taniwha
by Tīhema Baker

A novel at the political and cultural frontlines.

Paula MorrisSeptember 25, 2026

Asian Fiction Literary Fiction Novel

U.X.O.
by Brannavan Gnanalingam

A powerful exploration of a civil war and the 'act of forgetting'.

Himali McInnesSeptember 25, 2026

Fiction Literary Fiction Novel Science Fiction Speculative Fiction

kluge
by Pip Adam

The human, inhuman and 'unchecked power' in 'a digital, late-stage capitalist world'

Maya Jackson-LiewSeptember 10, 2026

Poetry

Beyond the Border by Owen Marshall and The Interview Rose by Elizabeth Smither

New collections of 'brief frames' from two of our most celebrated writers

Sophie van WaardenbergSeptember 2, 2026

Fiction Literary Fiction Novel Science Fiction Speculative Fiction

Nova
by Tim Corballis

A 'self-contained world launched into deep time' begins to fall apart.

August ElworthyJuly 29, 2026

Art Biography Music Nonfiction Photography

The Clean: in the dreamlife you need a rubber soul
by Richard Langston

A story of psychedelia, darkness and being artist outsiders 'in a country that didn’t always embrace them'.

Philip MatthewsJuly 17, 2026

Fiction Literary Fiction Mystery Noir Novel

LIT
by Anna Woods

An artful debut about suspicion and obsession in a moneyed, manipulative Auckland

Rebecca HillJune 24, 2026

Māori Memoir Nonfiction

Te Kaikaukau / The Swimmer
by Witi Ihimaera Smiler

A year of te reo immersion, and 'delirious, superb voyaging beyond the words to the worlds they came from.'

Pamela MorrowJune 10, 2026

Essays History Nonfiction Society

The Good Settler
by Richard Shaw

'What many of us want to leave is not this place but its past': essays on interrogating the national narrative.

Stephanie JohnsonJune 5, 2026

LGBTQIA+Memoir Nonfiction

What We Remember, What We Forget
by Siobhan Harvey

Working out the 'puzzle of the past' in an intimate, often painful memoir.

Sara BucherJune 3, 2026

Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Māori Novel

The Other Catherine
by Lauren Keenan

A century-spanning novel about 'the forgotten women, Māori and Pākehā,' in turbulent times.

Rebecca HillMay 27, 2026

Asian Fiction Literary Fiction Novel Pasifika

Banjara
by Shana Chandra

A 'captivating debut novel' that explores the psychic trauma of migration from India to Fiji and Aotearoa.

Cybonn AngMay 20, 2026