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

beautifully illustrated story about a young girl who meets the famous artist Claude Monet in his garden at Giverny and learns the importance of staying true to your vision. This intriguing child's-eye view of Claude Monet and his works starts at the turn of the 20th century, when American artists flocked to Giverny to study the painter's technique. It tells the story of Lily, the daughter of one such artist, who sneaks into Monet's garden and develops a friendship with him. As Lily sketches, Monet talks about his life. He explains the idea of Impressionism in a way that will make children not only understand the genre, but also want to imitate it themselves. Monika Vaicenaviciene's subtly colored and dreamily delicate illustrations strike the perfect note as they reflect Lily's interpretation of Monet's beautiful gardens. Young readers will learn about important moments in Monet's life, while also appreciating the easy camaraderie between a wise and experienced artist and a young, opinionated yet impressionable painter. The book ends with a brief biography of Monet and information about Giverny and museums that feature Monet's work.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 40

Dimensions: 240 x 300 mm

Publication Date: 07-03-2022

A sensitive and evocative account of the life of a New Zealand World War Two artillery soldier that gives insight into New Zealand's rural culture from the pre-depression years, the impact of war on a family through generations, and the magic of companionship in the New Zealand backcountry. The story is loosely based on the author's parents, with his father never seeming to adjust to what he experienced in Italy during the Second World War. Bill's journey is about his growth from childhood and the character he forges until needing to deal with teh effects of brutalizing trauma, and finding his path to self-acceptance through his relationship with his long-standing mate, Charlie, his wife Joan and their children. The under-appreciated cost of war and its psychological impact are dealt with through a series of fictional incidents, largely based on the author's childhood and teenage experiences. The setting is non-specific but is consistent with the Southland and Canterbury regions of New Zealand and Monte Cassino, Italy. Beautifully written and laced with sardonic Kiwi humour, the author's style is fluent and engaging; an easy read that deals with a difficult and often painful topic in a meaningful way.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 224

Dimensions: 150 x 228 mm

Publication Date: 13-06-2022

In 2024 it will be a century since the greatest rugby side to leave our shores departed New Zealand for the UK. Clifford Glen Porter was the Invincibles captain. He was nicknamed “Offside Porter” because his anticipation was so accurate and his speed around the scrum so great that opponents insisted he must have been off side. Good referees could see he was not. Well, not always. The Invincibles won all thirty-two games in Britain, France and Canada. Mny of the 28 men in that “Second All Blacks” team are regarded s rugby legends now, a hundred years later : Cliff Porter as their leader. George Nepia said he was “the best captain I ever know” and he knew a few. Cliff Porter played forty-one games for the All Blacks. The phrase that crops up time and time again in reports of Porter’s play, is his “uncanny anticipation” - referring to his ability to predict how moves were going to develop, and to place himself in exactly the right place to take advantage. He was a superb player and one of the very great All Black captains.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 380

Dimensions: 148 x 210 mm

Publication Date: 09-06-2022