Even in this day and age, there’s still something special about the feel of a book in your hands.  

Digital options have helped revolutionise the sector - and have also been celebrated at the weekend’s Aotearoa New Zealand Book Industry Awards, with 14 awards handed out. It wasn’t that long ago that many thought that the days of physically selling books would be a thing of the past by now.

So perhaps the most sentimental of all the gongs on the night saw the Martinborough Books & Post win Bookshop of the Year for all round excellence and successfully diversifying its store offering to secure its future. It’s not an easy road to hoe - but it’s one that can still play an important role in the community.

Owner/manager Brenda Channer made the trek up to Auckland to accept the accolade. She told The Lowdown “On the night, I felt humbled to receive the award in a room of a hundred plus of my peers in the bookselling industry.  

"That quickly turned to absolute delight at the validation of the hard work of the past three years developing The Martinborough Books & Post into the bookshop and NZ Post agency it is today.  It is an honour for me and a great way to turn the spotlight on Martinborough - come for the bookshop and stay for the wine!

“I do what I do to put books into as many hands as I can.  To introduce people to the wonder, magic of reading.  To create the revenue that drives the publishing industry. To be the bridge between authors and their audience.  To facilitate the development of thought, progress, ideas and debate.  To bring whole worlds, real and imagined into my community so they may in turn imagine how the world could be, should be and would be if only more people were reading!”

 The judges noted “Martinborough Books & Post is an exceptional provincial bookstore, skilfully curating a selection of books and services to a vast community. Its inclusion of a mixed revenue stream, with postal integration, has created a more resilient business model to weather future change and its rebranding has cemented its position in the local market.”

As mentioned, the virtual experience is of huge importance to the industry as well. Mandy Myles of Bookety Book Books - an online indie bookshop that works on a subscription basis -  has won the Bookselling Trailblazer of the year title.

Myles told The Lowdown “Crossing over from the fashion industry into bookselling and launching an online bookstore out of nowhere was - in hindsight - wildly brazen and more than a little naive. So to be recognised within the industry and in a room filled with the very people whose beautiful books and stores inspired me, I felt genuinely blown away. It’s a huge honour.

“What I do matters because reading matters. And it matters because we know it has a huge impact on people's lives, it strengthens their ability to empathise, it creates better mental health outcomes, and creates conversation and connection. And I think we all know we could use more of all these things right now. I’m simply here to inspire people to be part of that, and to help get good books into their hands.”

Judges praised her initiative, smart thinking and sheer hard work. “Mandy has made some bold business decisions that have paid off. She has consciously, and self-reflectively, learned to work smarter not harder as a crucial lesson for long-term success. She has skilfully procured sponsorship and strategically beneficial partnerships, and her marketing and programming skills are among the best in the industry.”

Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand (BSANZ) association manager Renee Rowland states “Booksellers, like most retailers, are impacted by the incredibly challenging retail environment across the motu. 

“To survive, let alone thrive in this environment requires hard work, innovation and a lot of creativity.”

On the other side of the sector, HarperCollins Aotearoa New Zealand was named Publisher of the year, commended for its shift to a New Zealand-based managing editor and cultural commitment - as shown with Ockham 2025 General Non-Fiction Award winner Hine Toa: A story of bravery by Ngāhuia te Awekotuku.

The Publishing Trailblazer of the Year Award went to Jasmine Sargent (Ngāti Porou), editor at Te Herenga Waka University Press, with judges noting “In the six years of her role as editor, Jasmine has demonstrated incredible tenacity and an ambition to give more. She has carved out an important cultural role, providing a safe harbour, and caring for her authors – many of whom gave her their deep thanks.

“She has made a real impact as a Māori editor of Māori writing.”

The Bookstore Detectives: Dead Girl Gone, written by and loosely based on the lives of actual bookstore owners Louise Ward and Gareth Ward of Wardini Books in Hawke’s Bay, won both the Booksellers’ Choice Adult Award and the Marketing and Publicity Strategy of the Year Award, through Penguin Random House New Zealand.

