Titles available for foreign rights from the following publishing houses
Picture Books
The Fire Fox
Esther Remnant / Mike Gwyther
ISBN 978-0-473-50320-8 / 40pp
What can change in a single night?
Everything. In this modern re-telling of a classic European folktale, a young boy is visited by an enigmatic creature with a beautiful secret.
Together they explore the playfulness,mystery, and danger of nature, before the visitor reveals their true self.
A story of joy and loss, that yearns for the endless freedom of childhood.
Known as revontulet by the Finns, the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis are a natural wonder that leave us filled with awe and wonder at the mystery of the universe.
The lights have been woven into the folklore of northern dwellers since time immemorial. In Finnish mythology an arctic fox creates the lights by casting snow skywards with the sweeping of its tail. A spectacle made all the more brilliant by moonlight reflected through the snowflakes.
Our tale began life as a tattoo design for a friend, symbolising the connection between a father and his son. Distance, after all, can never keep us apart, if only we maintain the bonds of love and friendship.
Millwood Press 2018
27 x 21cm Portrait
Case Bound
32 pages full colour
6-10 year olds
Rights sold: French, Spanish, Brazil, Italian, English Worldwide
Dear Donald Trump
Sophie Siers / Anne Villeneuve
ISBN: 978-0473-43281-2
Sam has a problem. He has to share a room with his older brother and things aren’t easy.
When Sam sees Donald Trump on TV talking about ‘the wall’ he realises a solution is at hand!
Who knew that planning a wall could be so tricky?
Hardback, 230 x 175 mm,
88 pages
October 2019
ISBN -9781869408985
6 years and up
Subjects: Memoir, Graphic Novel
Mophead - Seleina Tusitala Marsh
A moving graphic memoir of growing up Pasifika in New Zealand, written and illustrated by New Zealand’s fast talking PI poet Laureate, Selina Tusitala Marsh.
At school, Selina is ridiculed as ‘mophead’ for her big, frizzy hair. She ties it up this way and that way so she can be just like the other kids. But at one point – Sam Hunt plays a role – Selina gives up the game. She decides to let her hair out, to embrace her difference, to be WILD!
We follow where that leads her – one of the first Pasifka women with a PhD, reading for the Queen, introducing Obama. Until one day, Selina becomes poet laureate, picks up her special tokotoko stick, and notices something. It has a big bunch of hair coming out the end. It looks like a mop. A kid on the Waiheke ferry teases her about it. So she tells him this story.
This is an inspirational graphic memoir full of wry humour. Illustrated with wit and verve by the author – NZ’s bestselling poet laureate – and aimed at young readers and adults alike, Mophead tells a true story about a New Zealand woman realising how her difference can make a difference.
Millwood Press / 1 November 2019
275 x 210 Portrait
32 pages
Full colour
Hardback
ISBN: 9780473489144
Dear Princess Meghan
Sophie Siers / Katie Wilson
Dear Princess Meghan is a story about Emma, a young girl who is inspired by the actress's rise to royal status. With a new understanding that being on stage is a prerequisite to a royal career, Emma takes on the important role of Anne Boleyn in her school play. But, with her courtiers at home being difficult and fellow actors forgetting their lines, Emma finds that becoming a royal is not as easy as it seems....
Millwood Press
214 x 244 mm / 32 pages / sewn bound
full colour images / 3-9 years
Winner 2016 NZ Book Awards
Millwood Press 2015
ISBN: 978-0-473-32959-4
214 x 244 mm / 32 pages PUR bound / full colour images / 3-9 years
Millwood Press 2016
ISBN: 978-0-473-36921-7
32 pages
soft cover / PUR bound
3 - 9 years
Do You Want to Gallop With Me?
Sophie Siers / Judith Trevelyan
ISBN 978-0-473-40854-1 / October 2017 - 2 - 6 years
Nibbles the pony loves to gallop and splash and prance. But who will play with him? Hedgehog is busy and his friend Princess is eating sweet grass. But who is this coming across the paddock? Maybe he has someone to play with after all ...
