In 1969 Al Riordan, a US Exchange Scientist, joined Simon Cutfield and three other New Zealanders to spend a year at Vanda Station on the shores of Lake Vanda in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica. The men lived in a strange world – a snowless place that had not seen a glacier for millions of years, yet lay within sight of the permanent East Antarctic Ice Sheet. The surface of the lake was covered in 3–4 metres of permanent ice, but the temperature of the water near the bottom was +25°C. No one knew for certain why the water was so warm, and Simon’s mission was to take measurements to help solve this mystery and carry out a range of other hydrologic and earth science projects. Al’s aim was to help build a comprehensive weather record, understand the valley wind systems, and to learn why the area was snow-free. Drawing on their diaries and letters, this is a unique first-person account of life at the station as the five men carry out their daily tasks in an environment that challenges and transforms them: temperatures as low as –57°C, eight months of total isolation, including four months of continual darkness, and daunting mechanical and logistical challenges, including a limited supply of power, fuel, heat and water. At least it’s no challenge to follow the instructions on their photographic chemicals – ‘Keep in a cool place’ – like much of their supplies, this equipment is encased in ice. Supplemented with scientific appendices, the book also gives the reader a window on how scientific knowledge is built one step at a time, from the initial planning, to data gathering, to building hypotheses, and to developing theory. As the only complete record of life at Vanda Station during the first year of its occupation, and complemented by a selection of maps and colour photos, this engaging account is an important missing chapter in the history of New Zealand’s Antarctic achievements.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 296

Dimensions: 152 x 229 mm

Publication Date: 01-09-2022

A novel of father figures, bullshit and belonging. As Vladimir Nabokov expert Professor Brian Bode writes in his foreword to Godfrey Cheathem’s last letter: “... I was able to play a prominent role in bringing his remarkable novel Chasing the Fading Light to worldwide attention. As was shown in my biography of Godfrey Cheathem (a New York Times #1 bestseller for 28 weeks), this was despite my doubts that a New Zealander — or, more particularly, this son of New Zealand — could have penned what is now recognised as not only a supreme Antipodean novel, but also as the novel that may yet prove to be one of the greatest of this new Oceanic century”. Traumatised by his failure to match the creative successes of his precocious younger siblings – early over-achievers in theatre, music and fine arts – Godfrey Cheathem never expects that his baffling experimental pottery will one day lead him to the unlikely heights of international book publishing. There he meets a mysterious artist, a pivotal encounter on a journey of self discovery that points up some of the many absurdities of New Zealand life and culture, and culminates in Godfrey’s comic yet anguished unravelling at a grand reunion at the Cheathem tūrangawaewae, the farm that has been in his wider family for generations. Godfrey Cheathem died not long after completing his last letter in his cell in Paparua prison, never living to see the publication of his great novel. Cheathem’s letter is written to his sister, and tries to explain the events that led to his imprisonment.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 324

Dimensions: 152 x 230 x 20 mm

Publication Date: 01-08-2022

A lot of international games have been played by New Zealand men’s and women’s national teams since the first New Zealand Tournament Team was selected in 1947, but all are covered in this official History of New Zealand Basketball. Also recorded are New Zealand junior selections, national representative results, and the New Zealand leagues from when they emerged. So is the involvement of American, Australian and European players and coaches New Zealand brought in both to widen the league player bases, and to assist broadening the international expertise of locals to ensure the Tall Blacks and Tall Ferns could compete well in World Championship and Olympic events. The book also identifies many New Zealanders who have played some of their basketball in national leagues of other countries. And it traces the basketball politics across the years. Game detail is here—’stats’, as this material is now called. But the real story is about New Zealand basketball people—players, coaches, and administrators. And the very wide selection of photographs reminds the basketball world how many local identities looked in their prime. Twelve of the key ones grace the cover—who can you identify? But there are hundreds more, as the History of New Zealand Basketball covers 75 years.

Pages: 568

Dimensions: 205 x 275 mm

Publication Date: 31-05-2022

Past and present become dangerously entwined in this intricate and compelling psychological thriller from author and film-maker Richard Woolley. It is 2015, and successful Kiwi journalist Joy Manville enjoys a fulfilling life in New Zealand, Aotearoa, together with her older English husband, Stephen, a Professor in Film Studies at the University of Auckland. Almost an idyll, until their peaceful path through life is crossed by a dark shadow from Stephen’s past. A persistent online shadow that leads Joy to question Stephen’s integrity and forces her into a disturbing and deadly investigation – first in New Zealand and then at Stephen’s childhood home and school in England. A dark drama that pits the easy going egalitarianism of New Zealand against the privileged, often perverse background of an English upper-middle-class family.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 410