Rachael King’s The Grimmelings claimed the Booksellers Choice Children’s Book Award, while Return to Blood by Michael Bennett - narrated by Miriama McDowell - was pronounced Audiobook of the Year.

Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ) director Courtney Sina-Meredith commends the determination and innovation shown by each of this year’s recipients.

“These award winners are among the very many significant achievers in an industry that understands what it takes to publish, sell and promote winning books.

‘By listening to the market, and nurturing this country’s diverse writing talent, we continue to build a thriving Aotearoa New Zealand literature.”

There was also a nod to those who have helped carry the sector to its current standing - with long-time publishing house leader Karen Ferns honoured with the PANZ Lifetime Achievement Award, and the trio of Bruce McKenzie (Bruce McKenzie Books in Palmerston North), Jo McColl (co-Founder of Unity Books) and Tony Moores (Poppies Howick) have received BSANZ Lifetime Achievement Awards.

Cover up

A big part of the process in selling books comes down to how it’s presented - and those who help bring words to life are being celebrated as well, with the finalists named for the 2025 PANZ Book Design Awards.

A shortlist of 112 entries has been whittled down to 43 nods for the awards night - with several creatives in the running for multiple awards.

Four of last year’s winners are back in contention this year. Katie Kerr received the Best Non-Illustrated book of the year in 2024 and is in the running for the same award with Slender Volumes (by Richard von Sturmer). She’s also a finalist for Best Illustrated Book, Best Cover and Best Typography with Sight Lines: Women and Art in Aotearoa (by Kirsty Baker).

Vida Kelly’s also a regular name at these Awards - having been crowned best overall book design in 2019 and winning Best Children’s Book last year.  In 2025, She’s up for Best Children’s Book again with A Lot of Silly (by Joy Cowley & David Barrow) and the Best Education Book or Series — Primary for My Matariki Colouring and Activity Book (by Rangi Matamua, Miriama Kamo & Isobel Joy Te Aho-White - who is also credited for the interior design of the book with Kelly).

Katrina Duncan - who was involved in books that won four categories last year including Best Book - is this time a finalist in Best Cookbook with Christall Lowe, who is also the author of Kai Feast: Food Stories & Recipes from the Maunga to the Moana. 

Last year’s winner of the Best Commercial Book for Adults, Carla Sy, is looking to go back-to-back in the category with Wild Walks Aotearoa: A Guide to Tramping in New Zealand (by Hannah-Rose Watt)

Kerr is one of three designers have the same book in in three categories - which might just be a signal it is in contention for the coveted best overall book prize.

Duncan Munro’s efforts on worm, root, wort... & bane (by Ann Shelton) also has him in the running for the Best Illustrated Book, Cover and Typography trifecta, as well as for Best Non-Illustrated Book - a category he won in 2022 - with In the Half Light of a Dying Day by C.K. Stead).  

Seachange Studio’s collaboration with Wellington chef Theo Papouis to design Oikos — An Ode to Food, Family & Friends has been rewarded with nominations for Best Cookbook, Cover and Typography.

Kate Barraclough is up for three different categories through four books - Best Non-Illustrated Book with Nathanael Classen for Grid: The life and times of First World War fighter ace Keith Caldwell (by Adam Claasen), competing against herself in the Best Children’s Book section with both The Beach Activity Book: 99 Ideas for Activities by the Water around Aotearoa New Zealand (by Rachel Haydon & Pippa Keel Situ - who also provided illustrations) and Five Wee Pūteketeke (by Nicola Toki & Jo Pearson), as well as Best Commercial Book for Adults via 101 Ways to Find Calm: How to Use Your Body to Soothe Your Mind (by Rebekah Ballagh, who also illustrated in the book).

It’s a feat mirrored by Cat Taylor - a two-shot Best Children’s Book contender with Nanny Rina's Amazing Nets/Ngā Kupenga a Nanny Rina (by Qiane Matata-Sipu & Isobel Joy Te Aho-White) and The Witch of Maketu and the Bleating Lambs (by Anika Moa & Rebecca ter Borg), not to mention Best Cookbook with That Green Olive (by Olivia Moore) and Best Commercial Book for Adults for At The Grand Glacier Hotel (by Laurence Fearnley).

