SIX PACKS DOMINATE THE BESTSELLERS LIST

After only being on sale for two weeks The Six Pack Two, an anthology of new NZ writing published to celebrate NZ Book Month, is the number one bestseller on the Booksellers New Zealand Bestsellers List for New Zealand Fiction.

It’s sister publication, the first Six Pack, has also returned to the list at number five. Project Director Phil Twyford says, “The Six Pack Two reaching number one on the bestsellers list so swiftly reflects the huge interest the New Zealand public has shown in NZ Book Month and New Zealand writing. The fact that last year’s Six Pack is also a bestseller again shows that these NZ Book Month anthologies are becoming collectible and they will stand the test of time.”

Booksellers New Zealand CEO Linda Henderson says, “It is fantastic to see so many New Zealanders supporting NZ Book Month by buying and reading The Six Pack Two. The book offers everyone the opportunity to sample a selection of great New Zealand fiction during this celebration of New Zealand books.” The Booksellers New Zealand Bestsellers List represents the best selling books in New Zealand for the two weeks up to the date given. 30,000 copies of The Six Pack, an anthology of new New Zealand writing have been published to celebrate NZ Book Month 2007. Booksellers around the country have reported strong sales and exceptional public interest in the book and the six winners: scriptwriter and current Writer in Residence at Victoria University Dave Armstrong; one of New Zealand’s most successful and promising writers Charlotte Grimshaw; poet, novelist and former Te Mata Estate Poet Laureate Elizabeth Smither; emerging novelist and poet Tracey Slaughter; and new authors Faith Oxenbridge and Jennifer Lane.

A NZ Book Month competition led to the selection of the six winning pieces in the anthology. The authors each received $5,000 prize money for winning. Their identities were kept secret as their entries were judged by a public online poll at http://www.nzbookmonth.co.nz/ and a panel of judges including author and literary legend Dame Fiona Kidman, presenter of TV2's 20/20 programme Miriama Kamo, journalist and media personality Finlay Macdonald, retiring Director of Auckland University Press Elizabeth Caffin, and Joan Mackenzie, Book Manager for Whitcoulls.

To ensure that it will be accessible to all New Zealanders, three complimentary copies of The Six Pack Two have been donated to every secondary school and public library in the country, and it is available from all good bookstores for only $6. Last year’s inaugural NZ Book Month Six Pack spent 14 weeks on the Bestsellers List. NZ Book Month, from 3-30 September 2007, is a month long celebration of NZ books and NZ writers which aims to get more New Zealanders reading New Zealand books and to inspire book lovers all over the country.

Visit http://www.nzbookmonth.co.nz/ to explore how NZ Book Month has something for everyone.