New Zealand Biographies

After a childhood filled with neglect, Ruby yearned for another path. Determined not to let her upbringing limit her, she survived abuse, drugs, and tragedy to become one of the most successful women's rugby players in the world. The explosion of women's rugby on the global stage has matched the rise of Ruby's stellar career, as she has grown with...

The Art of Winning by Dan Carter is an exceptional exploration of leadership, resilience, and success through the eyes of one of rugby's most revered figures. This book offers a profound and intimate look at Carter's career with the All Blacks, one of the most successful teams in sports history. Carter doesn't just recount his achievements on the field; he...

Folly has no loftier aim than to entertain its readership and provide a publication that has longevity for New Zealand's writing community. This annual publication contains an eclectic curation of written works by New Zealand and international writers and art by some of New Zealand's best emerging artists. Folly 002 features work by writing and artwork by: Daniel Vernon, Diane...

New Zealand Maid tells the story of Esther James's unprecedented walk the length of New Zealand in 1931-32, wearing only New Zealand-made clothes and eating only New Zealand-produced food to promote local products during the Great Depression. She continued her journey from Melbourne to Brisbane in 1932-33 to publicise New Zealand tourist attractions. Every stage of her progress in New...

Dogs of all shapes and sizes visit Ruth Shaw's three wee bookshops in Manapōuri in the far south of Aotearoa New Zealand. Local dogs, holiday house dogs, travelling dogs: many have great stories, be they funny, sad, strange, bemusing, quirky or sweet. Woven throughout are tales of the very special Hunza, the dog who worked with troubled teens alongside Ruth...

Growing up behind the family façade. Brave, explosive, and thought-provoking, this is a powerful memoir from a critically acclaimed writer. 'It's material, make a story out of it,' was the mantra Charlotte Grimshaw grew up with in her famous literary family. But when her life suddenly turned upside-down, she needed to re-examine the reality of that material. The more she...

The if of death is certain. The when is unknown. It is the why that really gets people's interest... From a rare and deadly amniotic avalanche to a victim of roasted peanuts... The bestselling author of The Cause of Death and The Quick and the Dead returns with more stranger-than-fiction stories of death, disease, and murder - as well as...

Mark of the Lion: the Story of Charles Upham VC & Bar is an engrossing biography that explores the life of Charles Upham, one of the most astonishing war heroes of New Zealand. Authored by Kenneth Sandford, this monumental work delves into the extraordinary narrative of a man who displayed unparalleled bravery and strategic genius during World War II. Charles...

True stories of life and death from a New Zealand pathologist From the number-one bestselling author of The Cause of Death comes a book about the unlikely, extraordinary, obscure and often tragic ways humans meet their end.A dead body without a trace of trauma; alien parasites; worms of the brain; crocodile attacks and bizarre eating disorders ... In The Quick...

It is a dangerous thing to be a teenage girl.I never kept a diary, except for one year of my life. The year I turned fourteen. The year my parents divorced. The year I had sex for the first time. The year I learned to use the microfiche. In this unique follow-up to her memoir You Probably Think This Song...

One afternoon, journalist Hazel Phillips decided to close her laptop and head for the hills. She then spent the next three years living in mountain huts and tramping alone for days at a time, all the while holding down a full-time job. As she ranged from Arthur's Pass and the Kaimanawa Forest Park to the Ruahine Range and Fiordland, she...

Tall tales and fishing lore from Kiwi fishing personality Cliff Barnes. As he looks back over his adventurous life, Cliff Barnes muses that he must have used up eight of his nine lives while fishing along the Northland coast but, on a recount, concedes he has used up the lot. Among his many scrapes with death was the time his...

This compelling tell-all reveals the realities of working as a doctor in New Zealand. Fast-paced and darkly funny, it chronicles ten years of working in medicine - treating the victims of the Whakaari White Island eruption, being on the frontline during the pandemic, dealing with chronic understaffing - and sheds a light on where and why the health system is...

