Book giveaway: Food Atlas (2018)

Our final giveaway to celebrate 10 years of publishing is the colourful, visually stunning Food Atlas.

Food Atlas guides young readers and adults on a gastronomic world tour, with a smattering of cultural and geographical information thrown in. Gorgeous maps by renowned illustrator Febe Sillani detail the typical foods of the world, one country at a time. 

First published in 2017 by Dalcò Edizioni of Parma, Italy, this large hardback quickly became an international hit, translated into 18 languages and selling over 150,000 copies worldwide. 

It includes pages on Australia, New Zealand, but was not available here until Oratia published it with some local variations in October 2018.

Anzac biscuits, beech honey, Bluff oysters and boil-ups are the first of the foods on the New Zealand map, while the Australia spread covers a wide range of foods, wines, flora and fauna. Click here to find out more.

Readers of all ages Down Under can savour the tastes of the world through Food Atlas: from avocados to sausage rolls and baklava to pineapple lumps. 

Visit our Fb Page to be in to win a copy of Food Atlas. Prize available to New Zealand residents only. 

Competition closes on Tuesday 6 August, and winner announced on Wednesday 7 August.

Book giveaway: I Need a New Bum! and other stories (2017)

Of all the Oratia Books, Dawn McMillan and Ross Kinnaird’s I Need a New Bum! is the one that needs the least introduction.

Since its publication in 2012, it has become a runaway bestseller not only in New Zealand but in Australia, China, the US and (following its publication there in December last year) the UK. 

In 2017, responding to ongoing demand for this hilarious picture book, we took the chance of binding it up with two previous collaborations into I Need a New Bum! and other stories.

From Doggy Doo on my Shoe

Both Seagull Sid and the naughty things his seagulls did and Doggy Doo on my Shoe share the mischievous tone of New Bum, matching Dawn’s rollicking rhymes with Ross’ zany drawings in one fun volume. 

The title page of Seagull Sid

Great as a read-aloud or read-alone book, I Need a New Bum! and other stories is itself a firm favourite with kids and adults now. 

Our partners at Dover Publications in New York picked up on it by issuing an American version of Seagull Sid this May. Click here to see more.

And there's more: I've Broken my Bum!, a sequel to I Need a New Bum!, will be arriving at selected bookstores in New Zealand this September, with the US edition I Broke my Butt! out soon after.

Visit our Fb Page to be in to win a copy of  I Need a New Bum! and other stories. Prize available to New Zealand and Australian residents only. 

Competition closes on Tuesday 30 July, and winner announced on Wednesday 31 July.

Book giveaway: The Tunnel in our Backyard (2016)

There have been many book launches during Oratia’s 10 years of publishing but to date only one has taken place underground. 

On a crisp night in June 2016, suitably attired guests joined author Malcolm Paterson and illustrator Hana Maihi to launch The Tunnel in our Backyardin a subterranean lava tunnel in the Auckland suburb of Mount Eden. 

Malcolm (second from left) and Hana (centre) with supporters at the launch

The book was the second in the Sharing our Stories series, which Malcolm and a group of emerging Auckland leaders initiated with the 2010 picture book The Castle in our Backyard to connect young readers with the heritage around them. 

The Tunnel in our Backyard follows two young cousins, Jennifer and Tui, as they discover the history around them with their whānau, and trace the footsteps of Māori and European ancestors (including the lava tunnels around Mount Albert). 

Malcolm, who belongs to Ngāti Whātua of Auckland and the Kaipara, authored a third in the series with The Taniwha in our Backyard (2018), which is based in the Kaipara region. 

He will be appearing at the Going West Writers Festival on Sunday 8 September. 

Visit our Fb Page to be in to win a copy of  The Tunnel in our Backyard. Prize available to New Zealand residents only. 

Competition closes on Tuesday 22 July, and winner announced on Wednesday 23 July.

Sir Bob Harvey charms Northern Club regulars with tales of the Waitematā’s chequered history

 

The Northern Club is not the regular stomping ground of former Labour Party president and former Waitakere City mayor Sir Bob Harvey, but he received a very warm reception from Club regulars this week at his captivating presentation on the background to his latest book, Sea Edge: Where the Waitematā Meets Auckland, published by Oratia.

The spectacular Wintergarden room with its dramatic chandeliers and sweeping views of the inner metropolis provided the perfect setting for the launch of a book that celebrates all that is great about Sir Bob’s beloved harbour city. 

Drawing on years of research, fascinating stories and a rich selection of images of the past and present, Auckland’s Champion shared his deep knowledge of the transformation of the waterfront across history with an audience that also included old friends from his Karekare Surf Lifesaving and advertising agency days, as well as past civic colleagues. 

Sea Edge's designer Cheryl Smith (left) and editor Carolyn Lagahetau (right) with Sir Bob

Carolyn and Cheryl with Oratia's sales and marketing consultant Belinda Cooke at The Northern Club

Bob ended the convivial evening by signing copies of Sea Edge, on sale thanks to John Graham, owner of several Paper Plus stores in Auckland, who was instrumental in organising the event. 

