Click here to read the full story.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
From PANZ News: Taipei International Book Exhibition in review
In PANZ News today: Kiwi publishers in Taiwan
Peter Dowling of Oratia Media made his first visit to TIBE this year. He appreciated the size of the fair, and having good qualities of time and access to build relationships with Taiwanese and other publishers.
Click here to read the full story.
Click here to read the full story.
Friday, February 7, 2014
From the Taipei International Book Exhibition
 |
| Hall 1 at the Taiwan World Trade Center |
Our first time at the Taipei International Book Exhibition is proving busy and educational. The show spreads across two halls at the Taipei World Trade Center with a bustling mix of trade and public visitors. The majority of exhibitors are Taiwanese publishers and booksellers, with a healthy representation of Asian and world publishers.
Oratia Media's books are alongside five fellow Kiwi publishers - Auckland University Press, David Ling Publishing, Gecko Press, Upstart Press and Wendy Pye - on the New Zealand stand. It's proving a productive fair that we're all hoping will lead to translations and sales for our authors and illustrators, especially as next year will be New Zealand's turn as Guest of Honour.
Click here to read more.
Peter Dowling, Publisher
 |
| Welcome to the New Zealand stand |
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| Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand are collectively Guest of Honour this year |
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| Our own New Zealand Tattoo features prominently in the Sweet Life exhibition of beautiful books from around the world |
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| After a trade-only day on Wednesday, the doors are now open to the reading public |
 |
| Cosplay, anime and manga are wildly popular |
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Representing Kiwi publishing in Taipei
In PANZ News today:
Six publishers have headed to
the Taipei International Book Exhibition with their lists and two others will
be displayed on the New Zealand stand at the exhibition which begins today, 5
February, and runs until 10 February.
Click here to read the full story.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Libro goes to Taiwan
Libro International books will be on show at the Taipei International Book Exhibition next week, when Oratia Media takes its place on the New Zealand collective stand at Taiwan's leading book event.
Supported by the Publishers Association of New Zealand and Creative New Zealand, the stand will allow us to showcase our authors to professional visitors as well as Taiwanese readers (the exhibition's first day on 5 February is for professional visitors, then it opens to the general public from 6 - 10 February). New Zealand is preparing to be Guest of Honour at the event in 2015.
In addition to publishers from Taiwan, I'll be meeting with colleagues from elsewhere in Asia, as well as further afield. Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand are the countries of focus at this year's exhibition - so we're looking to make inroads into these large and affluent book markets.
Peter Dowling, Publisher
Peter Dowling, Publisher
Monday, January 20, 2014
A Poem about Parkinson's
Check out this link for a moving account of Parkinson's disease illustrated by Ross Kinnaird (illustrator of our books I Need a New Bum! and Woolly Wally). This video won two top prizes at the 2012 World Parkinson's Congress in Montreal, Canada.
Monday, December 16, 2013
I Need a New Bum! continues its bestselling run
Congrats to this great author-illustrator team and thanks to Whitcoulls for doing such a great job selling our book.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Libro International signs Italian and Chinese agency deals
Following the recent Frankfurt Book Fair and ongoing marketing
in Europe and Asia, I’m pleased to announce we have signed agency agreements
for Libro International books in Italy and China.
In Italy we have appointed the respected Milan-based agency
Agenzia Servizi Editoriali to represent all of our children’s titles and
selected non-fiction rights for the Italian language. ASE works with both
Italian and international publishers to promote quality books in a range of
languages; in addition to selling our rights, we’ll also be working with ASE
for select rights acquisitions from publishers in Italy.
Meanwhile in China we’ve agreed a fixed-term deal with
Chengdu Rightol Agency for representation of eight books in the Chinese market.
This established agency based in Chengdu will seek Chinese rights deals for
children’s titles along with a couple of standout books from the past year, New Zealand Tattoo and Favourite Māori Legends.
Through these collaborations we hope to have some of our
authors appearing in Italian and Chinese editions before too long.