With playful watercolour paintings this story explores friendship and fun.
Arlo and the Ginkgo Tree
Sophie Siers / Katharine White
32 pages / 240 mm x 285 mm / full colour through out
sewn bound / 2–6 years
ISBN 978-0-473-41094-0
A magical tale that follows the seasons of the year, as Arlo meets and watches the creatures who live in the beautiful Ginkgo tree in his garden. New Zealand Fantails star in the nest building and egg hatching, A gentle story that delights in the wonder of the natural world.
Allis the Little Tractor
Sophie Siers / Helen Kerridge
Just imagine how Allis feels when her best friend Toby brings his Uncle to see her. 'I think Allis is thirsty, let's find her something to drink'.
Allis' heart jumped. 'I am thirsty, I am thirsty,' she cried.
Let the adventure begin!
Allis helps on the farm
Sophie Siers / Helen Kerridge
The second book in the Allis the little tractor series.
This story has Allis back at work on the farm. Can she pull a heavy load of hay to feed the cows? It’s a very hot day and the load is very heavy . .
Stunning New Zealand farm scenes and a great story that follows the first book. Includes a download link to the song, ‘Allis the little tractor’.
The Viaduct Postcard / 2016
Millwood Press
ISBN: 978-0-473-36922-4
214 x 244 mm / 36 pages / section sewn, with soft cover / full cover images
First children’s picture book from author/historian Susan Price.
This period story tells a tale of a lost postcard, a lost jacket and a bossy big brother!
Set in 1910 Wellington, it’s a delightful picture of old world New Zealand that reminds us that some things never change. The book includes a gift postcard, tucked into the back flap, a facsimile of the original Viaduct Postcard. 5- 10 years
Smart Alex (ABC Hons.)
ISBN: N/A / 240 x 240 mm / 32 pages
Paperback / Full colour / Ages 5+
Smart Alex (ABC Hons.) is the third in a series of playful picture books from author/illustrator Belinda Ellis, about the joys – and quirks – of language.
Alexandra loves the alphabet – the sounds that letters make, and the words they create can suggest. She delights in ones that sound the same but are spelt differently, revels in exchanging words with letters or numerals, as well as turning numbers into letters like the Romans used to … cool, eh? (A!)
Designed to enthuse children and adults about the delights and nuances of language. Clever typography and strong, unique design. Others in the series are Back-to-Front Bob and Punctuation Mark.
Junior Books
32 pages / 24cm x 28.5cm
Full colour through out
Sewn bound
ISBN 978-0-473-40855-8
The Gift Horse
Sophie Siers / Katharine White / 2017
Finalist in the New Zealand Book Awards for Children 2018
Since Olivia’s mum died Olivia hasn’t felt right. Sometimes she can’t breathe properly and she feels funny inside. When she is out on the farm with her dad and brother or tucked up under her blankets things don’t seem so bad, but everywhere else she feels like she doesn’t fit in.
Olivia’s father brings home a horse that’s been through its own trauma and asks Olivia to see if she can help him. Together, Amigo the horse and Olivia grow to trust each other and forge a path through their own grief and anger.
This fully illustrated junior story explores the stages of grief through a narrative that acknowledges the need for time and space in the process of coming to terms with loss. For any age and for everybody who has ever lost something they love.
201 pp / some illustrations
Available as Softcover and ebook / 13x20cm
eBook / Amazon.com
ISBN 9780473330460
Softcover / ISBN: 978-1515393122
The Prankster and the Ghost
R.L. Stedman
‘The school will be good for you, Tayla,’ said the inspector. ‘You’ll have children your own age to play with.’
‘Dead children.’
‘Well, yes. True. But you can’t have everything.’
Stuck in a hospital bed, unable to move, Tayla decides to leave his body. But floating around intensive care is kind of boring, although being invisible means he can do some cool practical
jokes. Until the inspector arrives, that is.
