News from Te Papa Press

The Fishes of New Zealand wins prestigious international award

The landmark publication The Fishes of New Zealand has been awarded the 2016 Whitley Medal for outstanding publication in Australasian zoology by The Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales. The medal is regarded as Australia’s highest award for zoological publishing and this is the first time it has been won by a New Zealand publication. Written and edited by Te Papa’s fish team of Clive Roberts, Andrew Stewart and Carl Struthers, the four-volume book is the culmination of decades of collecting and research by the three Te Papa-based scientists, in collaboration with more than forty specialists worldwide. Clive Roberts says that receiving the Whitley Medal was a great honour for the scientific editors, forty-four authors, editorial team, Te Papa Press, Te Papa and collaborative partner NIWA. “We all worked very hard to produce a comprehensive, detailed and practical guide for the benefit of New Zealand, Australia, and the international science community.” The Fishes of New Zealand identifies many newly discovered fish species, including more than 140 that are new to New Zealand. The book was praised by the awards panel for delivering something new. “In order to be awarded the Whitley Medal, publications need to break into areas that haven’t been explored before. The Fishes of New Zealand has done this. This is a truly remarkable collection of books,” says Zoological Society councillor Arthur White. Read more. The Fishes of New Zealand is available for purchase online from the Te Papa Press store. Read more.

Damian Skinner explores deeper issues

The Māori Meeting House is receiving strong media interest. It has featured on Māori Television’s online news site, Booksellers New Zealand and Scoop. Read reviews of The Māori Meeting House on Beattie’s Book Blog, and listen to interviews with Damian Skinner on Radio Waatea and RNZ’s Standing Room Only show. The Māori Meeting House also continues to contribute to New Zealand’s contemporary discussions about the whare whakairo, and the wider relationship between these magnificent taonga and traditional art history narratives. “It’s an introduction to Māori meeting houses but it is also an introduction to the complex history of Māori and Pakeha interactions,” says Damian Skinner in an interview featured in the The Gisborne Herald. Read the full interview here.