Sea Edge  |  ISBN: 978-0-947506-48-3|  RRP $75

Jacketed hardback, 300 x 300 mm, 260 pages colour

Book giveaway: Te Toi Whakairo – The Art of Maori Carving (2015)

Sir Sidney (Hirini) Moko Mead is one of the truly distinguished authors that we’ve had the privilege of working with over the ten years of Oratia Books. 

Over his long career he has been an innovator and leader across a range of academic and artistic fields, notably for his iwi of Ngāti Awa, for which he has received numerous honours including his knighthood. 

Hirini Moko Mead

From the 1950s on, Tā Hirini wrote pioneering works on Māori art forms of which he was himself an enthusiastic practitioner. Te Toi Whakairo: The Art of Maori Carving, which Oratia published in 2015, had been through various incarnations since its first publication in 1961 by A.H. & A.W. Reed “as a very humble little book”, as Hirini writes in the 2015 preface. The current edition is a comprehensively illustrated work of 276 pages.

Detailing the evolution of styles in history through to present-day forms, Te Toi Whakairo is a standard reference work for carvers as well as all those who appreciate Māori carving, and Oratia is committed to keeping it in print. Click here for more information.

Next month will see new life given to another of Hirini’s standard works on Māori art, with the publication on 15 August of Te Whatu Tāniko — Tāniko Weaving: Technique and Tradition, in a fully redesigned and expanded edition

Te Whatu Tāniko will be published in August

Visit our Fb Page  to be in to win a copy of Te Toi Whakairo: The Art of Maori Carving. Prize available to New Zealand residents only. 

Competition closes on Monday 15 July, and winner announced on Tuesday 16 July.

First two books announce the arrival of non-fiction series for young adults

Volcanoes and Earthquakes– Gordon Ell and Sarah Ell

Pioneer Women– edited by Sarah Ell

Recognising the need among readers from intermediate school up for attractive non-fiction books relating to their own experience, Oratia Books is today publishing the first of The NZ Series — a snappily designed and fact-packed collection on New Zealand society, history and geography.

The first two books in the series respectively plumb the mysteries of New Zealand’s earth movements and relate the history of early European settlers with easy-to-understand text accompanied by numerous photos, explanatory diagrams and ‘Fact File’ boxes. 

Volcanoes and Earthquakes investigates the causes and history of seismic activity in Aotearoa, taking in the Christchurch and Kaikoura earthquakes and recent volcanic activity. Historical and contemporary photos and colour diagrams bring the whole field to life!

Pioneer Women presents extracts from diaries and letters by women who emigrated to New Zealand from Europe in the nineteenth century. These tales of hardship and happiness are accompanied by portraits , newspaper clippings, and markers like the Women’s Suffrage Petition.

With two books a year planned for 2020 and beyond, The NZ Series promises readers a broad range of rich, visually stimulating introductions to what makes New Zealand unique.  

The authors

Gordon Ell is a writer and publisher with a life-long interest in our natural and human heritage. He has written more than 30 books for adults and children. His daughter, Sarah Ell, is an editor, and journalist, who has written ten books, and inherited her father’s love of New Zealand history and the environment.

Publication: 9 July 2019  |  RRP $29.99 each

ISBNs: Pioneer Women 978-0-947506-59-9  | Volcanoes and Earthquakes 978-0-947506-60-5

Paperback, 240 x 160 mm, 100 pages colour

Book giveaway: Gallipoli (2014)

First published in 1984, Christopher Pugsley’s debut book brilliantly captured New Zealand’s involvement in the 1915 campaign to wrest the Dardanelles from Turkish control. Established as the definitive history of this critical episode in the First World War, it went through three further editions before going out of print.

The impending anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign and the availability of new information and photos made a fifth edition a must. For Oratia, Christopher fully revised the text and brought in new content linked to his work as historical director on the seminal  Gallipoli: The Scale of our War at Te Papa, Wellington.

Published in October 2014 in a co-edition with leading British military publisher Pen & Sword, Gallipoli: The New Zealand Story was enthusiastically received by readers worldwide. It has since reprinted several times.

What sets this history apart is Chris’ ability to tell the story through the eyes of those who were there, drawing not only on letters and diaries but also his experience as a career soldier. It’s a remarkable balance of practical and scholarly history that he has carried on in further books for Oratia, most recently last year’s Le Quesnoy 1918.

Visit our Fb Page  to be in to win a copy of Gallipoli: The New Zealand Story! Prize available to New Zealand residents only. 

Competition closes on Monday 8 July, and winner announced on Tuesday 9 July.

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.

Bob Harvey's monumental Sea Edge is published today

A deluxe hardback with stunning art and photos, and dazzling text, Sea Edge: Where the Waitematā Meets Auckland is the culmination of  years of intensive research into the history and photo archives of Auckland’s magnificent Waitematā Harbour by author and civic leader Sir Bob Harvey. 

