Gavin Bishop
Penguin
Genre: Illustrated

Taniwha are all around us.
They are good at hiding or changing their shape.
They can be very tricky.
If you want to meet one,
you have to know what to look for
and where to look.

Award-winning weaver of stories Gavin Bishop retells a variety of tales about the taniwha of Aotearoa, from the guardians who accompanied waka voyages to present-day inhabitants of the whenua and moana.

Describing how the landscape was shaped, and exploring relations between Māori and the sometimes friendly, but more often terrifying, supernatural creatures, these traditional stories are taken to a new level of spooky visual splendour.

Kat Quin
Illustrated Publishing
Genre: Illustrated

Celebrate 10 years of Kuwi & Friends with this beautifully presented Kuwi the Kiwi Treasury. Featuring all five of Kuwi’s bestselling adventures, along with glimpses into Kat Quin’s artistic and storymaking process. The Kuwi collection is a true treasure trove of stunning, simple, and playful stories for young readers. While every story shines on its own, together they create a wonderfully cohesive and captivating collection.

Stories included: Kuwi’s First Egg, Kuwi’s Huhu Hunt, Kuwi’s Very Shiny Bum, Kuwi’s Rowdy Crowd and Kuwi’s Fluey Huwi.

Rodney Strong
LoreQuinn Publishing
Genre: Fiction

Nicolette Briggs doesn’t do humans. As Wellington’s premier, and possibly only, animal detective, Nicolette mostly investigates missing pets and cases of animal cruelty. So when her latest client asks her to investigate a case of a poisoned cat, it seems right up her alley. Until a body shows up, then another, and suddenly despite her resolve to not get involved, Nicolette is right in the middle of two murder investigations.

When someone breaks into her house and one of her dogs is injured, Nicolette’s reluctance to stay involved turns to determination. Not only will she solve this thing before the police, but her critical police detective brother in the process.

Along the way, she has to navigate a daughter about to turn 15, a dwindling bank account, and a dysfunctional family that seems determined to fix her. Not to mention a killer who’s turned their sights her way. No wonder she doesn’t do humans.

Tom Baragwanath
Text Publishing
Genre: Fiction (contains mature content)

“The nights aren’t too cold yet, lucky thing. Otherwise we’d be having a different conversation.”

Jessica Mowbrie, beaten and dumped in the bush like a sack of garbage and lying comatose in a hospital bed: lucky to be alive.

Lorraine Henry doesn’t think Jess is so lucky. She thinks whoever hurt her needs to be hunted down. But the Masterton police are isolated and underresourced, and to be honest, even though Lorraine works for them, she thinks they’re a bit hopeless.

So it might be up to Lorraine to do the hunting. She’s not getting any younger, of course. But she has all the police records at her fingertips—and as much information about who hates who as anyone in Masterton. Plus, she’s used to being underestimated. And you should never underestimate a middle-aged woman with justice in her sights.

In this follow-up to his award-winning debut novel Paper Cage, Tom Baragwanath delivers another bone-deep exploration of life in the margins of small-town New Zealand. Lucky Thing is a gripping new instalment in the Lorraine Henry series.

Jeffrey Buchanan
Text Publishing
Genre: Fiction (contains mature content)

Reggie was still missing after five days, and Gladys Harris was saying things about him that quivered in my mind, which now, four years later, I see as being that opening sentence leading me to this burden of what happened to Reggie Kingsley.

In the harbour city of New Plymouth in the 1960s there’s a fizz of seedy sexuality beneath a veneer of respectability. Godfrey’s world is the Balmoral Hotel his parents own, where visiting sailors drink and local fringe-dwellers congregate.

When Reggie, the openly gay barman, goes missing Godfrey senses something sinister. There’s a prevailing attitude of inevitability. Godfrey doesn’t get it, but he’s hungry to understand. Guided by his daytime-television and pulp-fiction detective heroes and a very active imagination, he attempts to solve the mystery—in the process stumbling into his own sexual adventures and discovering a new-found power in a perplexing adult world.

The Birds Began to Sing delves into a world of shadows, nods and unspoken understandings with a warmth and humour that make this novel a delight.

Kiri Lightfoot
Allen & Unwin
Genre: Illustrated

​Who is waking as they begin to drift off?
What else is coming to life as the sun sets and the moon rises?

Gently lull your little one to sleep with the wonders of Aotearoa’s forest at night. With beautiful illustrations and a mix of English and Te Reo Māori, this little gem of a book is the perfect bedtime read for New Zealand tamariki.

A stunning picture book telling the story of the New Zealand bush during the night - who comes to life as others drift to sleep? A perfect bedtime read.

Tim Waitai-Tipene & Isobel Te Aho-White
One Tree House
Genre: Junior

​Who is waking as they begin to drift off?
What else is coming to life as the sun sets and the moon rises?

Join Pipi, Pou, and Nana - kaitiaki with a superhero difference - as they journey to the river’s edge, make unusual friends, and try to keep their powers hidden from a surprising source of help.

​This is a junior fiction series - large novel format, 8 chapters, with 1-2 black and white images per chapter.

Books: 

1x Pipi and Pou and the Haunted Forest

1x Pipi and Pou and the Shadow Below

These will be bundled together.

John Evan Harris & Minky Stapleton
Roiall Emerald Publishers
Genre: Illustrated

"My claws saved the day," he declares, "and my friends are all happy."

The now-friendly mole from John's previous book decides to expand his home for his forest friends. He buys a digger but refuses any help or lessons, leading to disastrous consequences for his house and friends.