2025 Auckland Writers Festival

Winner of the Booker Prize 2024. Chair of the judges, Edmund de Waal, describes the winner as 'a book about a wounded world' adding that the panel's 'unanimity about Orbital recognises its beauty and ambition'. Life on our planet as you've never seen it before. A team of astronauts in the International Space Station collect meteorological data, conduct scientific experiments...

Alone in the wilderness Northbound: Four Seasons of Solitude on Te Araroa is an inspiring memoir by award-winning journalist Naomi Arnold. She spends nearly nine months walking the length of New Zealand on Te Araroa, fulfilling a 20-year dream. On her own, she traverses mountains, rivers, cities, and plains from summer to spring, enduring days of thick mud, blazing sun,...

The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre is a spellbinding Cold War thriller that unravels the true story of Oleg Gordievsky, a KGB double agent who risked everything to aid the British in the battle against Soviet oppression. In meticulously researched detail, Macintyre paints a vivid portrait of espionage, double-crossing, and unparalleled bravery, giving readers a riveting glimpse into...

See How They Fall by Rachel Paris is a gripping thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The novel masterfully weaves together suspense, intrigue, and unexpected twists, creating a story that is impossible to put down. In the quiet town of Ashford, secrets begin to unravel when a mysterious stranger arrives. With each turn of the...

A publishing event ten years in the making—a searing, exquisite new novel by the best-selling and award-winning author of Americanah and We Should All Be Feminists—the story of four women and their loves, longings, and desires. Chiamaka is a Nigerian travel writer living in America. Alone in the midst of the pandemic, she recalls her past lovers and grapples with...

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow tells the captivating story of Morrigan Crow, who is cursed. Born on an unlucky day, she is blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks. Most ominously, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on Eventide. As Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter...

An exhilarating tale of twisted desire, histories and homes, and the unexpected shape of revenge. It is fifteen years after the Second World War, and Isabel has built herself a solitary life of discipline and strict routine in her late mother's country home, with not a fork or a word out of place. But all is upended when her brother...

From the author of Boy Swallows Universe, Trent Dalton, comes All Our Shimmering Skies, a mesmerising and critically acclaimed novel destined to become an Australian classic. Set against the backdrop of World War II in Darwin, 1942, as Japanese bombs rain down, we follow the captivating journey of motherless Molly Hook, the gravedigger's daughter. Guided by messages from the sky,...

Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents the second book in Graci Kim's best-selling Gifted Clans trilogy, now in paperback! For Riley Oh, life as the Godrealm's last fallen star is not all it's cracked up to be. Her new divine heritage doesn't even come with cool magical powers; half of her friends and family (including her parents) can't remember her; and...

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents Graci Kim's thrilling debut, now in paperback, about an adopted Korean-American girl who discovers her heritage and her magic on a perilous journey to save her witch clan family. "Graci Kim does such an amazing job of blending Korean mythology into the modern world, I am now wondering how I...

Compelling, delightfully weird, often uncomfortable PANDORA SYKES Unputdownable, breathtakingly original ERIN KELLY I have been glued to Asako Yuzuki's new novel Butter NIGEL SLATER A full-fat, Michelin-starred treat THE TIMES The cult Japanese bestseller about a female gourmet cook and serial killer and the journalist intent on cracking her case, inspired by a true story. There are two things that...

An extraordinary story. Shaun Bythell, The Diary of a Bookseller Ruth Shaw weaves together stories of the characters who visit her bookshops, musings about favourite books, and bittersweet stories from her full and varied life. She's sailed through the Pacific for years, been held up by pirates, worked at Sydney's Kings Cross with drug addicts and prostitutes, campaigned on numerous...

Dragons and phoenixes roam the skies of Seoul, meals magically appear based on your mood and dreams literally come to life... Nevermoor meets Pokemon in New Zealand author Graci Kim's thrilling new middle-grade fantasy series! Dare to enter a world of secrets and spells, where your wildest dreams—or your darkest nightmares—come to life before your eyes... Fourteen-year-old Aria Loveridge lives...

