Aotearoa New Zealand Review of Books

Fiction Literary Fiction Māori Short Stories

Bird Child & Other Stories
by Patricia Grace

A long-awaited collection from one of our greatest storytellers.

Paula MorrisFebruary 16, 2024

Poetry

Fleur Adcock: Collected Poems

The 'proof of a life bound to language' over sixty years of poetry.

Sophie van WaardenbergFebruary 16, 2024

Pasifika Poetry

Big Fat Brown Bitch
by Tusiata Avia

Poetry by a 'bold, uncompromising artist' who emerges triumphant from the worst of years.

Paula MorrisDecember 22, 2023

Art Essays Illustrated Literature Memoir Music Nonfiction Pasifika Photography Society

Pacific Arts Aotearoa
ed. Lana Lopesi

A journey through dozens of art forms and artists who 'powerfully assert Pacific identities on their own terms'.

Andrea LowDecember 22, 2023

Children’s Literature Fiction Historical Fiction Novel YA

Before George
by Deborah Robertson

An impressive YA debut about a girl's new identity – and new world – in the shadow of the Tangiwai disaster.

Erica StrettonDecember 20, 2023

Poetry

Selected Poems
by Geoff Cochrane

A superb posthumous selection of work by a poet 'in the very first row of New Zealand’s first-raters'.

Guy SomersetDecember 20, 2023

Essays History Nonfiction Pasifika Society

An Indigenous Ocean: Pacific Essays
by Damon Salesa

A 'profound' and insightful book that traverses the 'biggest thing on earth'.

Amanda Sullivan LeeDecember 15, 2023

Children Graphic Memoir Illustrated Nonfiction Pasifika

Wot Knot You Got? Mophead’s Guide to Life
by Selina Tusitala Marsh

From 'a wonderful agony aunt for the country’s tamariki', a creative workbook on empowerment.

Ant SangDecember 13, 2023

Art Climate Gardens History Illustrated Māori Nature Nonfiction Pasifika

Flora: Celebrating Our Botanical World
ed. Carlos Lehnebach, Claire Regnault, Rebecca Rice, Isaac Te Awa and Rachel Yates.

The 'uniqueness and wonders of the plant world' celebrated in abundance.

Joyce CampbellDecember 8, 2023

Fiction Literary Fiction Novel

Bird Life
by Anna Smaill

In Tokyo, a city of ghosts, grief and birds.

Paula MorrisDecember 8, 2023

Art Biography Illustrated Nonfiction

Gretchen Albrecht: between gesture and geometry
by Luke Smythe

The 'best and most comprehensive piece of writing on Albrecht’s art and career'.

Leonard BellDecember 6, 2023

Essays History Māori Nonfiction Society

Knowledge is a Blessing on Your Mind: Selected Writings 1980 – 2020
by Anne Salmond

'It is impossible to overstate the social and political value of this book.'

Alison JonesNovember 24, 2023

Anthology Poetry

Rapture: An Anthology of Performance Poetry from Aotearoa NZ
ed. Carrie Rudzinski and Grace Iwashita-Taylor

An exuberant 'wide-angle panorama' of a vital scene.

James LittlewoodNovember 24, 2023

History Military Nonfiction Society

Abolishing the Military
by Griffin Leonard, Joseph Llewellyn and Richard Jackson

Can Aotearoa make 'a genuine contribution to international peace and security'?

Mackenzie SmithNovember 17, 2023

African Fiction Literary Fiction Novel

Ndima Ndima
by Tsitsi Mapepa

An 'utterly original' debut novel set in post-Independence Zimbabwe

Anne KennedyNovember 15, 2023

Art Illustrated Māori Nonfiction

Ngā Kaihanga Uku: Māori Clay Artists
by Baye Riddell

Artists 'as trailblazers in Māori culture': a celebration of 'muddies'.

Ngarino EllisNovember 10, 2023

Anthology Essays Literature Nonfiction Publishing

Everything I know about books : an insider look at publishing in Aotearoa
ed. Odessa Owens and Theresa Crewdson

On tokenism, typefaces, bestsellers and breaking up: insights into our book industry.

Erica StrettonNovember 10, 2023

Anthology Fiction Literary Fiction Māori Pasifika Short Stories

The Penguin NZ Anthology: 50 stories for 50 years in Aotearoa

A ' long, loud song for a strong and evolving tradition' of story-writing.

Sally BlundellNovember 1, 2023