News from Awa Press

Dear editor, Every now and again a publisher is lucky enough to discover an author who is truly exceptional. I first met MaryJane Thomson, author of Sarah Vaughan is Not My Mother when one of our authors sent me her manuscript with a note: ‘I hope you will find something here – a voice.’ That night I read the manuscript in one sitting. Mental illness, especially when it affects young people, is a taboo subject in New Zealand. We seem scared to face the truth: that schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, for example, are illnesses just like any other. I urge you to read this book and recommend it to your customers. You will discover not only a talented new writer, but a brave young woman whose voice will change the way we think. As Paul Little says in the latest North & South “Thomson’s voice is distinctive…She uses it to take you inside her hallucinatory psychotic world for pages at a time so you start to experience her reality.” Yours, Mary Varnham An astonishing memoir of madness 978-1-877551-80-2     RRP$35 At 19, MaryJane Thomson seemed to have every advantage life could offer – intelligence, beauty, creative talent and a loving family. But beneath the veneer, a nightmare was unfolding. In her astonishing memoir, Thomson takes up the story eight years on, when, after a long history of drug-taking, she has been committed to Wellington Hospital’s psych ward, suffering psychotic episodes, controlled by voices in her head, and desperate to escape. This book will stay with you long after you have read the final page. To read a sample chapter, click here, and to read an interview with MaryJane Thomson, click here. Two new titles in the Ginger series 978-1-877551-85-7  RRP$26 How to Sail a Boat by Matt Vance takes you inside the mind of the sailor, from the first scary moment of handling a boat solo to the exhilaration of sailing across oceans and discovering new worlds. His stories and those of his fellow madmen will captivate sailors young and old - and if you're a landlubber you may just find yourself yearning for the blue horizon. Out in early June - order your stock now! Classical music explained 978-1-877551-00-0  RRP$26 It's the one you've been waiting for. How to Hear Classical Music will be released in September. In this much anticipated addition to the popular Ginger Series, Davinia Caddy provides a thrilling and uplifting guide to classical music that’s bound to cause waves. It will appeal to all lovers of classical music and is also perfect for people wanting to increase their knowledge and understanding of this genre of music. Can the world survive the rise of China? 978-1-877551-88-8   RRP$36 “The most important book about the environment in years, scary, riveting…” - Barbara Demick, author of Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea The horrifying pollution within China is well-known. What’s not so well-known is China’s devastating impact on the entire world’s forests, wildlife, oceans, rivers and climates - including in New Zealand. This book is gripping, easy-to-read, and unputdownable. For a Q&A with the author, click here.