Time Out Books: NZ Bestsellers

For the week ending 10 April 2022

FICTION

1. Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K.Reilly (VUP)

The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards draws near, and this sparky novel, the only debut shortlisted for the $60,000 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction, continues to sell big. Josie Shapiro describes it as about ‘the particular nuance of modern romance and the dynamics of an eccentric and worldly family’. Read her full review here.

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2. Kurangaituku by Whiti Hereaka (Huia)

Hereaka is another finalist for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize. Her first novel for adults was a decade in the making. A subversive, imaginative re-framing of the myth of the monster bird woman, Kurangaituku is an audacious structural feat. Listen to the Radio New Zealand review.

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3. Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason (HarperCollins)

Longlisted for the 2021 Ockhams, this novel is currently longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction in the U.K. An exploration of inheritance, desire and forgiveness, it’s the ‘blisteringly funny’ story of tall, blonde, and brilliant Martha’ set from the mid 90s to 2017, ‘as she navigates life with an undiagnosed mental illness’ Josie Shapiro writes on Read Close.

4. A Good Winter by Gigi Fenster (Text)

A third Ockhams fiction finalist returns to the chart. Winner of the 2020 Michael Gifkins Prize for an unpublished manuscript, A Good Winter is a tense psychological thriller about women’s relationships and dangerous obsessions. ‘This unsettling portrayal of a disturbed mind is a cautionary tale about who our friends really are and who we let into our lives,’ writes Rebecca Hill in Canvas: her full review will be available here on the ANZL site on Wednesday.

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5. The Fish by Lloyd Jones (Penguin)

The follow-up to The Cage, a 2019 Ockhams finalist, is original, lyrical and provocative, and (unsurprisingly) dividing critical opinion: see Vincent O’Sullivan at the Spinoff, Paula Morris at ReadingRoom, and Cait Kneller here at the ANZL.

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NON FICTION

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1. Grand: Becoming My Mother’s Daughter by Noelle McCarthy (Penguin)

Another week at number one for an engrossing memoir that is ‘complex, thrilling and raw’ and ‘the opposite of comfort reading,’ writes Rachael King. ‘At the heart of this book is a revelation about lines of women in families, and trauma, and how it has the potential to repeat. In fiction, in myth, we’d say we are doomed to repeat it’. Read the full review on Reading Room.

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2. The Bookseller at the End of the World by Ruth Shaw (Allen & Unwin)

Ruth Shaw runs two bookshops in Manapouri in New Zealand’s far south. This winsome memoir includes book talk and stories about the people who frequent her shops, as well as adventures that include sailing and goldmining, pirates and drug addicts, and going AWOL from the military. Read an in-depth interview with Ruth at the Stuff website.

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3. The Mirror Book by Charlotte Grimshaw (Vintage)

The memoir sensation of 2021 is a General Nonfiction finalist in this year’s Ockham NZ Book Awards. A ‘fascinating portrait of not only a family, but the writing process. How we magpie material (go and make a story out of it) and what we build from it —and at whose expense?’ Read Rachael King’s full review here.

4. Shifting Grounds: Deep Histories of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland by Lucy Mackintosh (BWB)

A finalist in the Illustrated Nonfiction category at the Ockham NZ Book Awards, this is an exploration of the cultural histories of three of Auckland’s most iconic landscapes: Pukekawa (the Domain), Maungakiekie (One Tree Hill) and the Ōtuataua Stonefields at Ihumātao. Anna Rankin’s review for Metro includes photography by Haru Sameshima.

5. Toi Tu Toi Ora by Nigel Borell (Penguin)

A visual stunner featuring work by 110 Māori artists, this is the print version of the landmark contemporary Māori art exhibition at Auckland Art Gallery/Toi o Tāmaki. The editor is that show’s curator, Nigel Borell, who includes 200+ works from the 50s on. (He’s now the curator of the Wairau Māori Art Gallery in the Hundertwasser Art Centre.) Read Kennedy Warne’s account of the exhibition for e-tangata.