All That We Know, authored by Shilo Kino, masterfully captures the vibrant and complex essence of contemporary Aotearoa, New Zealand, threading together the intricate relations between the past, present, and future. This compelling novel boldly explores themes of identity, love, activism, and the enduring impacts of colonisation. Meet Mareikura Pohe, a young woman teetering on the edge of great personal...

The Bookseller at the End of the World described the first part of Ruth Shaw's tumultuous life, touching readers in powerful ways. It became an international bestseller, translated into eleven languages. Three Wee Bookshops at the End of the World picks up Ruth's story with more charming, heartbreaking, brave and funny tales. Having found the love of her life, Lance,...

In a sinisterly skewed version of England in 1979, thirteen-year-old triplets Vincent, Lawrence and William are the last remaining residents of a New Forest home, part of the government’s Sycamore Scheme. Each day the boys must take medicine to protect themselves from a mysterious illness to which many of their friends have succumbed. Children who survive are allowed to move...

Hine Toa is an incredible memoir by a trailblazing voice in women's, queer, and Māori liberation movements. 'Remarkable. At once heartbreaking and triumphant' – Patricia Grace In the 1950s, a young Ngahuia is fostered by a family who believe in hard work and community. Although close to her kuia, she craves more: she wants higher education and refined living. But...

'One of the most remarkable women I have ever met.' - Chris Parsons, Commanding Officer New Zealand SAS, (2009-2011) 'The most remarkable story of a most courageous woman' - Hon Judith Collins 'This biography of a remarkable woman is an absolute cracker. What makes this book so readable and so accessible is the combination of Pippa's fantastic life story and...

Best-selling author Dominic Hoey's much-anticipated third novel. It's 1985 and Obi is on the cusp of teenagehood, after a childhood marked by poverty, dysfunctional family dynamics, (dis)organised crime, and street violence. His father is delusional, his mother is dying, the Rainbow Warrior is bombed, and it's time for Obi to grow up and get out of the arcade. When he...

Taukiri was born into sorrow. Aue can be heard in the sound of the sea he loves and hates, and in the music he draws out of the guitar that was his father's. It spills out of the gang violence that killed his father and sent his mother into hiding, and the shame he feels about abandoning his eight-year-old brother...

The brilliantly funny, achingly nostalgic memoir of a life spent watching and writing, from the award-winning reviewer and bestselling author of Driving to Treblinka. Born to a Polish Holocaust survivor father and a 1950s Kiwi tradwife too busy to police her viewing, Diana Wichtel cut her teeth on the Golden Age of television. But in the 1960s, things fell apart....

Atua by Gavin Bishop is a visually stunning and meticulously researched compendium that introduces readers to the rich mythological tapestry of the Māori people of Aotearoa (New Zealand). This breathtaking, large-scale illustrated book is a treasure trove for children and adults alike, immersing them in the enthralling world of Māori gods, demigods, and heroes. Beginning with the void of Te...

With her third novel Dervla McTiernan confirms she's a born storyteller - Val McDermid The unputdownable no.1 bestseller from the author of The Ruin and The Scholar. Police corruption, an investigation that ends in tragedy, and the mystery of a little girl's silence - three unconnected events that will prove to be linked by one small town. While Detective Cormac...

The Gavin Bishop Treasury is a very special hardback collection of 10 classic children's stories for young readers to treasure, written and illustrated by the multiple-award-winning New Zealand author Gavin Bishop. Comprising over two hundred pages of fabulous storytelling and stunning artwork, children will be spellbound by this beautiful hardback gift treasury featuring ten favourite fairy tales and original stories...

Twelve-year-old Niko lives in Pohe Bay, a small, rural town with a sacred hot spring and a taniwha named Taukere. The government wants to build a prison over the home of the taniwha, and Niko's grandfather is busy protesting. People call him porangi, crazy, but when he dies, it's up to Niko to convince his community that the taniwha is...

A highlight for 2024 for the Sunday Times, Guardian, Independent, New Statesman, i, Observer, Grazia, GQ, Irish Times, Sunday Independent, Prima, Good Housekeeping. 'Magnificent' — Marian Keyes 'A beautiful book' — Tracy Chevalier 'Genius . . . another classic and funny love story' — Matt Haig 'I don't know how he does it, but he's the only person who can'...

Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton is a mesmerising fusion of autobiography and fiction, set against the wild backdrop of 1980s Brisbane. It tells the enthralling tale of Eli Bell, a young boy navigating the rough edges of his turbulent life. Upon the first glance, his existence is a heart-wrenching tale of broken families and dangerous liaisons: a lost father,...

The much-anticipated memoir by media personality Alison Mau In my family, we never talked about the past... Since the age of twelve, Alison Mau wanted to be a journalist just like her dad. A beer-swilling, straight-talking man who was rough around the edges but could quote passages of Hamlet at will, he taught Ali everything from rabbit-hunting to throwing a...

Dogs of all shapes and sizes visit Ruth Shaw's three wee bookshops in Manapōuri in the far south of Aotearoa New Zealand. Local dogs, holiday house dogs, travelling dogs: many have great stories, be they funny, sad, strange, bemusing, quirky or sweet. Woven throughout are tales of the very special Hunza, the dog who worked with troubled teens alongside Ruth...

Join Andy and Terry in their spectacular new 78-Storey Treehouse. They've added 13 new levels including a drive-thru car wash, a combining machine, a scribbletorium, an ALL-BALL sports stadium, Andyland, Terrytown, a high-security potato chip storage facility, and an open-air movie theatre. Well, what are you waiting for? Come on up!

Fantastic - like witnessing Scottish noir's Big Bang creation in the company of its greatest living exponent... like Maradona and Messi playing in the same team. - LEE CHILD Lawyer Bobby Carter did a lot of work for the wrong type of people. Now he's dead, and it was no accident. Besides a distraught family and a heap of powerful...

Dervla McTiernan has rocked the crime fiction world with good reason. Taut, tense and darkly addictive. A treat for lovers of fine crime writing. - Candice Fox Being brilliant has never been this dangerous ... When Dr Emma Sweeney stumbles across the victim of a hit and run outside Galway University late one evening, she calls her partner, Detective Cormac...

From the punk rock stars of Australian children's literature comes the fastest-selling Australian book in a decade and the no. 1 bestselling book of 2015. Brilliantly silly - The Daily Telegraph Hilariously clever - Australian Women's Weekly Andy and Terry's amazing The 65-Storey Treehouse now has a pet-grooming salon, a birthday room where it's always your birthday (even when it's...

The 169-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton introduces readers to their biggest and most astonishing treehouse yet! It has everything you could wish for, including an electric pony stable, a Santa Land, a noisy level, a kangaroo-riding range, a Whatever-Weather-You-Want dome, a 100% edible gingerbread house, and a hall of funhouse mirrors. But Anti-Andy, Terrible-Terry, and Junkyard-Jill, their...

Ever wondered what happens to all those lost items? Adventures Unlimited: The Land of Lost Things by Andy Griffiths takes you on a whirlwind journey into a fantastical world where all lost objects reside. This spellbinding tale follows two intrepid adventurers as they embark on a mission to retrieve a lucky rabbit's foot, only to find themselves swept up in...

You can run from your past, but not from the girls left behind. Nineteen years ago, Ruth-Ann Baker's childhood friend was murdered by convicted killer Ethan Oswald. Haunted by what happened, Ruth has long been convinced Oswald had other victims. But no one has ever believed her. After dropping out of college and failing to prove her serial killer theory,...

Britain's best-selling historian writes the first definitive account of the famous televised SAS storming of the Iranian embassy in London in 1980. On April 30, 1980, six heavily armed gunmen burst into the Iranian embassy on Princes Gate, overlooking Hyde Park in London. There they took 26 hostages, including embassy staff, visitors, and three British citizens. A tense six-day siege...

Aotearoa, by Gavin Bishop, is a masterfully crafted visual history that invites readers to dive into the rich and dynamic narrative of New Zealand. This extraordinary book spans from the inception of our planet with the Big Bang, through to the possible futures of Aotearoa, engaging readers with its beautifully detailed and lush illustrations. Bishop's storytelling prowess shines as he...

