Te Reo edition of Pūkaki launched at Rotorua Lakes Council

Oratia's new te Reo Māori edition of Paul Tapsell’s award-winning book Pūkaki – a comet returns was launched on Thursday 14 September at the Rotorua Lakes Council during Māori Language Week.

Pūkaki — Te Hokinga Mai o te Auahitūroa represents several years of concerted work by translator, broadcaster and author Scotty Morrison, working with academic and writer Tapsell and Oratia Books.

It brings the story of the Ngāti Whakaue ancestor up to date and takes in debates over his representation on the New Zealand 20-cent coin and his relocation to the Rotorua Museum, where his future is now in question again after the museum’s closure due to earthquake damage last November.

Scotty Morrison (left) and Paul Tapsell at the launch at the Rotorua Lakes Council

Addressing the launch, Scotty Morrison reflected on his dedication to making the Pūkaki story available for future generations in accessible te Reo that yet reflects the dialect and customs of Ngāti Whakaue. The project had begun, he recalled, from a discussion he and Paul had when they met dropping their children off to a Māori-language preschool, and had become a labour of love over several years.

Paul Tapsell reminded guests at the launch of the central role that the carving of Pūkaki has played in the founding of modern Rotorua, and the responsibility that government and iwi have to ensuring his well-being.

Scotty Morrison speaking about his translation of Pūkaki

The new book would assist in that role, he said, acknowledging the support of the Ngāti Whakaue Educational Endowment Trust Board for the translation and publication.

Following the launch, Tapsell undertook a public signing of copies at McLeods Booksellers, the local bookstore noted for its commitment to books for and about Māori.

The book is now available from all good booksellers.

At McLeods Booksellers for the signing, from left: Peter Dowling (publisher, Oratia Books), Lynne Thorp (McLeods), Paul Tapsell, David Thorp (McLeods) and visiting author Tim Tipene

For more coverage, see Alice Guy's excellent report in the Daily Post. 

Pūkaki — the comet returns in sparkling te Reo translation

Out in time for Māori Language Week 2017 (from 11 September), Pūkaki – Te Hokinga Mai o te Auahitūroa is a significant body of work in te Reo that will serve readers for years to come.

First published in English in 2000, Pūkaki – a comet returns won Paul Tapsell a Best First Book Award in the Montana Book Awards 2001. 

A grant from the Ngati Whakaue Education Endowment Trust has enabled the work to be revised — Paul has added a new chapter to bring it up to the present day – and then fully translated into Māori by TV presenter, author and te Reo advocate Scotty Te Manahau Morrison.

A page spread from Pūkaki

Scotty's translation of this large, colour work has been a significant undertaking that reflects the regional Reo of the Rotorua area.

Pūkaki — Te Hokinga Mai o te Auahitūroa records the life and transformations of Pūkaki, ancestral father of Ngāti Whakaue of Te Arawa. From mortal rangatira to icon in the Te Maori exhibition, the book follows Pūkaki on his return home to Rotorua in 1997, his representation on New Zealand’s 20-cent coin, and his subsequent relocation to the Rotorua Museum.

An asset for present and future generations of Māori speakers, Pūkaki will be blessed and presented at meeting of the Pukaki Trust in Rotorua on 14 September, during Māori Language Week. It is on sale now at all good booksellers.

Click here for more information. 

Professor Paul Tapsell

Scotty Morrison

Publication Date: 14 September 2017  |  ISBN: 978-0-947506-25-4  |  RRP $39.99

Paperback, 248 x 248 mm, 188 pages colour

12 Huia Birds in fine voice at Audiobooks NZ

How cool to see the audiobook version of Julian Stokoe and Stacy Eyle's 12 Huia Birds now online.

West Auckland start-up Audiobooks NZ has published a beautifully recorded audio version of the book by renowned actor George Henare.

Click here for the Audiobooks NZ listing of 12 Huia Birds.

Congrats to Theo Gibson and his team for offering a complement to the hardback book published by Oratia.

Almost a year since the book came out, the huia birds are in fine voice.

All about the book: from the Booksellers New Zealand Conference 2017

Plaudits to Booksellers New Zealand (https://www.booksellers.co.nz) for hosting a stimulating conference at Rydges Auckland over the weekend.

The business day on Saturday enabled publishers to meet with many of the leading independent booksellers from across the country and to catch up with colleagues and peers, while Sunday offered up a smorgasbord of conference content.

On Saturday evening the Book Industry Awards celebrated the high achievers from bookselling and publishing, in a fun and emotional dinner memorably MC'ed by Selina Tusitala Marsh. Click on this link for an awards round-up.

Selina Marsh gets the Awards dinner singing

Among the winners were the much-admired Gecko Press (Publisher of the Year), Time Out Bookstore (Nielsen Bookshop of the Year) and Ruth and the late John McIntyre of The Children's Bookshop Kilbirine (Lifetime Achievement Award).