Jamie, newly arrived from Scotland, is lonely. No one can understand his accent and all his practical jokes are going wrong. Plus, his new school is seriously weird. Perhaps it's haunted...
The Prankster and the Ghost is a story of pranks,
friendship and learning to live with loss.
Caution: The Prankster and the Ghost contains plenty of ghosts and heaps of practical jokes. Suitable ages 6 – 99+
Shortlisted for the 2012 Tom Fitzgibbon Award - NZ
August 2015 / Flat Bed Pres / 240 pages
Paperback / 198mm x 130mm
Limp bound, section sewn
Full colour cover, black and white internals
E book formats: e-pub; mobi; PDF / 7-12 years
The Bold Ship Phenomenal / 978-0-473-31314-2
Sarah Johnson
Deborah Hinde
The Bold Ship Phenomenal follows the adventures of Malachi, aged 11, after he finds a mysterious ship in a bottle on the shore.
Life with Dad has been pretty sad and dull since Mum died, so Malachi decides to keep the ship in a bottle a secret – a secret that gets even more exciting when he discovers that things inside the bottle can change. Sailors come and go, cargo is loaded and preparations made for a voyage, the ship weighs anchor and sets sail.
The discovery prompts Malachi to make a voyage of his own. He stows away in the back of a truck to join a protest that he’s seen on TV, but another discovery – that he is sharing his journey with pirates, both in the bottle and the truck – begins to make the trip more complicated.
Received Storylines Notable Book Award, 2016; shortlisted New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Adults 2016
The Spaghetti Giraffe / ISBN: 978-0-473-39140-9
Sarah Johnson
Deborah Hinde
When fumble-handed cook Mina Cucina drops the spaghetti pot, a new animal is born. As the Spaghetti Giraffe soon learns, he is not the only kitchen animal formed from Mina Cucina’s culinary disasters.
The Spaghetti Giraffe tells the delightful story of the Spaghetti Giraffe and his quirky friends in their quest to help Mina Cucina enter the Great Bonbon Confectionation – the biggest baking competition the valley’s ever seen. All she needs is a cake. A cake that doesn’t erupt, take flight or explode.
Storylines Notable Book Award, 2018
Published August 2017 / Flat Bed Press
120 pages / Paperback / 198mm x 130mm
E-book formats: e-pub; mobi; PDF
Limp bound, section sewn
Full colour cover, black and white internals
Spaghetti Giraffe and the Egg of Courage
Sarah Johnson
Deborah Hinde
ISBN: 978-0-473-47401-0
Published September 2019 / Flat Bed Press
188 pages / Paperback / 198mm x 130mm
E-book formats: e-pub; mobi; PDF
Limp bound, section sewn
Full colour cover, black and white internals
Spaghetti Giraffe and the Egg of Courage
Sarah Johnson
Deborah Hinde
Spaghetti Giraffe and the Egg of Courage explores courage and bravery, friendship and love.
Spaghetti Giraffe and the other under-cooker animals are the products of Mina Cucina’s culinary disasters. Normally, they live peacefully under the cooker in her kitchen, but Gorgon, Mina Cucina’s oldest and best friend needs their help. He cannot find the courage to ask Mina Cucina to marry him. Meanwhile, the village baker is trying his hardest to win Mina Cucina’s hand. The under-cooker animals are determined to help Gorgon find the bravery he needs. To do so, they must conquer their own fears; Gorgon must grow some courage; and Mina Cucina must learn to stand up for what she thinks is best for herself.
Spaghetti Giraffe and the Egg of Courage is the second book in a trilogy of stand-alone junior novels about Spaghetti Giraffe and his friends. The first book – The Spaghetti Giraffe – received a Storylines Notable Book Award in 2018. The third book in the series will be published in 2020.