Life with New Zealand's remotest family in a follow-on from the bestselling A Life on Gorge River by Robert Long. In 2010, New Zealand met its remotest family through the writing of Robert Long—aka Beansprout—and we were intrigued. Now Beansprout's wife, Catherine Stewart, tells her story and answers many of our questions. Why did she decide to join him on...

Theophila Pratt was born Honey Faithful in Gloriavale, the fundamentalist Christian community that has been at the centre of decades of allegations of sexual and physical assault, and workplace exploitation. Raised in this isolated community, where a small contingent of men held all the power, Theo found herself questioning the hostile and controlling environment in which she lived, where women...

The much-anticipated memoir by media personality Alison Mau In my family, we never talked about the past... Since the age of twelve, Alison Mau wanted to be a journalist just like her dad. A beer-swilling, straight-talking man who was rough around the edges but could quote passages of Hamlet at will, he taught Ali everything from rabbit-hunting to throwing a...

A compassionate guide to navigating eating disorders, for those experiencing them and their loved ones, from someone who has been there. 'If you'd asked me at 10 what my plans were for the next few years, fighting an eating disorder would not have made the list.' Gen's early teenage years were the hardest of her life. Struggling with anorexia and...

From There to Here is a memoir by Joe Bennett, tracing his journey from Willingdon to Lyttelton. It is a tale about love, learning, and the transformative years leading up to thirty. Joe Bennett, well-known for his countless columns and over twenty books, finally presents this long-awaited memoir. From There to Here captures the essence of a childhood filled with...

'Shaneel is not like anyone you have ever met. An absolute must-read.' - Ruby Tui What would you do if you were told by the people you loved the most that the way you were born was evil and wrong? For Shaneel Lal, this was their reality from the time they were five. Growing up in a tiny, traditional village...

A gripping memoir by a former NZSAS commander on serving in Afghanistan over four deployments and operating at the edge of his limits. 'Frighteningly, devastatingly real.' - The Post In 2011, following the Taliban siege on Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel, an SAS soldier identified only as Serviceman J was awarded New Zealand's second highest military honour by showing outstanding gallantry in...

A deeply moving and profoundly uplifting story about living with joy, even in the face of adversity. Part memoir and part masterclass in finding hope and joy in the face of unthinkable challenges. This isn't a book about cancer, it's a book about living – Jaquie Brown The Life of Dai by Dai Henwood and Jaquie Brown tells the inspiring...

The striking debut memoir from award-winning doctor and writer, Emma Espiner. "I don't know why medicine felt like coming home but, for some reason, it fits. I keep thinking about how the tohu, once awarded, can never be taken back. There are few things in life that emphatic. Better not fuck it up." From award-winning writer Dr Emma Espiner comes...

A redemptive story about second chances. Jaye Pukepuke committed 15 armed robberies before he was caught by police and sent to prison. He tells people that while he spent almost six years inside, he served 16, because it took him another decade simply to get his life back to the starting blocks. Prison also took away his lifelong dream: to...

A South Seas classic since 1966, this is the story of one New Zealander brave enough to do what we have all now and then dreamed of doing – live alone on a desert island. In his youth, Tom Neale was an ordinary seaman and for years a shopkeeper among the Cook Islands, but he was in his fifties when...

The much anticipated follow-up to the bestseller that exposed the escalation of organised crime in New Zealand. Gangster's Paradise is about drugs, guns, gangs and money. Lots of money. A gang which took over a small rural town. A police officer shot and killed in a routine traffic stop. A port-worker who helped a gang whisk a shipping container off...

An inspiring and revealing memoir about the relentless pursuit of dreams, and the highs and lows along the way, from one of the Black Caps' finest test cricketers. All Out by Neil Wagner is a captivating account of one of the greatest bowlers ever to play test cricket for New Zealand. His unique style and passion for the game made...

In 1971, a band of young English and colonial adventurers piled into an old Bedford truck called Monty and set out from London with little money, no plan, and a hunger for something bigger than home. Over four unforgettable months, they crossed deserts and borders, jungles and cities, travelling from Morocco to Durban and learning, sometimes the hard way, what...

