New Zealand Book Month 2006

New Zealand Book Month is a national celebration of New Zealand books. It’s a great opportunity to visit the library and check out a New Zealand writer you are not familiar with. The library has plenty of resources online to give you suggestions.

To give some idea of the scope of writing in New Zealand today read librarian Robyn Stewart’s review of the 2006 Press Christchurch Writers’ Festival. Robyn has also compiled an alternative list of New Zealand writing called Not the Top 10 to pique your interest in New Zealand books.

Another good starting point is our Aotearoa New Zealand Centre where you can gain some idea of the scope of New Zealand publishing from the historic to the contemporary across all subjects.

Library resources about New Zealand Authors

Children’s Authors
Our children’s librarians have compiled extensive interviews with a who’s who of children’s writers in this country and short stories from well known writers are published on our website at New Zealand Children's Authors Interviews & Stories

Book Awards

The libraries’ website lists the winners of some key New Zealand book awards which include:

Montana New Zealand Book Awards: annual awards for the best New Zealand writing fiction, non fiction and poetry (until 2009).
An earlier New Zealand award (until 1993) was the Wattie Book Award

Books Childrens’ book awards include:

New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults and before that AIM Children's Book Awards. Other New Zealand awards for writing for children are listed on the Awards page.

Booklists

Māori writers

Using our Catalogue

Explore our catalogue using the Browse Catalogue function and enter New Zealand Fiction or New Zealand History to get some idea of the scope of our resources.

A selection of subject searches:

Some good sites to find news and reviews of New Zealand books

Christchurch City Libraries Blog: "Our mission is to keep you in touch withour world, sharing views, opinions and ideas on reading, listening and watching. Our world is the world of information, so our team spend their working (and private) lives exploring books, movies, magazines, music, the web and more."
Beattie's Book Blog: Graham Beattie, former leading New Zealand publisher and bookseller, and widely experienced judge of both the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the Montana New Zealand Book Awards, talks about what he is currently reading, what impresses him and what doesn't. His information on the New Zealand and international English language book scene is essential reading.
New Zealand Book Council: The Council is a not-for-profit organisation that presents a wide range of programmes promoting a love of books and reading
Booksellers New Zealand: Organisation representing the New Zealand book trade. Their site has bestseller lists for New Zealand fiction and non fiction.