Australia's favourite novel, now a major Netflix series, starring Travis Fimmel, Simon Baker, Phoebe Tonkin, Bryan Brown, and Anthony La Paglia. The bestselling, multi-award-winning, much-loved novel that has taken Australia, and the world, by storm is now a major international Netflix series. Brisbane, 1985: A lost father, a mute brother, a junkie mum, a heroin dealer for a stepfather, and...

Dazzling, poetic and vivid storytelling from one of Australia's greatest writers, which tells the bloody, brutal and enthralling story of the epic journey of the First Fleet. Originally published as a multi-part serial in The Australian, By Sea & Stars tells the story of the epic voyage which led to the founding of our nation, as told from the point...

In Aue eight-year-old Arama was taken by his brother, Taukiri, to live with Kat and Stu at the farm in Kaikoura, setting in train the tragedy that unfolded. Arama's aunty Kat was at the centre of events, but silenced by abuse, her voice was absent from the story. In Kataraina, Kat and her whānau take over the telling. As one,...

The winning illustrations of the 2024 Storylines Gavin Bishop Award combine with a fun, quirky story by Kyle Mewburn to create an unforgettable gem of a picture book! A picture book bursting with fun by Storylines Gavin Bishop Award winner Kaye Julian and leading New Zealand author Kyle Mewburn. HONK! HONK! TOOT! TOOT! Where are you racing off to, Hugo?...

A Spy Among Friends by Ben Macintyre dives into the intricate and gripping world of espionage during the early years of the Cold War. This compelling narrative brings to life the infamous story of Kim Philby, the most notorious British defector and Soviet mole in history. As an agent, double agent, traitor, and enigma, Philby deceived his closest colleagues and...

Agent Sonya by Ben Macintyre is an enthralling and meticulously researched narrative that uncovers the astonishing life of the greatest female spy in history. This gripping biography sheds light on the life of Ursula Kuczynski Burton, a woman whose espionage endeavours were pivotal during the tumultuous times of the twentieth century. Ursula Kuczynski Burton, known by her codename "Agent Sonya",...

Bighearted, gritty, magical and moving, Lola in the Mirror is the irresistible new novel from international bestselling author of Boy Swallows Universe and All Our Shimmering Skies, Trent Dalton. WINNER 2024 ABIA BOOK LITERARY FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR SHORTLISTED FOR 2023 DYMOCKS BOOK OF THE YEAR, 2024 INDIE BOOK AWARDS, 2024 BOOKPEOPLE FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR and 2024...

If you're like most readers, you're probably wondering just how Andy and Terry met. Well, it's a long story, but a pretty exciting one, and it's mostly true! Come on up, choose a hammock, and they'll tell you all about it (just don't go in the maze - they're still ironing out a few bugs...). For everyone who loved The...

It's 1818 on the East Coast of Te Ika-a-Maui, Aotearoa. Hine-aute, granddaughter of the legendary warrior Kaitanga, is fleeing through the bush; a precious yet gruesome memento contained in her fishing net. What follows is the gripping tale of a people on the cusp of profound change that is destined to reverberate through many generations to come. The Europeans have...

Morrigan faces her most dangerous challenge yet in the highly anticipated third book in the New York Times bestselling series. Morrigan Crow and her friends have survived their first year as proud scholars of the elite Wundrous Society, helped bring down the nefarious Ghastly Market, and proven themselves loyal to Unit 919. Now Morrigan faces a new, exciting challenge: to...

Fibs, porkies, little white lies, absolute whoppers and criminal evasions: the ways we can deceive each other are legion. Liar, Liar, Lick, Spit, the new collection by Ōtepoti poet and writer Emma Neale, is fascinated by our doubleness. Prompted by the rich implications in a line from Joseph Brodsky—'The real history of consciousness starts with one's first lie'—it combines a...

The third Inspector Rebus novel from the No.1 bestselling author of Midnight and Blue 'No one writes better crime novels' EVENING STANDARD LONDON IS CALLING. WILL REBUS FIND THE ANSWER? Detective Inspector John Rebus is hand-picked to help catch a serial killer down in London. The Edinburgh cop doesn't like the big city - and it doesn't seem that his...