While many good bookstores are doing well, rising high street rents are hurting many, while the GST-free status that offshore online retailers continues to hurt the NZ industry.

Do keep supporting your local booksellers — in these days of remote, unreliable communications, the role of the bookshop as a centre of community and ideas has never been more important.

Industry legends Paul Greenberg (sales rep to many publishers including Oratia) and Bruce Caddy (UBS Otago)

Publishers Association of New Zealand appoints new council

The Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ) elected a new council at the its AGM on 14 July, with a press release today announcing appointments to the public.

I'm honoured and pleased to have been appointed President, heading the council in its work to further the interests of book publishers in New Zealand.

Melanee Winder, Managing Director of Hachette NZ, becomes Vice-President, with Melanie Laville-Moore, NZ Director for Allen & Unwin, the Immediate Past President.

Fellow councillors are Alex Collins (Lift Education), Debra Millar (Penguin Random House NZ), Sandra Noakes (HarperCollins NZ), Tom Rennie (Bridget Williams Books) and Tracy Strudley (Global Education Systems).

At the AGM, Melanie Laville-Moore paid tribute to departing councillors Sam Elworthy (Auckland University Press) and Julia Marshall (Gecko Press) for their major contributions over an extended period.

For more information visit www.publishers.org.nz 

- Peter Dowling, Publisher

Major tribal histories and carving book make a welcome return

Today we are proud to be bringing back to print three major works of Māori history and art under the Oratia Books brand. 

Horouta: The History of the Horouta Canoe, Gisborne and East Coast is a monumental, deluxe work that relates centuries of history for the peoples of the East Coast region, with many detailed maps and whakapapa (genealogical charts). 

Takitimu: A History of Ngati Kahungunu also spans centuries of pre-European settlement and post-Contact interaction for Ngati Kahungunu, the main iwi (tribe) of the Hawke's Bay and Wairarapa regions (and the third most populous iwi in the country). 

Te Toi Whakairo: The Art of Maori Carving is an abundantly illustrated overview of this quintessential art form, written by distinguished academic Sir Hirini Moko Mead. This informative volume remains one of the key reference books on woodcarving. 

All three works are part of a promotion of Māori books in selected bookstores, alongside the June publication Ngā Atua: Māori Gods (click here for more) and Scotty Te Manahau Morrison's superb Te Reo translation of Paul Tapsell's Pūkaki (to be published on 12 September).

Mauri ora!

Publication Date: 20 July 2017
Horouta: ISBN: 978-0-947506-20-9 |  RRP $120

Jacketed hardback, 280 x 210 mm, 496 pages

Takitimu: ISBN: 978-0-947506-21-6 |  RRP $80

Jacketed hardback, 240 x 150 mm, 312 pages

Te Toi Whakairo: ISBN: 978-0-947506-37-7 |  RRP $49.99

Paperback with flaps, 242 x 182 mm, 276 pages

Walking through The Tunnel in our Backyard

Today we were lucky to join the crowds for a public walkthrough of the new Waterview Tunnel, opening soon in the Auckland suburbs of Waterview and Mount Albert. 

This amazing piece of engineering completes the Western Ring Route Motorway through Auckland's west in a 5-kilometre-long stretch of road, half of it underground. 

The tunnel was part of the inspiration for Malcolm Paterson's The Tunnel in our Backyard, and it is mentioned at the start of the book. 

The kids in the book mention the giant digging machine, nicknamed Alice, that created the tunnel - before going on to explore the natural lava tunnels under Mt Albert and its vicinity.

The Tunnel in our Backyard was launched a year ago in a lava tunnel in Mount Eden.  

Keeping this connection in mind, it seemed appropriate to take the book on the stroll into the Waterview Tunnel. The road connection is due to open very soon.

Entering the new man-made tunnel at Waterview - in a part of Auckland full of natural lava tunnels

For more about the book, click here

A busy road ahead for the Waterview Tunnel

New picture book vividly celebrates Māori gods

Publishing today, Ngā Atua: Māori Gods is a gorgeous hardback edition of artwork and simple explanations of the major Māori gods.

Author Robyn Kahukiwa is widely recognised as one of the leading artists of her generation, and a pioneer among Māori women in her multiple activities in painting, writing and publishing.

In Ngā Atua, Robyn introduces the pantheon of Māori gods, and explains the arena of life for which each deity is responsible.

“I created for this work for my mokopuna, Kahu, to encourage him and others to relate to their whakapapa and know that we of Maori descent have a genealogy that comes from ngā atua,” Robyn comments.

Tāne, Hine-te-iwaiwa, Tangaroa, Mahuika and Māui are some of the spiritual beings who leap off the pages of this four-colour book.

Publication Date: 22 June 2017  |  ISBN: 978-0-947506-26-1 |  RRP $24.99

Hardback, 270 x 210 mm, 32 pages colour