What lies off-track in Tongariro National Park? This engrossing book contains stories of ghosts, fires, avalanches, plane wrecks, sly grogging, secret spots, and more from around Ngauruhoe, Tongariro, and Ruapehu—a place of wild and chaotic grandeur. This well-illustrated and lively exploration of the history of Ruapehu is told by a self-confessed 'Ruapehu addict' who has an uncanny talent for persuading...

Zero to 60 and Beyond by Tony Quinn – The Unstoppable Journey of a Self-Made Businessman and Motorsport Legend “Everyone’s got to live their own life, make the most of the cards they’re dealt, and write their own story. One of the gifts I was born with was the gift of the gab,” says Tony Quinn. From humble beginnings, turning...

The definitive autobiography of one of cricket's greatest batsmen of his generation, and New Zealand's all-time leading run scorer. A generational batsman and captain, Kane Williamson sits in the pantheon of cricketing greats and in this autobiography he talks openly about events that influenced and shaped the way he approached not just cricket, but life.The former #1 ranked test batter...

MISHAP 1968 – Caught in a sudden violent storm, the Wahine ferry foundered after running aground on Barrett’s Reef, attempting to enter Wellington Harbour. Battered mercilessly by the elements, the Wahine was listing heavily to starboard when the order to abandon ship was given. The tragic events that followed became our nation’s worst modern maritime disaster. MISERY 1945 – Struck...

Straight Arrows and Fast Bullets invites you to nock an arrow or load your rifle and prepare to experience some old-school hunting tales, told by a real character who has devoted his life to hunting! From his childhood growing up in Hamilton in the 1970s, Peter Hill has been obsessed with hunting. He first mastered archery and eventually progressed to...

New Zealand's history is peppered with mysterious tales of otherworldly beings, strange sightings, inexplicable disappearances and unusual crimes. While some of these stories have been handed down through generations, many of them hail from more recent times. The one thing they all have in common is that they have all endured despite repeated attempts to solve or explain them. In...

In 2010, before Te Araroa officially opened or was widely known, Shalane Hopkins set out to walk its 3,000 km across New Zealand with a friend. Few Kiwis had attempted the trail, and the route remained rugged and untamed. The 171-day journey tested her grit, resilience, and determination as she faced relentless rain, endless beaches, bush, injuries, and even giardia....

A fascinating memoir of a New Zealand underwater cameraman, published on the 50th anniversary of New Zealand’s first marine reserve, at Goat Island.In Whales, Snails and Lobster Tales, underwater cameraman and documentary maker Andrew Penniket draws on fifty years of diving adventures across the South Seas, from witnessing the majesty of life under the Antarctic ice to being defecated on...

A paperback edition of the massive bestselling HB. Charles Upham was the most highly decorated soldier in the Commonwealth forces of WWII, and could arguably be called the bravest soldier of the war. An unassuming stock worker/ valuer at the beginning of the war, he stormed through Crete and the Western Desert amazing and confounding his comrades with his exploits....

Lemons may make lemonade, their blossoms may smell sweet, but bite beneath their raw skins and they’re impossible to eat. Such is Barbara Docherty’s memoir, Secrets and Lemons. “My father said I’d talk to anything, even a cornflake…” And indeed, Barbara strongly conveys her zest for living and adventure, her ability to connect with people, and talent for recognising opportunity...

A luscious tribute to an early New Zealand botanical artist, Groundwork is part inspired creative endeavour and part determined detective work. This long overdue book brings to light one of New Zealand's most significant botanical artists of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Just as Emily Harris's beautiful paintings occupy a liminal space between scientific botanical illustration and art, so...

Lloyd Geering is one of New Zealand's foremost thinkers, a man of clarity and vision who continues to present new and challenging ideas about the spiritual life of the culture he lives in. His life almost spans the twentieth century, and his stories of growing up in the Depression, cycling trips around the country, and a lively but impoverished student...

An award-winning journalist tells her haunting family story. Diana Wichtel was born in Vancouver. Her mother was a New Zealander, her father a Polish Jew who had jumped off a train to the Treblinka death camp and hidden from the Nazis until the end of the war. When Diana was 13, she moved to New Zealand with her mother, sister...

