The publication in 1960 of a collection of stories about the day-to-day adventures of three young Kiwi boys was a welcome addition to the limited range of quality children's literature.
The publication in 1983 of Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy skyrocketed
Lynley Dodd to the status of picture book legend. She and author Eve Sutton had
won the prestigious Esther Glen award in 1975 for the classic My cat likes to hide in boxes.
Kiwis love books. To celebrate New Zealand Book Month, we have come up with 31 reasons to love New Zealand books and writing. Check back each day in August for a new story about books, writers and their work.
Robin Hyde packed a lot in to her short and often tragic life. She is best known today for her novels <i>Passport to hell</i>, <i>Nor the years condemn</i> and <i>The godwits fly</i>, but she was also a fine poet, a crusading journalist and an outspoken advocate for the downtrodden.
The journalist, poet and novelist, born Iris Wilkinson, was one of New Zealand's finest inter-war writers. Troubled by depression, illness and poverty, she took her own life in London.
Originally intended as a journal for the Railways Department’s 18,000 staff and their major customers, NZ Railways Magazine evolved into a hugely popular general-interest periodical.
The School Journal was initiated by Inspector-General of Schools George Hogben to provide New Zealand schoolchildren with a free publication containing information on history, geography and civics.
By 1985 Keri Hulme had won several New Zealand awards for her writing. But the decision to award her first novel, The bone people, the Booker Prize surprised literary critics, bookies and Hulme alike.