Magnificent MARIAN KEYES A beautiful book TRACY CHEVALIER Genius . . . another classic and funny love story MATT HAIG I don't know how he does it, but he's the only person who can ELIZABETH DAY I loved it BONNIE GARMUS Perfect CLARE CHAMBERS Sometimes you need to get lost to find your way Marnie is stuck. Stuck working alone...

In the tradition of Just Tricking!, Just Annoying!, Just Stupid! and Just Crazy!, Andy Griffiths has written nine highly original, humorous new stories about Andy G. Includes a terrible agonising death by flesh-eating zombies, a battle with brussel sprouts (the sprouts win) and the disgusting fact that cockroaches can live for nine days without their heads (they only die because...

The brand new John Rebus thriller from the iconic Number One bestseller Ian Rankin: one of the must-read books of the year. ‘Rebus in jail and better than ever ... Surprising, gripping and witty. Rankin has taken the police procedural and transformed it into an epic character study of a man and his city ... Nobody does it better.’ The...

WINNER, INDIE BOOK AWARDS 2022 BOOK OF THE YEAR Trent Dalton, Australia's best-loved writer, goes out into the world and asks a simple, direct question: 'Can you please tell me a love story?' In Love Stories, Trent Dalton embarks on an unparalleled journey of the human heart. Inspired by a profound personal moment of love and generosity, Dalton spends two...

This bilingual board book for young children shares the meaning behind each star in the Matariki cluster, created by award-winning author Gavin Bishop. An essential bilingual board book explaining the meaning of each Matariki star, with beautiful artwork by award-winning author Gavin Bishop. When the Matariki cluster rises, each of the nine stars represents the promise of the year ahead....

A darkly comic, gritty, punch-in-the-guts new novel that captures life on the poverty line, from the author of 1986, Iceland and I Thought We'd Be Famous. Monday Wooldridge is a fighter with a face like a broken dinner plate. Fifteen years ago, her kid brother Eddy disappeared, and she's been looking for him ever since. When she's not training, Monday...

Poorhara is the story of nineteen-year-old Erin, her older cousin Star/Whetu and an impromptu road trip taken over a few days. With the demands and heartbreaks of whanau, poverty and trauma nipping at their heels, Erin and Star trace the path back to their whenua, in the hope of salvation – something they ultimately find in each other.

A large-format, stunning visual history of the New Zealand Wars of the 1800s, suitable for children and adults, by the multiple-award-winning Gavin Bishop. Discover the key people, perspectives and battles of the New Zealand Wars in this award-winning, powerfully told and richly illustrated visual history by Gavin Bishop. Auē! Te mamae! Navigate the defining moments of the wars, visit the...

The no. 1 bestselling Australian book of 2014 "Sublime silliness" - Daily Telegraph "Wildly entertaining" - Books & Publishing Andy and Terry's incredible, ever-expanding treehouse has 13 new storeys, including a watermelon-smashing level, a wave machine, a life-size snakes and ladders game (with real ladders and real snakes), a rocket-powered carrot-launcher, a Ninja Snail Training Academy, and a high-tech detective...

Andy and Terry's amazing treehouse has 13 new levels including a chocolate waterfall, a non-erupting active volcano, an opera house, a baby-dinosaur petting zoo, Andy and Terry's Believe it or Else! museum, a not-very-merry merry-go-round, a boxing elephant called the Trunkinator, an X-Ray room, a disco with a light-up dance floor, the world's scariest roller-coaster, and a top secret 39th...

Join Andy and Terry in their ridiculous 91-storey treehouse! Go for a spin in the world's most powerful whirlpool, take a ride in a submarine sandwich, get marooned on a desert island, hang out in a giant spider web, visit the fortune teller's tent to get your fortune told by Madame Know-it-all and decide whether or not to push the...

The 117-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths invites you to explore Andy and Terry's incredible treehouse, now boasting 13 new storeys. Among the exciting additions are a tiny-horse level, a pyjama-party room, an Underpants Museum, and a photo-bombing booth. You'll also find a waiting room, a Door of Doom, a circus, and a giant-fighting-robot arena. If you're up for the challenge,...

