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What we're all about

The Aotearoa New Zealand Review of Books publishes long-form reviews of new local fiction, nonfiction and poetry. We’re a platform for timely, in-depth discussions of contemporary literature and culture, featuring established and emerging reviewers from the South Pacific.

The site was launched in 2023 with seed funding from the Faculty of Arts at the University of Auckland. Our kaupapa is exploring the rich and diverse range of books published every year in Aotearoa New Zealand – in te reo Māori and English; for children, young people and adults; and covering every genre, from speculative fiction to political essays, from memoir to art criticism, from short story collections to new scholarship on New Zealand history and society.

The ANZRB publishes around ten reviews of new releases each month, on Wednesdays and Fridays. Our archive includes over a hundred reviews originally published by the Academy of New Zealand Literature, all searchable by category as well as genre.

On 21 September 2023 the ANZRB is offering a free webinar to help aspiring and emerging reviewers develop or sharpen their skills in long-form reviewing. The live webinar runs 6:30–8 PM that evening.

We are also offering eight mentorships with experienced book-page editors Eleanor Black, Steve Braunias, Paula Morris and Guy Somerset, funded by the Mātātuhi Foundation. Registered webinar participants will be able to apply for one of these mentorships. Mentees will receive $200 to write a sample review and revise it after feedback from their mentors.

Please register by emailing [email protected]. The subject line should read: September Book Reviewing Webinar.

Publishing enquiries should be directed to [email protected]

Paula Morris / editor

Paula Morris MNZM (Ngāti Wai, Ngāti Manuhiri, Ngāti Whātua) is a novelist, short story writer, editor and essayist from Auckland. An Associate Professor at the University of Auckland, where she directs the Master of Creative Writing, Paula is the founder of the Academy of New Zealand Literature and Wharerangi, the Māori literature hub.

Harley Hern / site manager

Harley Hern is a writer, artist and editor whose fiction, essays and reviews have appeared in various anthologies and journals. Harley is a past winner of the Pacific region of the Commonwealth Writers Prize, and a former senior editor of the international journal Geometry, as well as former coordinator for New Zealand’s National Poetry Day. She is also site and editorial manager for the Academy of New Zealand Literature.

Support

The Aotearoa New Zealand Review of Books was developed and launched with funding from the Faculty of Arts at the University of Auckland University.

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