'One of writing’s greatest magics is to allow us – to use Kiri Piahana-Wong’s phrase – to slide outside the trap of time.' - David Taylor

Time Out Books: NZ Bestsellers

For the week ending 3 April 2022

FICTION

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1. Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K.Reilly (VUP)

One of the four fiction titles shortlisted for the $60,000 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. Josie Shapiro describes it as about ‘the particular nuance of modern romance and the dynamics of an eccentric and worldly family’. Read her full review here.

2. The Fish by Lloyd Jones (Penguin)

3. Kurangaituku by Whiti Hereaka (Huia)

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4. Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason (HarperCollins)

5. Unsheltered by Clare Moleta (Simon and Schuster)

Moleta’s debut—a road novel set in a post-apocalyptic Australia—was longlisted for this year’s Ockhams. The Sydney Morning Herald calls it ‘a droll, bleak commentary on refugee policy in Australia … [and] an absolute banger of a novel.’ Read the full review.

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NON FICTION

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1. Grand: Becoming My Mother’s Daughter by Noelle McCarthy (Penguin)

An engrossing memoir that is ‘complex, thrilling and raw’ and ‘the opposite of comfort reading,’ writes Rachael King. ‘At the heart of this book is a revelation about lines of women in families, and trauma, and how it has the potential to repeat. In fiction, in myth, we’d say we are doomed to repeat it’. Read the full review on Reading Room.

2. Shifting Grounds: Deep Histories of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland by Lucy Mackintosh (BWB)

3. Toi Tu Toi Ora by Nigel Borell (Penguin)

4. The Abundant Garden by Niva and Yotam Kay (Allen & Unwin)

Israeli-born organic gardeners Niva and Yotam Kay—of Pakaraka Permaculture on the Coromandel Peninsula—advise on maintaining a productive and regenerative vegetable garden. Hear them interviewed on Radio NZ’s Nine to Noon.

5. I Am Autistic by Chanelle Moriah (Allen & Unwin)

An interactive guide to understanding autism, for autistic people and their families, friends and workmates. Listen to Chanelle discuss the book’s kaupapa and success on Nine to Noon.

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'Novels stand outside time, with their narrative structure of beginning, middle and end. They outlast politics, which are by nature ephemeral, swift and changeable and can quickly become invisible, detectable only to the skilled eye. ' - Fiona Farrell

Time Out Books: NZ Bestsellers

For the week ending 27 March 2022

FICTION

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1. The Fish by Lloyd Jones (Penguin)

2. Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K.Reilly (VUP)

3. Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason (HarperCollins)

Last week’s number one was longlisted for the 2021 Ockham’s and is currently longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction in the U.K. An exploration of inheritance, desire and forgiveness, it’s the ‘blisteringly funny’ story of tall, blonde, and brilliant Martha’ set from the mid 90s to 2017, ‘as she navigates life with an undiagnosed mental illness’ Josie Shapiro writes on Read Close.

4. Auē by Becky Manawatu (Mākaro Press)

Another return to the charts for the winner of the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the 2020 Ockham NZ Book Awards. Auē has been New Zealand’s best-selling novel for the past two years and continues to lure new readers. Rights were sold to the US, UK and Australia this June.

5. A Good Winter by Gigi Fenster (Text)

Another Ockhams fiction finalist soars into the number two spot. Winner of the 2020 Michael Gifkins Prize for an unpublished manuscript, A Good Winter is a tense psychological thriller about women’s relationships and dangerous obsessions. Listen to the Radio New Zealand review.

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NON FICTION

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1. Toi Tu Toi Ora by Nigel Borell (Penguin)

2. Aroha by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin)

Published in 2020, this compendium of one-a-week whakatauki (proverbs) continues to strike a chord. Psychiatrist Elder (Te Aupōuri, Ngāti Kurī, Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi) discusses happiness, leadership and community. Elder talks about scientific and cultural knowledge in this interview.

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3. Rich enough? A laid-back guide for every Kiwi by Mary Holm (HarperCollins)

The NZ Herald’s astute financial columnist gives clear, sensible advice on saving, investing, paying down debt, planning for retirement—and not obsessing over getting rich. Hear her talk about ‘making the most of the money you have’ on Radio NZ.

