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 October for a new story about books, writers and their work.
In some ways war interrupted the work of New Zealand writers; in others it acted as a stimulant. For those who joined the armed forces, such as Eric McCormick, Bruce Mason and Dan Davin, experience of travel and danger gave creative impetus and a new perspective on their country of birth.
Newsweek described her novels as 'the best whodunits ever written'. Marsh was also an artist, playwright, actor and director. The New York Times called her New Zealand's best-known literary figure.
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.
Robin Hyde packed a lot in to her short and often tragic life. She is best known today for her novels Passport to hell, Nor the years condemn and The godwits fly, 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.
The New Zealand Railways Magazine was published monthly until June 1940. Originally intended as a shop journal for the Railways Department’s 18,000 staff and major customers, it 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 was a surprise to literary critics, bookies and Hulme alike.
Barry Crump established himself as the iconic 'Kiwi bloke'. Before his death in 1996, he published 25 books that captured the humour and personalities of rural New Zealand.
This internationally acclaimed author revolutionised 20th-century English short-story writing. Her work has been translated into more than 25 languages. She died from tuberculosis at the age of 34.