Megan van Staden’s cover design skills are reflected across three books - with Piki te Ora: Your Wellbeing Journal (by Hira Nathan and Jessie Eyre with illustrations by Huriana Kopeke-Te Aho) a Best Children’s Book finalist and two finalist nods in Best Commercial Book for Adults through Feijoa (by Kate Evans - interior design by Ruby Watson) and Amma (by Saraid de Silva). The latter is one of two books Simon Paterson Bookhouse did the interior design for in this category, along with All That We Know (by Shilo Kino - cover design by Rachel Clark).

Arch and Jane MacDonnell’s mahi on Japan: An Autobiography (by Peter Shaw) sees them both Best Non-Illustrated Book and Typography finalists, while Sarah Elworthy designed both Best Education Book or Series — Primary finalist Kiwi Bees Have Tiny Knees: Native Bees of Aotearoa New Zealand (by Rachel Weston) and Best Cover contender Old Black Cloud: A cultural history of mental depression in Aotearoa New Zealand (by Jacqueline Leckie).

Convenor of the judging panel, artist and Unity Books Auckland manager Chloe Blades notes a more sombre, muted colour palette across this year’s entries as opposed to last year’s neon and bold colour domination - while also pointing out that open spine binding was another recurring feature suggesting a shift in the traditional format as a future looms where books could be regurgitated and thoughtlessly designed by AI.

“From my perspective, seeing what’s coming in to the bookshop, New Zealand is pushing the boundaries and challenging what a book is and can be and AI has nothing on our designers.”

The Awards will be announced at a ceremony on 18 September.

11th heaven

Popular Tāmaki Makaurau event Kōanga Festival has unleashed its hōtaka (programme) for 2025 - its 11th year.

The 12-21 September showcase of Māori performing arts has many of the usual crowd favourites like its Whānau Day (13 September) and the Kōanga Playwrights Programme (19-20 September) - an opportunity for emerging Māori playwrights to present their new works following three months of creative development.

“Kōanga Festival 2025 shares the talents of excellent Māori performing arts makers, and nurtures new stories for the stage, with a focus on crucial voices at crucial times; futuristic thinking, urban Māori stories and electrifying performances,” explains Amber Curreen, the Festival’s Artistic Director.

This year’s selected emerging playwrights are Leigh Minarapa (Ngāti Rangitihi) with Te Koha, Lila Māhina Black (Ngāti Raukawa) with Strange Signals: Aliens in Aotearoa, Zody Takurua (Ngā Rauru) with WHŌRE, and Ngahiriwa Rauhina (Ngāti Whakaue, Tuhourangi ki Wahiao, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Raukawa) presenting the only te reo Māori work within the Kōanga Playwrights Programme, Te Tau E’.
 
“It's the first time we’ve had so many works dealing directly with Māori futurism and critical contemporary kaupapa.” Curreen adds. “At this time when there’s so much disruption in the world, our artists will do what they do best and come together to imagine new pathways forward.”

Award-winning performer and writer Brady Peeti has been given the honour of being Kōanga’s headline show with What Happened To Mary-Anne? - described as a high-energy rock show through love, identity, and memory

Atamira Dance Company will use the festival to show the work of choreographic residents Rachel Ruckstuhl-Mann (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Rangitāne) and Samara Reweti (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Uenukukopako). 

“Kōanga is a time for nurturing fresh, new narratives, and Kia Pohewatia embodies this by providing a platform for Māori choreographers Rachel Ruckstuhl-Mann and Samara Reweti to dream, experiment, and share early-stage works that invite audiences into their evolving creative journeys. It will be exciting to witness these unfolding new offerings as they are shared with the public.” says Bianca Hyslop (Te Arawa, Ngāti Whakaue-kaipapa, Tūhourangi-Ngāti Wāhiao, Pākehā), Artistic Director of Atamira Dance Company.