4. NUKU: Stories of 100 Indigenous Women by Qiane (Qiane + Co)

A finalist in the Illustrated Nonfiction category in this year’s Ockham NZ Book Awards, this beautiful book combines photography and first=person testimony to showcase indigenous women making a difference in politics, healthcare, business, education, sport and the arts. Read an interview about the multi-year project with Qiane at te ao Māori News.

5. After the Tampa by Abbas Nazari (Allen and Unwin)

In 2001, Nazari was one of the hundreds of Afghan refugees rescued by the cargo ship the Tampa in the Indian Ocean. Eight years old and speaking no English when his family settled in New Zealand, Nazari became a Fulbright Scholar (and rugby player), his memoir a 2021 bestseller. See Nazari talk to Jack Tame on TVNZ about why we need to open our doors again to Afghanistan refugees.

'One of writing’s greatest magics is to allow us – to use Kiri Piahana-Wong’s phrase – to slide outside the trap of time.' - David Taylor

Time Out Books: NZ Bestsellers

For the week ending 20 March 2022

FICTION

1. Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason (HarperCollins)

This sharply observed novel, longlisted for the 2021 Ockham’s, has just been longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction in the U.K. An exploration of inheritance, desire and forgiveness, it’s the ‘blisteringly funny’ story of tall, blonde, and brilliant Martha’ set from the mid 90s to 2017, ‘as she navigates life with an undiagnosed mental illness, Josie Shapiro writes on Read Close.

2. Bug Week by Airina Beautrais (Victoria University Press)

Another return to the charts for the 2021 winner of the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the Ockham NZ Book Awards. On Reading Room Steve Braunias calls it ‘a sharp, funny, tender, shocking and precise collection of short stories which delve in and out of sexual politics in New Zealand.’

3. The Library of Unfinished Business by Patricia Bell (Cloud Ink)

A debut novel exploring the after-life in a comical and disturbing heaven for Maurice, a small-town librarian killed in a car crash, and on earth for Andy, the secret-seeking daughter he leaves behind. Lynn Freeman interviews Bell about the novel for Standing Room Only on RNZ.

4. The Bone People by Keri Hulme (Pan Macmillan)

The late Keri Hulme’s Booker-Prize winner from 1984 is a provocative landmark novel that’s never been out of print. Read Kelly Ana Morey’s farewell to Keri here and Sarah Shaffi’s examination of ‘How The Bone People changed the way we read now’ at the Booker site.

5. Entanglement by Bryan Walpert (Mākaro Press)

Walpert is a poet and literary scholar whose first novel is a finalist for the $60,000 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at this year’s Ockhams. A ‘beautiful, stylistically adventurous and deeply philosophical work, Angelique Kasmara writes in her ANZL review. ‘Walpert has a screenwriter’s eye for foreshadowing and payoff, with the three narrative strands braiding together to form a Möbius strip, seams eventually dissolving.’ Read her full review here.

NON FICTION

1. Super Model Minority by Chris Tse (Auckland University Press)

The third collection of poetry by Chris Tse soars straight to number one. A review is coming soon on this site (by Alison Wong). Hear Chris read from his new collection at the NZ Poetry Shelf site.

2. Actions and Travels by Anna Jackson (Auckland University Press)

Another new poetry release, but this one a wide-ranging discussion of how poetry works, from Ancient Rome to contemporary New Zealand. ‘You needn’t love all of the 100 poems on offer, but you will certainly find plenty to discover, enjoy or now read differently,’ writes Bryan Walpert in Canvas. Read his full review this Wednesday here on the ANZL site.

3. Rangikura by Tayi Tibble (Victoria University Press)

A finalist for the Peter and Mary Biggs Poetry Awards at this year’s Ockhams, Tibble’s second collection is bold and clear-eyed. Here ‘the personal is political,’ writes Kiri Piahana-Wong for Kete. ‘The protagonist occupies a world of clubbing, dressing up, drinking, fantasing, smoking, crashing, burning: “Casting our ships full of wish into the sky.”’