From ancient whatu kakahu to contemporary installation art, Frances Hodgkins to Merata Mita, Fiona Clark to Mataaho Collective, Sight Lines tells the story of art made by women in Aotearoa. Gathered here are painters, photographers, performers, sculptors, weavers, textile artists, poets and activists. They have worked individually, collaboratively and in collectives. They have defied restrictive definitions of what art should...

The Top Ten fiction bestseller and critically acclaimed crime debut featuring everyone's favourite new detective, Cormac Reilly. The Ruin is spectacularly good. So CONFIDENT ... excellently written and, at times, heartachingly sad' Marian Keyes Corruption, clandestine cover-ups and criminal conspiracy ... as moving as it is fast-paced' Val McDermid Dervla McTiernan's first novel outclasses some of the genre's stalwarts making...

Stan Grant is talking to his country in a new way. In his most poetic and inspiring work yet, he offers a means of moving beyond the binaries and embracing a path to peace and forgiveness, rooted in the Wiradjuri spiritual practice of Yindyamarra – deep silence and respect. Murriyang, in part Grant’s response to the Voice referendum, eschews politics...

Eve Sylvester is young and broke and needs a job fast. After years of foster homes, backpacking, and a sailing trip across the Pacific Ocean, she has lost contact with friends and family. She is alone, desperate—and pregnant. Then she meets Julia and Christopher Hygate, a charming and glamorous couple who seem to have the perfect life: loads of money...

Discover the Wundrous world of Nevermoor in the highly anticipated fourth book in the New York Times bestselling series. Morrigan Crow is ready for a new adventure. In Silverborn: The Mystery of Morrigan Crow, we will travel to places in Nevermoor that we've never seen, meet people from Morrigan's past who will be very important in untangling the mystery of...

Manuali'i - Bird of the Gods is an anchor to ancestors and to self. These poems are reminders of who you come from and who you are; compasses to constant new becomings. Questions for timekeepers and connections to universal powers. Being guided by messengers of the sky. Dancing on the delicate tightrope of here, the past, and an imagined future,...

A landmark account in words and pictures of Māori art, by Māori art historians—from Polynesian voyaging waka to contemporary Māori artists. He toi whakairo, he mana tangata. Through artistic excellence, there is human dignity. In six hundred pages and with over five hundred illustrations, this volume takes us on an extraordinary voyage through Māori art—from ancestral weavers to contemporary artists...

Return to the magical world of Nevermoor in the second book of the New York Times bestselling series, a treat for all fans of magic and Wunder. Morrigan Crow has escaped her deadly fate and found a new home in the fantastical city of Nevermoor. She has also discovered that she has a strange and magical ability. But will her...

A 2024 literary highlight in the Sunday Times, BBC, Grazia, Dazed, Sunday Express, GQ, i-D, Stylist, Bookseller and Literary Friction 'Outrageously brilliant' ELEANOR CATTON 'Make room on your bookshelves for a new classic' MAX PORTER 'Thought-provoking and horribly clever' ALICE WINN 'Funny, moving, original, intelligent, beautifully written' NATHAN FILER 'Electric, charming, whimsical and strange' EMILY HENRY 'Within the first couple...

NOW A MAJOR NETFLIX SERIES One Day by David Nicholls is an extraordinary romantic drama that spans over twenty years, exploring the intense relationship between two people, Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew, who first meet on the night of their graduation on 15th July 1988. The novel takes the reader on an emotional journey, as each chapter revisits their lives...

A BBC 'BETWEEN THE COVERS' BOOK CLUB PICK A MISSING PERSONS MYSTERY, A SERIAL KILLER THRILLER, AND AN EPIC LOVE STORY. WITH A UNIQUE TWIST ON EACH... * 'Hits like a sledgehammer. An absolutely must-read novel' - GILLIAN FLYNN 'A wonderful book' - RICHARD OSMAN 'Impeccably crafted, deeply emotional, entirely shattering' - BONNIE GARMUS 'A brilliant work of art' -...

On a cold December night in 1942, an unusual event occurred in a quiet Cambridgeshire field: a Nazi parachutist descended from the sky with the mission to wreak havoc on the British war effort. His name was Eddie Chapman, an enigmatic figure who would soon play an extraordinary role as MI5's Agent Zigzag. Agent Zigzag by Ben Macintyre is a...