Dimensions: 127 x 203 mm

Publication Date: 04-07-2022

Conquering Cascade brings to light a little-known chapter in the history of West Coast coal mining. Cascade Creek, a rugged and precipitous gorge, harboured a seam of some of the best coal in New Zealand, its ‘black gold’ well known but its extraction delayed by forbidding access and tempestuous climate. The story of the Cascade Westport Coal Company and its workforce, the Cascade Westport Co-operative Coal Party, is one of courage and audacity that included building a wooden flume to carry the coal a steep 250 metres drop towards the coast. At over 12 kilometres long this flume was not only the longest such structure ever built in New Zealand, it also confounded the naysayers who said it couldn’t be done. Conquering Cascade chronicles the troubles, triumphs and trials of the Cascade Creek men and women as they toiled to make a living, their association finally ending in a catastrophe of nature and the mundanity of a court room. Following a decade of research, interviews and gathering rare material, Phil Walsh has documented an epic saga in New Zealand’s industrial coal mining heritage. Includes maps and 18 pages of colour and b/w photographs

Bind: paperback

Pages: 328

Dimensions: 170 x 240 mm

Publication Date: 20-07-2022

This luxe cotton fold out book series is designed for little hands and developing eyes to ex-plore. Made from 100% premium cotton and filled with plump natural & hypo-allergenic corn fibre, each book features bold high-con-trast designs that attract and engage infants in early learning and development. Packaged in a signature eye-catching modern card band, these books are beautiful for display and perfect for gifting. Designed in NZ.

Dimensions: 130 x 130 mm

Publication Date: 01-05-2022

A beautifully designed new book that champions recent film, animation and video art made by Māori artists. Whether it be 16mm film, hand-drawn animation, 4K video or footage recorded on a phone, moving image artworks create a unique space for Māori artists to connect the forms, patterns and concepts of toi ataata (Māori visual arts) with the oral histories, performance and music of ngā mahi a te rēhia (the arts of performance). This new book acknowledges the senior Māori artists who have led the way, and the newer generations working with moving image to convey concepts of whakapapa, whenua and whanaungatanga.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 180

Dimensions: 180 x 260 x 20 mm

Publication Date: 20-06-2022

The most wide-ranging and up-to-date volume available on the enigmatic and controversial graffiti artist, this deeply researched and highly personal tribute explores how Banksy continues to defy accepted wisdom about artistic success, growing only more famous and powerful even as he sticks to his anti-establishment platform and to his mission to give a voice to the voiceless. Accompanied by stunning full-page, full-color reproductions and photographs of works in situ-including many that have been lost to time -photographer and street art expert Alessandra Mattanza's impassioned and informed text follows Banksy's career trajectory from creator of message-laden stencils on London's city walls to a sought-after champion of human and environmental rights. She investigates many of the key images that populate Banksy's work-animals, children, historic figures, balloons, cartoon characters, police officers, and others. She shows how Banksy's oeuvre has expanded beyond graffiti and stenciling and how his art has helped support his activism in a variety of causes-from calls for peace in the Middle East to the preservation of the natural environment. Best of all she helps readers make sense of the rather unusual path Banksy has chosen-an artist who uses his global platform to raise awareness about the underserved, rather than to his own celebrity. Readers will come away with a new understanding of how Banksy helped transform an illegal act of criminal damage into a high art form, and how, by ridiculing institutionalized art, he has achieved enormous fame within those very institutions.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 240

Dimensions: 230 x 300 mm

Publication Date: 28-02-2022

Frida is lying in her bed, imprisoned by painful injuries she sustained in an accident. She yearns to paint, but can only manage to sing what is in her imagination. Suddenly, a jar of paintbrushes falls off her nightstand and a pool of vibrant color spreads across the floor. A monkey called Caimito scurries to help her with his friends, gathering her brushes, paint and canvas as well as all the items that Frida mentioned in her song-fruit, birds, flowers, and butterflies. Frida is so happy and grateful for the monkeys' assistance that she manages to create a new painting, a triumphant self-portrait with Caimito in her arms. The book explores the major themes of Kahlo's work- physical pain, enduring love, and steadfastness-as well as the symbolism of plants, animals, numbers, and religion, to give young readers a solid foundation for appreciating the artist's works for the rest of their lives.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 32

Dimensions: 240 x 320 mm

Publication Date: 15-03-2022

One of Paris's iconic symbols comes to life in this picture book that explores the tragic 2019 fire that destroyed parts of Notre Dame Cathedral as well as the heroic efforts to save the building and its valuable history. Gorgeous full-page illustrations take readers to the top of the cathedral, and into the studios of restoration artists, to tell a story of how Paris's famous rooster nearly perished and was brought back to life to keep watch over the city. From his perch atop a weathervane, the copper rooster enjoys one of the best views in Paris-even if the wind does blow him around a bit. But one fateful day a fire breaks out. Sirens sound, firefighters unroll their hoses, and the flames lick at his feathers. The rooster plunges to earth, crying out for his beloved partner Esmerelda. Gravely injured, he is discovered under the rubble by a worker who carefully lifts him out of the wreckage and brings him to a busy workroom. Will he be healed? Will he live to preside again over the city he loves, and in the company of Esmerelda? With sweeping views of Paris, dramatic scenes of the devastating fire, and fascinating insights into the restoration process, this storybook helps kids appreciate the historic and symbolic significance of buildings such as Notre Dame. An illustrated appendix provides background information that readers of every age will find useful.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 32

Dimensions: 240 x 320 mm

Publication Date: 15-03-2022