4. NUKU: Stories of 100 Indigenous Women by Qiane (Qiane + Co)

5. Imagining Decolonisation by Biance Elkington, Moana Jackson, Rebecca Kiddle, Ocean Ripeka Mercier, Mike Ross, Jennie Smeaton, Amanda Thomas (BWB)

This landmark collection of essays was first published in May 2020, and almost two years on it remains essential reading on history, tikanga, law, politics, our Pacific relationships and envisaging the future. Radio NZ discusses its success at the Booksellers’ Choice Award’ at the 2021 Aotearoa Book Industry Awards here.

'I felt energised by the freedom of 'making things up’' - Maxine Alterio

Time Out Books: NZ Bestsellers

For the week ending 13 March 2022

FICTION

1. Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K.Reilly (VUP)

Another strong week for one of the four fiction titles shortlisted for the $60,000 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. Josie Shapiro describes it as about ‘the particular nuance of modern romance and the dynamics of an eccentric and worldly family’ written with ‘biting observational humour.’ Read her full review here.

2. A Good Winter by Gigi Fenster (Text)

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3. Kurangaituki by Whiti Hereaka (Huia)

Also a finalist for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize, Hereaka’s first novel for adults was a decade in the making. A subversive, imaginative re-framing of the myth of the monster bird woman, Kurangaituki is an audacious structural feat. Listen to the Radio New Zealand review.

4. Unsheltered by Clare Moleta (Simon and Schuster)

Moleta’s debut—a road novel set in a post-apocalyptic Australia—was longlisted for the Acorn Prize. The Sydney Morning Herald calls it ‘a droll, bleak commentary on refugee policy in Australia … [and] an absolute banger of a novel.’ Read the full review.

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5. Butcherbird by Cassie Hart (Huia)

A return to the fiction chart for Hart’s debut, a novel of supernatural suspense set in Taranaki by a Kai Tāhu author and alum of Te Papa Tupu writing mentorship. The novel is ‘less horror and more slow-burn psychological thriller with a ghost in it,’ writes Alexander Stronach in the Spinoff. Read the full review.

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NONFICTION

1. Shifting Grounds: Deep Histories of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland by Lucy Mackintosh (BWB)

2.The Mirror Book by Charlotte Grimshaw (Vintage)

A return to #1 for the memoir sensation of last year, a General Nonfiction finalist in this year’s Ockham NZ Book Awards. A ‘fascinating portrait of not only a family, but the writing process. How we magpie material (go and make a story out of it) and what we build from it—and at whose expense?’ Read Rachael King’s full review here.

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3. Bloody Woman by Lana Lopesi (BWB)

Longlisted in the General Nonfiction category of the Ockhams, this essay collection traverses the personal and political, feminism and the Samoan diaspora, and goddess of war Nafanua, described by Tusiata Avia as ‘the original blood clot.’ Read a discussion of the book by Avia, Leafā Wilson and Pelenakeke Brown on the Pantograph Punch.

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4. Island Notes by Tim Higham (Cuba Press)

Subtitled ‘Finding my place on Aotea Great Barrier Island’, this book by accomplished science writer Higham is both memoir and history, as well a meditation on the island’s unique natural environment. See Sarah Ell’s review for Kete.

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5. NUKU: Stories of 100 Indigenous Women by Qiane (Qiane + Co)

Another Illustrated Nonfiction Ockhams finalist, this beautiful book combines photography and first=person testimony to showcase indigenous women making a difference in politics, healthcare, business, education, sport and the arts. Read an interview about the multi-year project with Qiane at te ao Māori News.

'One of writing’s greatest magics is to allow us – to use Kiri Piahana-Wong’s phrase – to slide outside the trap of time.' - David Taylor

The 2022 Ockhams Samplers

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The new series of digital samplers feature extracts from all 2022 finalist books for your reading enjoyment, and hopefully will entice you to go out and buy the books, or borrow them from your local library. You can view read-only versions here, or click on the covers below to download samplers.

