HUIA releases winter reading treats

To combat the long winter evenings, Huia Publishers have released three books of fiction by three established writers for our New Zealand readers. The three books will certainly please lovers of poetry, short fiction and novels who enjoy reading contemporary Māori works. Robert Sullivan’s Cassino: City of Martyrs/Città Martire, Tina Makereti’s Once Upon a Time in Aotearoa, and Whiti Hereaka’s The Graphologist’s Apprentice are all available in bookstores throughout the country.

For your chance to meet the writers and purchase a copy of their work, events will be held in Wellington, Kapiti and Auckland. Whiti Hereaka is an exciting new Māori writer of Tūwharetoa/Te Arawa descent, and Huia Publishers are thrilled to be publishing her first novel. Whiti’s talent for storytelling is demonstrated through her awards for a number of plays and short film scripts.
Leading playwright and novelist Renée said, ‘… the book had a grip on me and held on, there was no mercy. I had to finish it. And sometime before midnight, I did. Wonderfully enjoyable, imaginative, moving and funny. Great characters, especially January and Mae – they’ll stay with me for a long time.’
  The Graphologist’s apprentice will be launched at the Museum of Wellington City and Sea, 1 Jervois Quay, Wellington, on Thursday, 29 July at 6.00pm.

Just out of Wellington on the Kapiti Coast, Tina Makereti will be appearing at the Celebration of New Kapiti Coast Books on Saturday, 14 August at 4.00pm at Valhalla Cafe in Raumati South. Her book, Once Upon a Time in Aotearoa, explores a world where mythological characters and stories become part of everyday life. Old and new worlds coexist, cultures mingle and magic happens. Familiar characters appear, but in these versions the gods live in a contemporary world and are motivated by human concerns.

The Manawatu Standard described Tina’s book as ‘Sensual, contemporary and funny ....’, and a North & South review said ‘... this debut collection is a gem ... Tina Makereti is not just one to watch, she is one to read and enjoy now.’

Also next month, established poet Robert Sullivan will be launching his new collection of poetry, Cassino,  at Okaioceanikart Gallery, 65 Karangahape Road, Auckland, on Friday, 20 August at 6.30pm.

In this collection of poetry, Robert Sullivan seeks to recover lives, love, death and cosmology as he travels to Italy where his grandfather and so many others fought during the Second World War.