Brad Smeele's thrill-seeking, fast-paced life as a professional wakeboarder came to an abrupt halt when an accident caused him to become a quadriplegic. Wakeboarding is like waterskiing, but on a single board with aerial tricks added in. It's a freestyle sport for super-athletic adrenalin junkies. Brad was at the peak of his career, pushing the sport to new heights and...

Diagnosis and death; uncertainty and urgent laxatives; sleep deprivation and synthetic drawstring trousers: this debut work by Izzy Lomax-Sawyers chronicles her first year as a tired junior doctor at Auckland's Middlemore Hospital. How can Izzy be a thorough and compassionate doctor while still leaving work before 7 p.m.? How does she uphold dignity and autonomy for people whose liberty has...

Yesterday When I Was Young

Philippa's much-loved book A High Country Life sprang from her popular Instagram page, 'What's for Smoko'. Full of great stories of living through the seasons on a high country station, it contained stunning images of the beautiful landscape in which Philippa and her family live and farm. Her second book, Winter Warmers, includes more fascinating tales from past staff and...

Gripping true-life stories from a career spent inside New Zealand prisons. Inside the Wire by Rhonda Hāpi-Smith offers an insider's view into the world of New Zealand's most dangerous criminals. As a female prison officer and member of the Riot Squad, she encountered and worked alongside thieves, addicts, gangsters, murderers, and sex offenders for nearly twenty years in men's prisons...

Snow on the Lindis is Madge Snow's story of living at Morven Hills Station on the Lindis Pass. Morven Hills is one of New Zealand's famous stations, once an enormous 400,000 acres. The great stone woolshed is one of New Zealand's most recognisable farm buildings and is among the largest shearing sheds in the country with 34 stands. Madge Snow...

Sixty years ago, New Zealand's greatest adventurer, Edmund Hillary, made world history with his ascent of Mt Everest. This intimate and inspiring book tells the full story of Sir Edmund Hillary's extraordinary life, from his expeditions to remote corners of the world to his humanitarian activities serving the Sherpa people. Drawing on Sir Ed's personal archives, it is a portrait...

More cock and bull stories from New Zealand's favourite country vets. Old Dogs New Tricks brings you more laugh-out-loud and entertaining yarns from two of New Zealand's renowned veterinarians, Peter Anderson (aka the Flying Vet) and Peter Jerram (aka the Sailing Vet). With over thirty years of shared practice, they have plenty of stories to tell about the animals and...

Raising children is a challenge at the best of times—try doing it on a farm that is a three-hour drive across rivers and mountains to the nearest town, when the track is driveable at all. Remote Muzzle Station in southern Marlborough has captured the hearts and minds of generations, including Fiona Redfern and her parents before her. Fiona grew up...

'My own first memory is the cupboard door, and laughing, erupting with laughter' – a memoir about finding an identity, a voice and laughter. From the best-selling and acclaimed author Barbara Else, Laughing at the Dark is a funny, moving memoir about how she rebelled against being a 'good girl'. By the time she was in her forties, Barbara was...

The memoir of the characterful restaurateur and national treasure, Fleur Sullivan, is Fleur. A South Island legend, Fleur is the culinary maven responsible for not one but two iconic local restaurants—Olivers in Clyde and the eponymous Fleurs Place in Moeraki. Now, at the age of 72, she's running a third, The Loan and Merc, in her hometown of Oamaru. Her...

A mother and daughter's wild journey to rediscover the wonder and restorative power of nature. "I'm here because I want to test the very limits of my own resilience and reassure myself that no matter what's happened to me, I'm not ready to lie down and die." In 2021, Victoria Bruce quit her corporate job, packed up her life and...

Farmer Tim Saunders manages to incorporate some writing into his days, and here he describes his life through the seasons: Summer, shearing, slaughter, crop harvest, conservation; Autumn, floods, trading stock, drenching, dagging; Winter, maize harvest, lambing; and Spring, docking, pet sheep, weaning. It's a tough life and through his powerful, poignant writing, Tim tells of his connection to the land,...