Jann Medlicott Prize for Fiction

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..General Non-Fiction Award

……………………………….Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry

Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction

'There’s a kind of heaven that comes from hearing another writer interpret the mysteries of process' - Tracey Slaughter

Time Out Books: NZ Bestsellers

For the week ending 6 March 2022

FICTION

1. Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K.Reilly (VUP)

2. Remember Me by Charity Norman (Allen & Unwin)

Some of crime writer Norman’s previous books have been finalists in the Ngaio Awards in New Zealand and the Ned Kelly Awards in Australia. This is her seventh novel, an atmospheric and suspenseful tale of a woman who returns home to New Zealand to care for her father, and uncover the secrets he’s beginning to reveal.
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3. Kurangaituki by Whiti Hereaka (Huia)

4. The Bone People by Keri Hulme (Pan Macmillan)

The late Keri Hulme’s Booker-Prize winner from 1984 returns to the charts. Read Kelly Ana Morey’s farewell to Keri here.

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5. She’s a Killer by Kirsten McDougall (VUP)

McDougall’s third novel is a ‘lively, engaging and often hilarious satirical’ story set in a New Zealand where water is an expensive commodity, restaurants have armed guards, and ‘wealthugees’ buy up land. Read Philip Matthews’ full review here.

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NONFICTION

1. The Mirror Book by Charlotte Grimshaw (Vintage)

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2. Shifting Grounds: Deep Histories of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland by Lucy Mackintosh (BWB)

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3. The Accidental Teacher by Tim Heath (Allen & Unwin)

Heath’s memoir explores forty years of teaching in New Zealand and Samoa. ‘Heath is an anecdotalist, an accomplished teller of his own stories,’ Linda Burgess wrote in the Spinoff, describing the book as ‘supremely engaging.’

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4. Island Notes by Tim Higham (Cuba Press)

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5. Dancing with the Machine by Jo Morgan (Allen & Unwin)

Written with John McCrystal, this is the story of adventurer and avid motorcyclist Morgan. The focus is her attempt to climb all 24 of New Zealand’s 3000-metre-plus mountain peaks, with the help of guide and friend Wolfgang (nicknamed The Machine). Read an extract at Kete Books.

'I started to feel very guilty, as though I’d perpetrated a crime, a rort' - Stephanie Johnson

Time Out Books: NZ Bestsellers

For the week ending 27 February 2022

FICTION

1. Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K.Reilly (VUP)

A second week at the top spot for this stylish comic debut, longlisted for the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. The Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction is $60,000 this year, and Reilly wouldn’t be the first new writer to pull off the coup: see Becky Manawatu and Āue in 2020.

2. The Frog Prince by James Norcliffe (Penguin)

Norcliffe’s first novel for adults is a playful novel that explores the origins of a fairy tale and ‘lust and infatuation and love’ from the Grimm Brothers to contemporary Europe. Read Josie Shapiro’s full review here.
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3. In Amber’s Wake by Christine Leunens (Bateman)

This new novel from the author of Caging Skies—adapted into Taika Waititi’s film Jojo Rabbit—is set in 1980s’ Auckland, Cambridge and Antarctica, taking in the Springbok Tour, protests against nuclear testing in the Pacific, and the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior.
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4. Loop Tracks by Sue Orr (VUP)

Also longlisted for the Ockham NZ Book Awards, this novel encompasses the late 70s and contemporary lockdown Wellington. In Orr’s hands ‘the subtleties of familial and blood connections are complex, challenging and inspirational.’ Read Stephanie Johnson’s full review here.
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5. A Good Winter by Gigi Fenster (Text Publishing)

Another longlisted novel, and already a winner (of the 2020 Michael Gifkins Prize for an unpublished manuscript). A psychological thriller that explores trauma, obsession and jealousy.

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NONFICTION

1. Shifting Grounds: Deep Histories of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland by Lucy Mackintosh (BWB)

Number one for the past two months, this landmark book is onglisted in the Illustrated Nonfiction category at the Ockham NZ Book Awards. It’s an exploration of the cultural histories of three of Auckland’s most iconic landscapes: Pukekawa (the Domain), Maungakiekie (One Tree Hill) and the Ōtuataua Stonefields at Ihumātao.

