Book giveaway: Favourite Māori Legends (2013)

Alexander Wyclif (A.W.) Reed became New Zealand’s most prolific author and publisher in the course of the twentieth century. His works on Māori and Aboriginal culture and language remain in print 40 years after his death, with his retellings of myths and legends among his most sought-after books. 

A.W. Reed

So when we discovered this collection was out of print, we agreed with Reed’s long-time colleague and literary agent Ray Richards to publish a newly designed paperback. Editor Ross Calman (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Toa, Kāi Tahu) carefully revised the stories, and we reproduced the lovely original illustrations by Roger Hart.

Ray sadly passed away the month before the new Favourite Māori Legends was publsihed, but his assurance that the book would serve a new readership was spot on. The book has reprinted several times and has attracted international interest, with an edition in Spanish (Ediciones Sigueme, Salamanca) and other languages in negotiation.

Visit our Fb Page  to be in to win a copy of Favourite Māori Legends! Prize available to New Zealand residents only. 

Competition closes on Monday 1 July, and winner announced on Tuesday 2 July.

Ten more Libro books now available in North America

North American distributor Casemate-IPM has just released ten more of our books in their Spring-Summer 2015 catalogue.

Customers in the USA and Canada can order any of the following through Casemate-IPM:

Favourite Māori Legends   A.W. Reed

Like Them That Dream   Bronwyn Elsmore

Maori Weapons   Jeff Evans

Out on the Water   Tessa Duder

Snowy the Doganaut   Diego Albuquerque

Te Ara   Paul Tapsell & Krzysztof Pfeiffer

The Last Maopo   Tania Simpson

The New Zealand Wars   Matthew Wright

To the Gateways of Florence   Stefano Fusi (ed)  

Warrior Kids   Tim Tipene

To locate these and our other books available in North America, go to:

https://internationalpubmarket.presswarehouse.com/clients/orm/blurb.aspx

Favourite Māori Legends: book review by Gordon Crombie for the the Book Show on Radio Southland 96.4FM

Favourite Māori LegendsISBN: 978-1-877514-56-2

Like me you may have grown up listening to stories read from storybooks by your parents. Before books there were storytellers. Many cultures had storytellers; amongst them the Maori. Stories, or myths and legends, played an important role in passing on knowledge from one generation to the next. They were also a form of entertainment which has survived through the ages and across cultures.

Libro International has published a new edition of Favourite Maori Legends, a much-loved edition of legends published in 1965 by that great collector of stories and language, A.W. Reed. Favourite Maori Legends has a RRP of $29.99 which represents exceptional value for a classic collection of over 30 of the most memorable Maori legends.

Favourite Maori Legends has been updated in this new edition of A.W Reed’s 1965 classic. It is almost 50 years on since the original edition and Ross Calman has revised the legends for the more discerning modern reader. Ross is a highly respected author and editor and is justifiably proud of this new edition of a New Zealand classic, “I worked hard to preserve the flow of the original narratives, while modernising the stories and reinstating some of the Maori language from the original sources.”

Favourite Maori Legends is a soft cover. I’ve never made my mind up as to my preference – hard cover versus soft cover. But this is a beautiful edition, a book that should grace every bookcase in New Zealand. It would also make a great gift for those countless thousands of kiwis who now live overseas. The illustrations by Roger Hart are stunning, simple black and white drawings that evoke the times the legends date from. But it is the stories themselves that will draw you into this book. Some of them will be familiar; some may be new to you. But they all take me back to nights spent in the lounge listening to my parents as they read from the well-worn pages of my favourite storybooks. Reading these legends I can well imagine family gatherings huddled around a fire as a storyteller retold the legends of their people.

The stories are grouped together in 5 sections – legends of the spirit world, ghosts, taniwha, supernatural creatures, and heroes and deeds of daring. A feature of the book is the glossary, not an extensive course in te reo but an explanation of many of the words that feature in the legends. Not that you will require a knowledge of te reo to enjoy the stories, the stories paint such vivid pictures that you will be carried along with them.

 

Ross Calman

I enjoyed the foreword from the original 1965 edition. A.W. Reed concludes his foreword with the following paragraph.

The legends were famous in their day. Over the years they have to a large extent been forgotten, but they should not be lost to the present and future people of Aotearoa. As we become more conscious of the contribution that Maori culture should make to our common heritage, we believe that they will again become favourite legends.

Surely as relevant today as it was when it was written nearly 50 years ago.

Favourite Maori Legends by A.W. Reed is revised by Ross Calman in this edition published by Libro International. Favourite Maori Legends has a RRP of $29.99 and is available in all good bookstores now.

Gordon Crombie for the book show on Radio Southland 96.4FM leaving you with these words from Ross Calman.

Beyond entertainment, storytelling was an important means of transmitting history, whakapapa and other knowledge. Early missionaries were staggered at the ability of Maori to memorise and retain information, which was due to this oral tradition.

I hope you can accompany me in enjoying the stories within this volume and the window they give on to the traditional Maori world.

Favourite Māori Legends

Favourite Māori Legends

A.W. Reed, revised by Ross Calman

Māori myths and legends have an important role in transmitting and regenerating traditional knowledge. Yet with the depletion of local publishing in New Zealand, fewer and fewer of these stories are made available to new generations.

Libro International is therefore proud to be bringing back into print a new edition of Favourite Māori Legends, a much-loved edition of legends published in 1965 by that great collector of stories and language, A.W. Reed.

Leading editor and writer Ross Calman has revised the legends for a modern readership, with updated use of te reo.

“I worked hard to preserve the flow of the original narratives, while modernising the stories and reinstating some of the Māori language from the original sources,” he said.

“These stories are all highly accessible and offer unique insights into traditional Māori society.”

The book preserves the timeless illustrations of artist Roger Hart, which bring key scenes from these ancestral stories to life.

Favourite Māori Legends groups 30 of the most memorable legends into themes of the spirit world, patupaiarehe (ghosts), taniwha, supernatural creatures, and heroes and deeds of daring.

The authors: A.W. Reed (1908–1979) was one of New Zealand’s most influential writers and publishers, noted for his works on Māori language and mythology. Ross Calman (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Toa, Kāi Tahu) is a widely published author and editor, who lives in Wellington.

Release Date:  27 June 2013  | ISBN: 978-1-877514-56-2   | RRP $29.99

Paperback, 210 x 148 mm, 160 pages with illustrations

To arrange an interview, images, extracts or a review copy, contact:

Isabell Zitzelsberger  022 156 7470   isabell@oratiamedia.com

Marketing Specialist

Libro International, a division of Oratia Media

www.librointernational.com   |    www.oratiamedia.com