For anyone who has dreamed of living in the country, here's the hilarious, heart-warming brutal reality. Rebecca Hayter was a high-profile yachting journalist based in Auckland when she followed a whim to buy a lifestyle block on the beach at Golden Bay at the top of the South Island – but she didn't know what she didn't know. Unexpectedly in...

One Friday evening in October 1984, a security truck pulled into the car park of the Foodtown supermarket in the Auckland suburb of Birkenhead. It had already made a few stops at other supermarkets that day, so there was plenty of cash on board. A few minutes later, as the security guards emerged from the supermarket carrying the day's takings,...

True stories of life and death from a New Zealand pathologist. From the number-one bestselling author of The Cause of Death comes a book about the unlikely, extraordinary, obscure, and often tragic ways humans meet their end. A dead body without a trace of trauma; alien parasites; worms of the brain; crocodile attacks and bizarre eating disorders... In The Quick...

This gripping biography of Air Commodore Keith 'Grid' Caldwell CBE, MC, DFC & Bar, Croix de Guerre, tells the story of his remarkable exploits during the First World War. Flying single-seat fighters against the best of the German air force, including the Red Baron's Flying Circus and airmen such as Werner Voss, Caldwell accumulated 26 victories in aerial combat. Over...

A powerful story of how one man didn't let other people define him Bariz gifts us his truth-telling, delivered with unwavering optimism.' Matt Brown, author of She Is Not Your Rehab Beautifully written. Takes us right inside a young person's life and is ultimately uplifting in the way they take control of that life.' Kathryn Ryan, RNZ Nine to Noon...

The updated edition of a travel classic. Twenty years ago, Joe Bennett hitchhiked the length and breadth of New Zealand. The result was A Land of Two Halves, a portrait of the country and its many contradictions that is as telling today as it was then. For as Joe says in his reintroduction to this classic road trip, the name...

Known and loved by her many New Zealand and Australian fans as a down-to-earth broadcaster, radio host and social media sensation, Bree Tomasel is an irrepressible force of nature. But behind the banter and success lies a young woman who has battled anxiety and survived a harrowing attack as a young child. Now, for the first time, Bree writes about...

Not knowing if your dad will live through the night is not something that any young son or daughter should ever have to endure. I experienced this nightmare more times than I care to remember. In the winter of 1969, a 14-year-old Whangarei schoolboy called Keg went to a weekend rugby tournament and came home with a sore throat. Soon...

The Baby Boomers were the first generation to unite globally through music, culture, and action, challenging both personal and political power structures. Growing up in a post-war world, yet living under the constant threat of the Cold War and the increasing horror of the Vietnam War, they became the voice of protest. They were loud, they were visible, and they...

Every copy of a Very French Affair sold on Book Hero has been personally signed by the author with a handwritten whimsical note. Secure your copy today! Whether you are contemplating your second act, a fellow Francophile, introvert or gourmande, whether you are a romantic, a clown, or just a lover of life in all its messy wonder, I dare...

The true tale of how one woman's lifelong obsession became a midlife mermaid odyssey, from the irrepressibly witty author of Tinderbox and Things I Learned at Art School. Forty, freckled and facing infertility, Megan Dunn hears the siren call that reawakens her lifelong obsession, and sets off in pursuit of mermaids. Real mermaids. From Coney Island and Copenhagen to Courtenay...

An All Black's memoir of rugby, dementia, and the hidden cost of success 'The best sports book I have read in decades' - Kevin Norquay, Stuff 'Startlingly honest' - Phil Gifford 'A brilliant read. Bold, brave and honest' - Mike Hosking, Newstalk ZB Carl Hayman, All Black #1000, once the most highly prized player in world rugby and a giant...

Folly exists because good literature should turn you on a little. Intellectually, emotionally – sometimes viscerally. We’re not here to bore you. We’re here to dazzle you, disturb you, make you snort into your coffee and send screenshots to friends with a ‘WTF’ caption. This third annual issue is culturally charged with works from emerging and established voices across Aotearoa...