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2. Bloody Woman by Lana Lopesi (BWB)

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3. Imagining Decolonisation by Biance Elkington, Moana Jackson, Rebecca Kiddle, Ocean Ripeka Mercier, Mike Ross, Jennie Smeaton, Amanda Thomas (BWB)

This landmark collection of essays was first published in May 2020, and almost two years on it’s essential reading on history, tikanga, law, politics, our Pacific relationships and envisaging the future.
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4. The Mirror Book by Charlotte Grimshaw (Vintage)

It’s unsurprising this sensational memoir is longlisted for the Ockhams (in General Nonfiction) this year. A ‘fascinating portrait of not only a family, but the writing process. How we magpie material (go and make a story out of it) and what we build from it — and at whose expense?’ Read Rachael King’s full review here.
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5. Mauri Ora: Wisdom from the Māori World by Peter Alsop and Te Rau Kupenga (Potton & Burton)

First published in 2016, this bilingual collection of whakataukī (proverbs) grouped by theme and illustrated with the work of numerous different photographers is a visual stunner that continues to appeal.

'I felt energised by the freedom of 'making things up’' - Maxine Alterio

Time Out Books: NZ Bestsellers

For the week ending 20 February 2022

FICTION

1. Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K.Reilly (VUP)

The longlists for this year’s Ockham New Zealand Book Awards were announced in late January and four of the five fiction titles on the Time Out chart this week are longlisters. This smart, comedic novel set in Auckland is one of two debuts in the fiction category—along with Clare Moleta’s Unsheltered (Simon and Schuster).
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2. She’s a Killer by Kirsten McDougall (VUP)

Longlisted 2: McDougall’s third novel, a ‘lively, engaging and often hilarious satirical’ story set in a New Zealand where water is an expensive commodity, restaurants have armed guards, and ‘wealthugees’ buy up land. Read Philip Matthews’ full review here.
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3. Auē by Becky Manawatu (Mākaro Press)

The biggest NZ fiction bestseller of 2021, according to the Nielsen charts, and winner of the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction—as well as best first book of fiction—at the 2020 Ockham NZ Book Awards.
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4. Loop Tracks by Sue Orr (VUP)

Longlisted 3: a novel that moves between the late 70s and contemporary lockdown Wellington. In Orr’s hands ‘the subtleties of familial and blood connections are complex, challenging and inspirational.’ Read Stephanie Johnson’s full review here.
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5. The Pink Jumpsuit by Emma Neale (Quentin Wilson Publishing)

Longlisted 4: the only short-story collection on the Ockhams longlist is a ‘contemplation of family fault lines and varieties of love’ with flights ‘into the fantastical and the peculiar.’ Read Josie Shapiro’s full review here.

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NONFICTION

1. Shifting Grounds: Deep Histories of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland by Lucy Mackintosh (BWB)

Longlisted in the Illustrated Nonfiction category at the Ockham NZ Book Awards, this has been a hit since its publication late last year, an exploration of the cultural histories of three of Auckland’s most iconic landscapes: Pukekawa (the Domain), Maungakiekie (One Tree Hill) and the Ōtuataua Stonefields at Ihumātao.

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2. Aroha by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin)

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3. After the Tampa by Abbas Nazari (Allen and Unwin)

4. Times Like These by Michelle Langstone (Allen and Unwin)

A debut essay collection that explores family, grief, a career in acting and life in the Covid era. ‘Langstone’s essays give the impression of someone with an enormous capacity for gratitude and wonder for the small things.’ Read Angelique Kasmara’s full review here.
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5. Your Money, Your Future by Frances Cook (Penguin)

New year, new you: this is a ‘real-life handbook to finding financial freedom on any income’. Cook is the creator of New Zealand’s leading finance podcast Cooking the Books and author of Tales from a Financial Hot Mess.