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Ringlet and the Day the Oceans Stopped
Felicity Williams
ISBN 978-0-9951197-2-7
Paperback
B FORMAT
268 PP
An eleven-year-old mergirl has better things to do than save the oceans from deadly stagnation. Except there’s no one else. And worse still, something monstrous is determined to stop her. It’s Ringlet against time and tides … and there’s not much left of either.
‘… a tour de force deserving of a wide readership’ – Magpies
Winner in the NZ Children's Book Awards 2017
The Sam and Lucy Fables
Alan Bagnall / Sarah Wilkins
Mākaro Press
ISBN 978-0-9941299-8-7
Paperback, 148x210mm, illustrated stories for younger readers
50pp / PUR bound / Published October 2016
The Sam & Lucy Fables shares the adventures of two clever pigs, Sam and Lucy, who are always keen to help their human friends in peculiar predicaments. From fixing magic carpets to teaching fish to read, Sam and Lucy solve each conundrum with some common sense and a lot of patience. Each fable reminds us to be kind, curious and a little bit adventurous. Where would we be without Sam and Lucy? We ’d be very lost!
The Sam & Lucy Fables is a collection of quirky tales and engaging
illustrations that will be treasured for years to come.
Super Spareparts and the Nemerons from the Twelfth Quadrant
C.J. Parker
ISBN 978-0-9951197-1-0
Paperback
B FORMAT
176 PP
A freak accident leaves Sam Steele with no legs, one hand and one eye, but not for long. He gets super spare body parts from the mysterious prosthetics engineer Dr Ecks, who recruits Sam as a superhero and gives him a high-tech sidekick. Sam’s first mission is to stop the Nemerons from the twelfth quadrant from taking over Earth by blowing up the world’s poo ponds …
‘… wildly funny and fast-paced read’ – Julie Lamb
Rosie Joy
Here, There and Everywhere
Sophie Siers / Judith Trevelyan
It’s SPRING on the farm and springtime is always busy at Rosie Joy’s. There are crops to plant and baby lambs everywhere. Rosie Joy and her best friend Polly take on a special spring project involving chickens, peggy squares, famous explorers and some pretty big words!
This exciting farm girl's story bring a breath of fresh air to junior fiction 5 -12 years.
A5
Fully illustrated black and white
100 pages
ISBN 978-0-473-40240-2
Soft cover / french flaps / sewn bound
Groovy Fish and Other Poems
Paula Green
ISBN 978-0-9951197-3-4
Paperback
A5 / 72 PP / Illustrated
Paula Green’s bright new poems have grown out of titles collected from her fans. These poems dash and dart, whisper and purr … tell of tap-dancing fish, cheese-spaghetti dogs, annoying itches, thunder monkeys and midnight moons. Paula’s wild drawings dance across the page.
Author of award-winning The Letterbox Cat
‘… a great read aloud in the classroom’ – KidsBooksNZ
Avis and the Promise of Dragons
Heather McQuillan
ISBN 978-0-9951197-5-8
Paperback
B Format / 180 PP
Avis has a dream to work with animals, so she jumps at the chance to pet-sit for a scientist with a witchy-looking house. But it turns out Avis is not looking after pets at all – the animals in Dr Malinda Childe’s backyard are as eccentric as she is and Avis has to promise to keep them a secret. Before long she’s overwhelmed by a BIG chocolatey dragonish problem.
‘… a fast-paced junior novel that does a lot more than meets the eye’
– The Sapling
Harriet and the Eye of the Bird
Julie Lamb
ISBN 978-0-9951197-0-3 /Paperback / B Format/ 236 PP
One moment Harriet’s only problem is that she’s not allowed to get her nose pierced, and the next her dad’s disappeared. Now there’s a new home, a new school and new friends that are not really friends at all. But Alice invites her to the best tree fort ever – a place where Harriet no longer feels fat or friendless or sad.