As Bob portrays in Sea Edge, Auckland is a glorious maritime city of character and charm. What happens at the sea edge — the beaches and ports and fringes of the Waitematā Harbour — defines the city’s past and present. 

Since the first Polynesian voyagers made landfall in their double-hulled sailing canoes, new arrivals have continually rediscovered and redefined the harbour and Hauraki Gulf beyond. Waitematā, ‘sparkling waters’, originated as a name from a rock off Kauri Point. 

Settlers from Britain and other parts of Europe navigated into the Waitematā to create the ‘City of Sails’.

Sea Edge: Where the Waitematā Meets Auckland is a collection of old and new stories, vignettes of the past and visions of the future, accompanied by many unpublished photographs and illustrations. 

The power of the narrative is the transformation of the Auckland Waterfront across history — including the enormous task of reclamation, building the port, and developing commerce and culture. 

Sea Edge is organised into four parts: 

·      The Beginning: from Māori on the Waitematā and Governor Hobson through to Shed 10, the Auckland Ferry Building and Henry Winkelmann

·      The Inner Harbour: America’s Cup and yachting heroes, Sanfords and fishing, on to today’s developments including the new Park Hyatt and GridAKL

·      The Working Waterfront: work including scows, the Devonport Naval Base, the Great White Fleet, waterfront strikes, SkyPath and Wynyard Point

-->  The Future of the Waitematā: plans and dreams for a sustainable waterfront. 

Sir Bob Harvey has drawn on his lifetime’s connection to the harbour and his civic leadership in planning its future, and dedicated recent years to researching the stories of the Sea Edge. It tells an inspiring story.

‘This book takes you on Auckland’s journey of growth and discovery that started at our foreshore. It honours those who came, lived and worked on the sea edge and I hope you enjoy it as I have.’

—Mayor Phil Goff, from his Foreword 

Sir Bob Harvey was born and brought up close to Auckland’s waterfront, and has made the city and the sea a big part of his life. He served as Mayor of Waitakere City from 1992 to 2010 and later as Chair of Waterfront Auckland. Bob is the author of numerous books including the bestselling Untamed Coast. He was knighted in 2013 for services to local body affairs and the community.

Publication: 19 June 2019  |  ISBN: 978-0-947506-48-3|  RRP $75

Jacketed hardback, 300 x 300 mm, 260 pages colour

Book giveaway: New Zealand Tattoo (2012)

New Zealand Tattoo was one of Oratia’s first really big books, launched in October 2012 at Real Groovy in Auckland and showcased at the Frankfurt Book Fair, where New Zealand was guest of honour that year.

With photographer Chris Hoult we conceived of a book that, like many works in the field, showcased tattoo design — but unlike most, looked at it from the tattooists’ perspective. Chris joined journalist Steve Forbes to interview and photograph tattoo artists in their studios, creating an extended photo essay about the art as it was in late 2011/early 2012.

With its large (330 x 250 mm) hardback format and rich colour reproduction, New Zealand Tattoo — in the home of the tattooist’s art gave air to the works and words of tattooists representing the three main strands of ta moko (Māori tattoo), tatau (Pasifika tattoo) and European traditions. Steve contributed a concise history of the art form as well. The book has stood the test of the intervening years and remains a collectors’ item for followers of tattoo here and overseas. 

To be in to win a copy of New Zealand Tattoo go to our Fb Page 

Prize available to New Zealand residents only. 

Competition closes on Monday 24 June, and winner announced on Tuesday 25 June.

Special book giveaway! To the Gateways of Florence: New Zealand Forces in Tuscany, 1944 (2011)

Italy is in the blood at Oratia. Our media director Alessandra Zecchini is Italian and we volunteer and work closely with the Dante Alighieri Society in Auckland. The name for our first book imprint, Libro International, derived from the Italian word for book.  

So after Florence city councillor Stefano Fusi and his Kiwi wife Jill Gabriel hosted Alessandra, Peter and kids at Liberation Day commemorations in Tuscany in 2010 (on 25 April, the same day as Anzac Day), we knew we must publish an English edition of their fine book about how New Zealand troops helped liberate this part of Italy from German occupation during the Second World War.

To the Gateways of Florence: New Zealand Forces in Tuscany, 1944 follows the structure and layout of the original book I Giorni della Liberazione, first published by Editore NTE, edited by Stefano and translated by Jill. It collects writing by Italian and New Zealand historians, the latter represented by Christopher Pugsley, Monty Soutar and Jeffrey Plowman.

 Stefano, Jill and family visited New Zealand along with regional mayor Sestilio Dirindelli and his wife in September 2011. Together we launched the book in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland at some memorable gatherings of old soldiers, the Italian community and supporters.

We’re down to some of the last copies of this book, so get in now to secure yours.

Enter on our Fb Page to be in to win a copy of To the Gateways of Florence. Prize available to New Zealand residents only. 

Competition closes on Monday 17 June, and winner announced on Tuesday 18 June.