The most capped All Black in history speaks for the record about his storied career, spanning four World Cups, nine Super Rugby finals and 153 appearances in the black jersey. THE NO. 1 NEW ZEALAND BESTSELLER 'A modern-day Colin Meads' - Steve Hansen 'The ultimate winner' - Scott Robertson 'A legend of the game' - Richie McCaw After making his...

Lessons from New Zealand's top entrepreneur on surviving tough times. Michael Hill believes it's possible to succeed in a downturn— in fact, it is the perfect situation in which to perfect a business. International jewellery store-chain owner Michael Hill believes the struggling economy can be a good thing for businesses and entrepreneurs. Instead of fearing the side-effects of a recession,...

Sam the Trap Man by Sam Gibson is an extraordinary exploration of a life deeply rooted in the wild, told with a narrative that is both gripping and profoundly moving. This remarkable book follows Sam’s journey from his tumultuous teenage years, where the allure of the great outdoors became his sanctuary and eventual calling, to his trial of passage as...

Gordon McLauchlan is a master storyteller adept at recognising a good yarn when he sees it. Following the success of his Great Tales from New Zealand History, his new collection leads us down uncharted country lanes and tempts us with many little-known tales from New Zealand's farming and rural past, and also explores many aspects of New Zealand and being...

In this unforgettable first book of poetry by Haro Lee, television—like love—binds us, liberates us, inspires, infuriates, and illuminates us. Watching Television in a Love Motel is a poetic chronicle of Haro’s time in Aotearoa, South Korea, and the United States of America. In four parts—‘Daytime Television’, ‘Primetime Television’, ‘Late Night Television’, and ‘Graveyard Slot’—she looks at her past, family,...

Honey, Hunz, Honey Bill, Arneta, Aunty, Whaea, Mum, Nan. From 'town bully' to multiple world champion, single mum, and pioneering TV commentator - Honey Hireme-Smiler's astounding life story is built on so many layers. With one of the most impressive resumes in New Zealand sport, Honey is a four-time World Cup winner who wore the silver fern in league, rugby,...

"If being a war correspondent can be addictive, this book might just leave you hooked. From brushes with landmines to Ukrainian hotdogs, Lisette's celebrated storytelling vividly brings to life the powerful stories behind her reports." - Mike McRoberts 'I woke up every day expecting to fall asleep in a different country. A blur of breaking news, airports, body armour, border...

The astonishing debut memoir about mothers and daughters, drinking, birth and loss, running away and homecoming from prize-winning writer and broadcaster Noelle McCarthy. "I'll be grand, girl, I've great faith." - Mammy, just before she died Funny, charismatic and generous; angry, vicious and hurt; in pub lounges all over Cork City, Noelle McCarthy's mother Carol rages against her life and...

The real Burt Munro, inventor of the world's fastest Indian motorcycle, in his own words. A fascinating collection of Burt Munro memorabilia including photos from his family album, newspaper clippings, and interviews with Burt himself, this book reveals the real Burt Munro - the man behind the movie. Roger Donaldson has been studying Burt Munro for many years. He made...

Tales of Niue Nukututaha is a collection of twelve stories, presented in both English and Niuean, set on the island of Niue. This collection showcases the author's reinterpretation of myth, legend, and storytelling from her native land. Each story is lavishly illustrated by Niuean artist Lange Taufelila.

The Making of a New Zealand Coaching Legend In the compelling narrative of Steve Hansen: The Legacy, veteran rugby writer Gregor Paul expertly chronicles the life and career of Sir Steve Hansen, one of the most revered coaches in the history of New Zealand rugby. This engrossing exploration details Hansen's journey from his modest beginnings as a policeman in Mosgiel...

Why cook at home when you can order in? Only 50 years ago, pure methamphetamine was legally prescribed in New Zealand to anyone looking for a boost. But it wasn't long before P was rebranded as the most dangerous and destructive drug in the world - and New Zealanders were cemented as among its biggest users. With dry wit and...