Author of award-winning The Discombobulated Life of Summer Rain
‘I highly recommend this book for kids going through a phase of change’ – The Sapling
Time Machine and other stories
Melinda Szymanik
ISBN 978-0-9951197-4-1 / Paperback / B Format / 172 pp
What happens when you sleep with a crocodile tooth under your pillow, or the mess under your bed turns into something terrifying? What does it mean when the contraption in the basement starts to hum and glow? Step aboard the time machine and find out.
Author of award-winning A Winter’s Day in 1939
‘Excellent for primary school libraries and busy families’
– KidsBooksNZ
The Half Life of Ryan Davis
Melinda Szymanik
Having an older sister go missing three years before has defined Ryan Davis's life ever since. All he wants to do is be normal and get on with the difficult business of growing up, but the repercussions of Mallory's disappearance are only just becoming clear...
This YA psychological thriller will take young teens on an unexpected journey with Ryan as he discovers what really happened to his sister.
186 pp
ISBN - 9781927182406
Young Adult
Inner Fire
R.L. Stedman
ISBN:978-1503060470
ebook: 9780473294441
‘Maybe it would be better if I started at the beginning.’ Gran watched me carefully. ‘This ability we have; my mother, me. You. We draw heat along our bodies; anger makes us flame.’ When her friend is assaulted, Corrine Peterson can’t help reacting. But she didn’t think and now her hands are burnt, Gran is coming to look after her and, scariest of all, strange men are watching her house. Could they be terrorists? Secret agents? It seems that Gran’s idea of a solution is to introduce Corrine to Rowan. Okay, sure, maybe eighteen year old Rowan is gorgeous, but he has his own troubles. And right now, Corrine doesn’t need complications in her life. But in a world of surveillance and secrecy, complexity is inevitable. And as the tension mounts Corrine realizes maybe Gran can help her, after all.
An exciting story about surveillance, security and personal privacy.
Suitable for Young Adults aged 15+. Contains coarse language and sexual references
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ISBN 978-0-473-27285-2 /
Ideal for readers 14–25 years but a memoir for all ages
B format, paperback, colour, 208pp
Cover design by Fifi Colston with Harriet Rowland
Book design by Paul Stewart
2015 Storylines Notable Book Award Winner — Non-fiction
2015 Ashton Wylie Award Runner-up
2015 New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults Finalist — Non-fiction
The Book of Hat - Harriet Rowland
This way I will NEVER have to get a job, learn how to cook more than two-minute noodles or do anything mildly productive. I never have to grow up and I can forever be a kid! Though my ‘forever’ is shorter than most, I don’t mind. What I do mind is that I am going to have to leave everyone I love behind.’ — The Book of Hat
Originally a collection of blog posts that track Harriet’s (Hat’s) life with cancer. So intense, yes, raw and poignant, yes, insanely sad and intimate, yes, but tragic this is not. Hat’s voice is honest, intelligent, alive; and connects with teen and adult readers deeply. A superbly crafted piece of writing that is luminous in its economy; and the cover, overall design and excellent editing all resonate perfectly with the writing. Harriet’s life, as short as it was, was blessed in many ways. We, her readers, are doubly blessed to be able to share in it. — Judges’ report, NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults 2015
Harriet Rowland — known as Hat — was 17 when she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare form of cancer that began in her knee. At the time she was a student at Queen Margaret College in Wellington, New Zealand.
Going through treatment was often a lonely time, as friends — while supportive — didn’t always understand Hat’s new life. This was until she fell in love with the character Hazel Grace from John Green’s novel The Fault in Our Stars, a girl who talks honestly and openly about living with cancer. Like her, Hat found life changed in ways that were both good and bad: falling in love and hospital stays among them. And she was surprised by how much happiness there was still to find.
Throughout her journey, Hat kept a blog called My Experience of Walking the Dog ,
and this book is a collection of those posts edited with the author. Why the blog title?
Her parents say cancer is like a dog — fine if it stays in its own yard. Hat’s dog got out.
Harriet Rowland entered the Mary Potter hospice in Wellington two days after her book launch, and died surrounded by family and friends at 7.05 am, Friday, 7 March, 2014. This is her unexpected story.