Capital idea

Wellington's first dedicated Pasifika arts residency programme has its inaugural recipients.

Wellington City Council, through Toi Pōneke Arts Centre, is partnering with acclaimed theatre and film company THE CONCH to launch the three-month Pasifika Residency, offering a professionally supported platform for emerging Pasifika creatives to develop bold new works rooted in Te Moananui-a-Kiwa. 

The programme is grounded in a Tuakana–Teina model, pairing mentorship with production development, and will culminate in a public presentation. The first two to experience this new offering will be Tamia Filipo and Kasi Valu.

Filipo, a Tokelauan and Tuvaluan multidisciplinary artist based in Pōneke, has represented Aotearoa in International hip-hop competitions (more on that later), earning gold and silver medals. She has evolved her practice to become a choreographer, producer, and collaborator across live, theatre, and digital works shown at the likes of the Pacific Dance Festival and Kia Mau Festival.

Toi Whakaari graduate Valu (Lapaha and Ma’ufanga, Tonga) is an emerging producer who is passionate about supporting Indigenous artists. Valu’s kaupapa is grounded in relational practice - prioritising process over product, and nurturing artists with empathy, understanding, and strategic care. 

Valu and Filipo have partnered together over the past five years, and they aim to foster emerging arts ecosystems through workshops, funding education, and advocacy. The pair will receive access to rehearsal space, professional mentoring, and a creative stipend. The programme is designed to support artists at critical stages of their careers, strengthening their voice, presence, and long-term sustainability in the arts sector.

“This initiative is about building pathways for our people,” says Nina Nawalowalo, Director of THE CONCH. “It’s a legacy-focused model that invests in the next generation of Pasifika storytellers and cultural leaders. 

"This generation is the future.”

Pacific legend honoured

The Lifetime Achievement recipient for next month’s Pacific Music Awards has been revealed - with the talented Opetaia Foa’i to be honoured at Due Drop Events Centre in Manukau.

Regarded as one of the South Pacific’s most influential cultural and musical ambassadors, Foa’i has spent over three decades championing the stories, languages, and rhythms of the Pacific. 

He’s built a reputation as the frontman and founder of renowned Polynesian band Te Vaka, and as a key songwriter for Disney’s Moana and Moana 2 - helping bring the sounds of the Pacific to global audiences and the worldwide charts.

He can count multiple Pacific Music Awards, New Zealand Music Awards, and international honours including American Music Awards and Billboard Music Awards on his long list of accolades. 

Born into the small Samoan village of Alamagoto - with his parents from Tokelau and Tuvalu - Foa’i has a broad appreciation for the musical heartbeat of the Pacific.

Foa’i shares “It has been a long but fulfilling journey so far taking our Pacific music to the world. In my work, I have found great strength in using our Pacific languages and it’s great to see the Pacific Music Awards continuing to uplift and encourage artists to use our languages in their music. 

“I hope the younger generations continue to proudly carry the torch for our rich culture.”  

Signature sell-out

It’s the fitting sign off for Signature Choir in what’s been a tour of a lifetime.

The 50-strong Wellington-based group is back in their home town to perform their hit show Mana Moana in two sold-out shows with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra at the Michael Fowler Centre (24-25 July) - conducted by Brent Stewart and hosted by actor/comedian Tofiga Fepulea’i of Laughing Samoans fame.

The choir is made up of a mix of experience - ranging from seasoned artists to community members, bringing their energetic combination of choral and Pasifika music to the stage. Following 2022’s debut in Wellington and a hit performance with the NZSO in Auckland in 2023, Mana Moana has reached new heights this year and are coming off their international debut with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra last month.

Jadrah Tupai, Co-Director Signature Choir told The Lowdown “The Mana Moana tour has honestly been the ride of a lifetime. From a sold-out Spark Arena to back-to-back sell-out shows at the Sydney Opera House, it’s been so fulfilling seeing the impact and the excitement that surrounds the show.