Peter Dowling
Publisher
Libro International
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Māori Maps at the National Library
Māori Maps is one of the innovative organisations featured in an exhibition that opened yesterday at the National Library of NZ /Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa. If you're in Wellington check out the Leading Edge exhibition -http://natlib.govt.nz/visiting/wellington/leadingedge
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Ngā Kupu Ora honours Pā Henare Tate
Thank you to Massey University for hosting a memorable
ceremony last Thursday to celebrate the winners of the Ngā Kupu Ora Aotearoa
Māori Book Awards.
An audience of over 180 people attended the evening in Te
Raukura Wharewaka on Wellington’s waterfront, honouring five authors in the
categories of biography, fiction, non-fiction, Māori language and the special
award.
I was proud to be there as part of the group to tautoko Pā
Henare Tate, who accepted the Non-Fiction/Te Kōrero Pono awards for his He Puna Iti i te Ao Mārama: A Little Spring
in the World of Light.
The judges described Pā’s work as “a compelling and
passionate description of the role that tikanga and kaupapa play in the
construction of a Māori Christian theological framework.”
Other winners included esteemed fiction writer Witi Ihimaera
for White Lies, and Bradford Haami for his work Ka
Mau te Wehi.
Massey has taken an important initiative with these awards,
now in their fifth year, and which aim to foster Māori literary excellence,
authorship and scholarship.
 |
| Pā Henare Tate with supporters; Sister Magdalen Sheahan (centre) was a key editor on the book. |
 |
| Staff members of Massey University/Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa in full flight |
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Dawn McMillan in store with Holy Socks
Dawn McMillan is appearing bookstores in Auckland and Waikato this month to promote her new book Holy Socks, illustrated by Philip Webb. Here is Dawn introducing the story of Holy Socks the cat to some keen young readers at The Resource Room, Point Chevalier, last Saturday.
Monday, November 4, 2013
RIP Vapi Kupenga
- Hear Selwyn Muru's memories of this rangatira of Ngāti Porou
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Holy Socks is here!
Holy
Socks
Dawn McMillan & Philip Webb
Christmas classic
from the author of 2012 best-seller I
need a new Bum!
‘One Christmas Eve, some years ago, a ginger kitten wandered along a
street on the far side of town. He was hungry, and cold and wet.’
.
Bertie McGinty finds the kitten and
christens him Holy Socks. Soon the pair is inseparable. Even after Bertie’s
death, Holy Socks sticks by his master and takes up home in the church near his
grave.
Captivated by Holy Socks as she sits in
church, young Christie calls out, ‘Can I keep the cat?’ Father John, by way of
answer, tells everyone the story of Holy Socks.
This heart-warming tale from Thames-based
Dawn McMillan, with beautiful illustrations by Wellington artist Philip Webb, is
set to be an instant Christmas classic.
Dawn is available for interviews and will be appearing
in the following bookshops:
2 November – Bookshop and Resource
Room, Pt. Chevalier, 10 a.m.
– Next Page
Please!, Takapuna, 2 p.m.
7 November – Kids Book Fair, Takapuna
23 November – Browns Bay Library, 10:30
a.m.
28 November – Books for Kids,
Hamilton, 10 a.m.
Release Date: 24 October
2013 | ISBN: 978-1-877514-59-3 |
RRP $19.99
Paperback, 230 x 215 mm, 32 pages colour
To arrange an interview with Dawn, images or a
review copy, contact:
Isabell
Zitzelsberger, Marketing Specialist
022
156 7470 or isabell@oratiamedia.com
Libro
International, a division of Oratia Media
www.librointernational.com | www.oratiamedia.com
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Pā Henare Tate receives Māori Book Award
With great pleasure we can announce that Pā Henare Tate’s He Puna Iti i te Ao Mārama, published by
Libro International last November, has won the Te Kōrero Pono/Non-fiction
category in the Ngā Kupu Ora Aotearoa Māori Book Awards.
