Welcome to this week's Book Briefing where we round up the news for the week!
This week is a whopper edition - theres exciting events happening her in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), new books being announced by our favourite authors, AI allegations over prize winners and so much more.
Alice Oseman is bringing Heartstopper to Aotearoa!
For one night only Auckland, Tāmaki Makaurau will be treated to hearing from the incredible Alice Oseman, author behind our favourite graphic novel love story - Heartstopper. Auckland Writers Festival are presenting the event in partnership with Hachette Aotearoa, and it will be taking place on Tuesday 20th October.
Christian Horner’s Formula 1 memoir announced, Drive
Christian Horner is finally sharing his memoir about his fascinating 20 year journey at the pinnacle of Formula 1. Promising a candid account of his experiences, his memoir comes out in October this year and the Book Hero team will be first in line to grab their pre-orders!
First edition of Wuthering Heights sells for record price
For a mere 1.2 million pounds, someone is now the proud owner of a first edition copy of Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. There were only 250 copies printed back in 1847 of this original cloth bound edition, and it now takes the proud place of being the highest price ever achieved for a book by a woman. Go Emily!
David Sedaris is coming to Aotearoa
Everyone’s favourite essayist and master of satire in writing is coming to NZ (we’re so spoilt!). He is touring across Australia and Aotearoa next year in 2027, with his tour concluding right here in Auckland, Tāmaki Makaurau on 28th January. The tour is to celebrate his newest book, The Land and Its People, a collection of essays and stories about the absurdity of modern life in all its strange and wonderful forms.
Murakami’s first novel with a female protagonist has released in Japan
Haruki Murakami fans in Japan queued at a major Tokyo bookstore for the midnight release of Haruki Murakami’s new novel, The Tale of Kaho. What makes this novel special is that it is the first full-length story of his to feature a female protagonist. Although not released in English yet, it’s exciting to see him expanding his characters and point of views.
Rare 'The Hobbit' found in charity shop sells for $87,000 NZD
A rare first edition of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit has sold for £38,400 (around NZ$87,000) after being discovered among a pile of ordinary book donations at an Oxfam charity shop in Birmingham. One of just 2,300 copies printed in 1938, the book was identified by staff before being sent to auction. The proceeds will support Oxfam's work tackling poverty and inequality around the world.
The stunning cover for Hannah Gold’s newest novel revealed
Award winning British author, Hannah Gold, has revealed the cover for her newest epic adventure novel. The Ghost Leopard is due to come out early 2027 and is about Lucas Bright, a boy on School Holiday dragged around by his wildlife photographer Mum to trek the ranges of Nepal in search for an elusive Snow Leopard. The cover is beautiful and we cannot wait for this to arrive.
We are getting PUMPED for Book 3 in the Shield of Sparrows trilogy
We now have a title (Seven and the Swift) and a BEAUTIFUL cover for the next and final book in the Shield of Sparrows trilogy. We are both excited and terrified for the conclusion to this incredible Romantasy epic which will be in our hands in March 2027.
NZ author on the Ursula Le Guin prize shortlist
Pip Adam, local New Zealand author, has been shortlisted for the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction 2026 with her speculative sci-fi book, Audition. The novel is the story of three giants traveling through space under the momentum of their conversation and sounds like a fascinating and clever examination of social politics and the psychological violence of systems of exile.
Beautiful cover revealed for Sarah Beth Durst’s upcoming novel
We are obsessed with the cozy magical worlds that Sarah Beth Durst creates, and the cover for her next book is the stuff of dreams. The Magical Cheese Emporium is a fantasy romance about finding home and magical cheese. The cover has a cat with wings on it which is all we need to know, and the book is due to come out in January next year.
Short Story Prize won after AI allegations were cleared
The 2026 Commonwealth Short Story Prize winner has been announced after controversy over whether the winner was AI-generated. Jamir Nazir’s short story, The Serpent in the Grove, has been accused of having markers of being AI generated but won after the judges said it was ‘original, poetic, and deeply moving’. It’s become part of the ongoing conversation about how we accurately detect AI in writing, and what that means for competitions like these.
Matt Haig is opening his own bookstore
Matt Haig (author of the recent release, Midnight Train) has been talking about wanting to open up his own bookshop in the UK but things have recently ramped up. He posted on his instagram account a story sharing that he has placed an offer on a “sad, derelict building” in Brighton with the goal to turn it into a bookshop! Delightful!
The setting for Book 4 in Emily Wilde’s Faerie series revealed
Heather Fawcett revealed on her instagram the setting for the highly anticipated fourth book in her Emily Wilde series, Emily Wilde’s History of Dark Faerie. We are so excited for the next novel which is going to be set in the Black Forest, Germany. We can’t wait for the cover reveal which she promises is coming soon and will no doubt be STUNNING.
We are expecting the new novel from Hafsah Faisal in March next year!
The first in a brand new duology by New York Times-Bestselling author Hafsah Faisal sounds absolutely irrisistable, and has a stunning cover now to match. The first in a duology, Blade of Honey is a dark romantasy about a vendetta against the King himself, and a competition for a bride.
Ashley Poston is bringing us her first fantasy novel
We have been obsessed with all of Ashely Poston’s charming and slightly magical romance novels, so it feels only natural that next she is diving fully into Fantasy and bringing us a novel called Elodie and the Dark Lord. It’s the first in a duology and a cozy fantasy about a librarian in a quiet seaside town (sign us up) whose brother goes missing and needs rescuing. We cannot wait!
We’re getting more cowboys from Jessica Peterson!
You may know Jessica Peterson from her Lucky Ranch series full of cowboys, heat and heart. Luckily for us, she is back with a new cowboy series. Colt is the first book in the Double U Ranch series where a city girl has landed on a cattle ranch ready to give it a rebrand and get her career back on track. We are ready for August 2026 when this is expected to be released.
That's all for this book briefing! For more bookish news, new releases, staff picks and plenty more from all the team at Book Hero, follow us on Instagram at @bookheronz and check back here on our blog as we post regularly!