“Finishing the tour at home to two more sold out shows is a dream ending. This is where it all started for us - with our families, our communities, and the people who’ve been in our corner from day one. 

"To bring it all back here, to close the season surrounded by our own, is the best full-circle moment for us - and we are excited to put on the show of our lives.”

Lighting the path

Helping guide the way for future symphony stars is a crucial step in allowing such collaborations to take shape - and the future is looking bright.

Auckland Philharmonia's new Orchestral Winter School for Tāmaki Makaurau’s secondary school orchestral instrumentalists took place last week at the University of Auckland School of Music. The free programme gave the talented young musicians a unique opportunity to experience tertiary-level training from professional musicians and explore potential educational pathways. 

Led by Assistant Conductor-in-Residence Reuben Brown, the Year 11-13 musicians that took part received one-to-one instruction from Auckland Phil musicians and took part in sectionals and tutti rehearsals. University of Auckland music faculty staff also gave short talks to the students about what life is like studying music. 

The hope is for many of these 22 students to see a career for themselves in orchestral music and choose to pursue it post high-school.

Student Dylan Wilcox felt that the Orchestral Winter School gave him "insight into what it would be like to both study music as a degree and what it is to be a professional musician. It was great as well to meet and connect with the Auckland Philharmonia staff, who gave great advice and help in all aspects of the programme."

Thomas Hamill, Auckland Philharmonia’s Senior Director of Strategy & Engagement states “It’s at this later stage in their schooling that many students will be considering their pathway to tertiary study and a career in music, so this support enables us to offer an invaluable stepping stone for these promising young musicians to pursue their future dreams and aspirations."

The Orchestral Winter School was offered as part of Auckland Philharmonia’s Learn & Participate programme, which aims to give Aucklanders greater access opportunities and experiences that inspire a connection with orchestral music. 

Moments that matter

Some of the best photos gathered from around the planet are about to arrive in Auckland - and there’s a New Zealand influence among them.

The internationally acclaimed World Press Photo Exhibition (26 Joy - 24 August) highlights the stunning - and often pivotal - work done in the realm of photojournalism and documentary photography from around the globe, tackling issues from politics, gender, migration, to conflict and the climate crisis. 

There have only been a handful of winning photographers making the cut from Aotearoa over the 70 years the contest has been running, and NZ is represented this month by Nelson-based ‘snapper’ Tatsiana Chypsana, who took out the Asia-Pacific and Oceania - Long-Term Project with her series Te Urewera – The Living Ancestor of Tūhoe People. 

Chypsanava - originally from Belarus - told The Lowdown “With the World Press Photo Exhibition being held here in Aotearoa, it is especially meaningful to have the Tūhoe story exhibited alongside the world’s most important photojournalism, showing that what happens in Te Urewera matters on the global stage as well.

“Winning the World Press Photo Contest gives me the opportunity to share this story internationally, with the exhibition touring over 40 countries and more than 60 cities worldwide, bringing greater awareness and understanding beyond Aotearoa. This win is especially for the Tūhoe whānau who trusted me to tell their story.” 

There’s another Kiwi connection - for the first time ever, a New Zealander was appointed to the judging panel for the awards that led to the exhibition; Founder and CEO of Auckland Festival of Photography, Julia Durkin.

After its Auckland stay, the exhibition will also feature in Wellington (5 September - 5 October).

Yung won

New Zealand’s again shown out on the world dance stage.

Yung ID - the youth crew from Joshua Cesan’s Auckland-based dance studio IDCO - has taken out 1st place at the prestigious World of Dance Finals in Los Angeles.

Held as part of the World of Dance Summit, the Finals at LA Convention Centre featured the world's best dance performers across many genres from around the world after a series of qualifier events was held globally. Yung ID’s win reflects not only their technical excellence and creativity, but also the strength of New Zealand’s dance scene.

New Zealand was well represented across the board, with The Collective, another standout Auckland crew, earning 3rd place overall and Lightsaber (also known as DJ Ken Vaega) taking out the Adult Battles Division, showcasing freestyle battle skills against some of the world’s most respected competitors.