The awards, administered by Massey University, will be
granted in a ceremony at Te Wharewaka o Poneke function centre in Wellington on
7 November.
Identified in five categories – biography, fiction,
non-fiction, te reo Māori and a special award – the winners were selected from books
published between August 2012 and July this year.
Chair of the three-member judging panel and Massey
University senior lecturer, Dr Spencer Lilley said the awards are held to
address the dearth of Māori literature for adults.
“The awards were created as a result of other major
book awards consistently failing to acknowledge Māori authors. The Awards also foster Māori literary excellence,
authorship and scholarship in te reo Māori,” he said.
Pā Henare’s work, which is subtitled A Little Spring in the World of Light, was described by the judges
as a compelling description of the role that Māori tikanga (protocols) and
kaupapa (methodologies) play in the construction of a
Māori Christian theological framework.
“This scholarly text joins other seminal works on tikanga
Māori by Barlow (Tikanga Whakaaro: key concepts in tikanga Māori) and Mead
(Tikanga Māori: living by Māori values),” the judges said.
Our hearty congratulations to Pā
Henare for this much deserved recognition.
Pā Henare Tate (Ngāti
Manawa, Te Rarawa) was formerly a lecturer at the Auckland
Catholic Institute of Theology, and the University of Auckland School of
Theology. A recognised specialist in Māori spirituality, he now lives lives in
Motuti, in northern Hokianga.
He Puna Iti i Te Ao Mārama: A Little Spring in the World of Light
Pā Henare Tate
978-1-877514-54-8
240 x 160 mm portrait, PB, 320 pp
$75
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Frankfurt Book Fair 2013: Sticking it out in changing times - Peter Dowling reports
Oratia Media was back for our
fourth successive year at the Frankfurt Book Fair, which concluded on the
weekend.
There were way fewer publishers
on the New Zealand collective stand than during our Guest of Honour year in
2012, but for the 14 of us who came back, the benefits of that programme were
tangible. We had a big open stand in a good location, well put together by the
Publishers Association of New Zealand team, and I really felt able to build on last
year’s profile.
 |
Our section on the New Zealand collective stand in Hall 8
|
Among my 50 or so meetings were a good number with German publishers, kicking off with a rousing session of beer and pretzels on the Tuesday evening at the BuchMarkt magazine stand. (See Herr Mayer’s column - http://www.buchmarkt.de/content/56406-der-messe-mayer-tag-1-von-6.htm) Relations with our German counterparts have never been healthier.
 |
|
The unofficial opening party
for the fair with German book trade magazine BuchMarkt
|
Overall visitor numbers at the fair were down some -2% on 2012, to just over 275,000, however. These are times of change and challenge for the global publishing industry, with big challenges in some of our key overseas markets like Italy.
That notwithstanding, the tone of our meetings was mostly positive, especially with US and Canadian publishers, who have already been through a lot of the digital changes that are now reshaping book markets in the rest of the world. There was good interest in our children’s and Māori authors.
Saturday brought a landmark for
us, signing a two-year distribution agreement for Libro International books in North
America with Virginia-based International Publishers Marketing. We’re looking
forward to working with Jane Graf and her team from April 2014.
 |
|
Libro International books on
display
|
I had a good few meetings with publishers from this year’s Guest of Honour, Brazil, starting with the wonderful Gisela Zincone of Gryphus Editora – we’ve agreed that our 2014 translation of Gryphus’ children’s classic Branquinho o Dognauta will be entitled Snowy the Doganaut. Some lovely illustrated kids’ books are coming out of Brazil.