'I started to feel very guilty, as though I’d perpetrated a crime, a rort' - Stephanie Johnson

In Memory of Keri Hulme

An appreciation of Keri Hulme by Kelly Ana Morey

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1985

A New Zealand novel that had been turned down by publishers and had almost ended its days as a doorstop of ‘hubris’, before being rescued by a small feminist publishing collective called Spiral, won literature’s most ‘glittery’ prize, the Booker. Its writer, Keri Hulme, hadn’t made the journey to London for the ceremony, as she didn’t think the novel had any chance. These days I’m sure one is contractually obliged to attend if you make the top five. But it was a different time, so they just rang Keri up and told her the good news. ‘Bloody hell!’ she’s rumoured to have said. Winning the Booker didn’t change Keri’s life, after all she had spent years perfecting the one she already had, but it certainly must have enhanced it. She didn’t court the media, wasn’t a habitual attendee of literary events and festivals, nor did she follow up her writing success in a timely fashion with further publications. Instead Keri retreated to her land at Ōkārito, set her nets, lit her pipe and wrote some poems.

What little Keri did do in the public eye she always carried her Kāi Tahu, Orkney Island and English whakapapa with her into any kōrero about who she was and what informed her as a writer. She was ploughing new ground for Māori writers to come, just as JC Sturm and Hone Tūwhare had in the 50s and 60s and Witi Ihimaera and Patricia Grace had in the 70s when they too started publishing. And this is important, because each time that sharpened steel cuts into the fertile territory that is Māori land/story, it becomes a little bit easier for the next generation of Māori writers and the next. Remember, back in 1984, this is a time when you can count Māori writers publishing with mainstream publishing houses on one hand. Now we’re everywhere. It’s extraordinary and yet it isn’t. Narrative is indelibly written into our DNA.

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1996

‘Oh I love The Bone People,’ I say reaching up and sliding the novel out of a new friend’s bookshelf.

‘Have you actually read it?’ she says in amazement. It turns out her book shelf has been chosen to impress. Our nascent friendship founders on a tranquil sea of uncracked spines.

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2004

I’m booked to do a writers’ panel at the Christchurch Writers’ festival with Keri and James George. We each have a new book out – Stone Fish, Hummingbird and Grace is Gone – and a healthy collection of what Keri called ‘glittery literary prizes’ between us with Keri providing the lion’s share of the glory in that department obviously. Still, how many new writers get to read with a Booker winner? It’s a big deal for me, and I’m sure it is for James too. Only in New Zealand. We gather before our session with various publishing people from Huia for Keri and James, and Penguin for me, and our chair. Keri who had driven her van over Arthur’s Pass from the West Coast the day before, sits down, opens her bag and extracts a bottle of champagne. Maybe Veuve Clicquot but it could have been Dom Pérignon, my memory fails me at this point which is annoying because Keri took her drink very seriously and I would like to get it right. Fine French champagne at 9.30am is decadence enough, but Keri’s not done. There’s more. An ice cream container of whitebait fritters, with the faint warmth of the pan still upon them, and another that contains thin slices of fresh brown bread, buttered all the way to the edges. There’s even lemon wedges. In session Keri is shy, humble, gracious, unassuming and generous. At pains to make sure that James and I have our fair share of the stage. In this little room we all have the right to be heard.

This would be one of Keri’s last appearances at a writers’ festival and she became increasingly reluctant to do media. There was always rumoured to be something in the writing pipe line that never happened in terms of making it onto bookshop shelves which is not to say that she hasn’t left behind words for publication now that she doesn’t have to promote them. Fingers crossed.

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2022

So much has changed for Māori Literature over the close to 40 years since The Bone People was published, and we owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude to Keri for doing an awful lot of the heavy lifting for Māori writing in those difficult middle years of the 80s and 90s, simply by existing. By being a Māori woman and winning the Booker with a novel about Māori doing Māori things in Aotearoa.

Māori writers. These days we’re everywhere as I’ve already said. Publishing books, securing overseas book deals, looking fabulous in magazines, sitting on panels at writers’ festivals, having books made into films and winning prizes. Hungry for fame and those glittery prizes. Too late for Keri, though I suspect she would be grateful for that small mercy, because all she really wanted was to live her life entirely on her own terms at her beloved Ōkārito, with the sound of the surf on her doorstep, doing the things she loved; ‘committing hubris’ as she called her writing and painting, and ‘family, friends, fishing and food’.

Sculpture on Ōkārito beach. Photo credit Harley Hern.

'Character to some extent is much a construction of the reader as it is of the writer.' - Lloyd Jones