There wasn’t quite the buzz expected around Brazil, due in part to their stand’s location deep in Hall 5.1, and also the boycott by major authors including Paulo Coelho. No doubting, though, that this is a growing market and one we’re going to continue to develop.
 |
Brazil was this year’s guest of honour at Frankfurt
|
And as the public flooded in on the Saturday and Sunday, it was time to beat a weary retreat for a last few drinks at the Frankfurter Hof – leaving the Messe to the colourfully attired German cosplay teens. Auf wiedersehn till 2014!
 |
|
Come the weekend and the
cosplay kids were out in force around the fair
|
Peter Dowling manages
independent publisher Oratia Media (www.oratiamedia.com) and is publisher of its books programme,
Libro International (www.librointernational.com)
Monday, September 23, 2013
Dawn McMillan and Ross Kinnaird star in Whitcoulls Top 50
I Need a New Bum ranks 18th in the top 50 children's books sold at Whitcoulls
Monday, September 16, 2013
Libro International buys rights to Brazilian children’s classic
English edition of Branquinho, O Dognauta to be published in 2014.
Libro International will publish the
first English edition of Branquinho, O Dognauta, a classic of Brazilian
children’s literature, in mid-2014.
Independent publisher Gryphus Editora
of Rio de Janeiro agreed the rights deal this August with Oratia Media, the
publisher of Libro International books.
Diego d’Alberqueque’s story tells of an amazing
white dog who comes to Earth in a flying saucer. This alien canine has ears
where he should have eyes, and eyes in the back of his head – but he wins the
love of a young boy. Here the adventure begins …
First published in 1982, Branquinho, O Dognauta
has remained in print and sold tens of thousands of copies in Brazil. Gryphus
publisher Gisela Zincone issued the sixth edition in 2011, with illustrations
by Felipe Vellozo.
“Diego wrote this book when he was eight,” Zincone
said. “Almost 30 years after, the book remains fresh and contemporary. It tells
a beautiful story about accepting differences while it makes us think about the
impact of science and technology in our lives.”
The book will be on the New Zealand stand at the
Frankfurt Book Fair from 9–13 October.
“Last year New Zealand was country of honour at
Frankfurt, this year’s it’s Brazil’s turn,” commented Peter Dowling of Oratia
Media.“We’ll use this platform to promote Branquinho and develop more projects
between New Zealand and Brazilian authors and publishers.”
Dowling, who speaks Brazilian Portuguese, will
oversee the translation – with the confirmed English title to be revealed at
the Frankfurt Book Fair.
Branquinho, O Dognauta
Diego
D’Albuquerque, illustrated by Felipe Vellozo; translated by Peter Dowling
ISBN: 978-1-877514-62-3 NZ$16.99
/ 200 x 200 mm/ PB / 24 pp / colour
For further information, contact:
Isabell
Zitzelsberger 022 156 7470 isabell@oratiamedia.com
Libro
International, a division of Oratia Media
www.librointernational.com | www.oratiamedia.com
Thursday, August 29, 2013
WAKA TAUA OUT NOW
Waka
Taua: The Maori War Canoe
Jeff Evans
A Māori war canoe being paddled a full speed is
an awesome sight. Thanks to the renaissance in canoe building, more and more
traditional waka taua are on the waterways, and feature in major events like
the Queen’s Jubilee.
Waka Taua is a well-established
introduction to all aspects of the war canoe: its history, recent revival,
types and variants, phase of building, parts of the waka, crew responsibilities
and paddling techniques. With numerous historical and contemporary photographs
and drawings, this easy-to-read book is the perfect reference for these amazing
craft.
This valuable book is now back in print and available from Libro
International.
Praise for the first edition of Waka
Taua:
‘What
a valuable and timely book, there being something of a rebirth in canoe
building at present’
–
Northern Advocate
‘It
is Evans’ passion for his subject that makes this book special’ – Weekend Herald
The author: Jeff Evans is a well-known writer and photographer, who is an authority on Maori
canoes. Jeff is also the author of Polynesian Navigation and the Discovery
of New Zealand, Nga Waka o Nehera: The first voyaging canoes and Maori
Weapons in Pre-European New Zealand, and editor of Elsdon Best’s Notes
on the Art of War. Jeff lives in Te Atatu, Auckland with his family.
ISBN: 978-1-877514-40-1 | RRP $34.99
Paperback, 250 x 185 mm, 76 pages with illustrations
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