380 pp
Available as Softcover and ebook
13x20cm / Softcover
ISBN: 978-0-473-30292-4
ebook ISBN: 9780473302948 (ePub)
ISBN: 9780473302931 (mobi)
Suitable for Young Adults aged 13+
A Necklace of Souls - Book 1
R.L. Stedman
‘A true dream is when the events I see in my sleep have, or will happen. It’s a talent that runs in my family. I was thirteen when I had my first true dream.’
Dana wishes she wasn’t a princess. She’s always being told how to behave, what to wear. The collier’s cart seems the perfect escape. Only she didn’t realize she’d become so dirty, or so lost. Fortunately this boy, Will, has a sense of direction. And next to the forbidding stranger, N’tombe, he seems reassuringly normal.
Welcome to A Necklace of Souls: a story of love and loss, of shattered lives and desperate hopes. In the Kingdom of the Rose, bravery is not always measured by strength and magic is real, if only one has the courage to dream.
Suitable for Young Adults aged 13+
Shortlisted for the Sir Julius Vogel Award, A Necklace of Souls was awarded the Tessa Duder Award for Young Adult Fiction, Best First
Book at the New Zealand Post Children and Young Adult Book Awards and is a Storylines Notable Book.
RL Stedman was an award-winning author even before
she was published. In 2012 she was shortlisted for the
Tom Fitzgibbon Award, and won the Tessa Duder
Award for Young Adult Fiction. Her first novel, A
Necklace of Souls, won a Storylines Notable Book
Award and was awarded Best First Book at the 2014
New Zealand Post Book Awards.
A Skillful Warrior
R.L. Stedman
ISBN 978-0-473-32079-9
Softcover / 261 pages
Published 2015
The Warrior’s principal task: to make each moment count.’
Dana and Will must find the weapon to defeat the Emperor, but his army is close behind, and the Kingdom and its Guardian have vanished - only N’tombe and Jed remain.
As the comrades flee, Dana is hampered by dreams of dragons and by a deep, unbearable sorrow; a fire is coming, and she is in its path. Dana and Will must learn to overcome despair and to fight on, despite the darkness. For a warrior must adapt, or die.
The sequel to the award-winning A Necklace of Souls.
A Memory of Fire
R.L. Stedman
ISBN 978-0-473-39957-3
October 2017 / 206 pages
About my wrist is a tattoo of roses, strung like beads on a bracelet of thorns. I have a past, if only I could remember — but I cannot remember."
Held captive in a strange city, Dana dreams of fire and flight. There is something she must find, but she does not know what it is, or why it is important. If only her dreams would let her rest.
Half a world away, Will studies a new, exciting discipline. But while enchantress N'tombe is impressed by his newfound skills, inside he feels only desperation. A terrible moment is approaching. Soon, Dana must face her final ordeal.
Will this new power be enough to save her? And is he prepared for what might happen next?
In this thrilling conclusion to the award-winning SoulNecklace Stories, Will and Dana must make a heart-breaking choice. A choice that will change their world forever.
Children of the Furnace / Brin Murray
2018 / Paperback / 274 pages
ISBN 9780995104037
FINALIST: New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults 2019
Under the iron rule of the Revelayshun, one boy discovers the truth…
‘Ty promised my ma he’d bring me up right. Bring him up to hear the rhythm beat, she said, and to feel the heartsblood warm. Not Strong — not in their way — but strong in the ways of the heart.’
When the Revelayshun murders his pa, Wil discovers through savage inquisition that he’s marked as a Heater, one of the old-time heretics who burned up the world. But Wil holds the key to a secret. Sekkerland’s Shame, the Atrocity, is a great lie — and the Revelayshun will use fire, blood and death to hide the truth.
Dark, powerful and heartbreaking, Children Of The Furnace compels with a uniquely stunning world and one of the greatest characters you’ll ever be afraid for.
Dystopian fiction at its very best. The last 100 pages are totally heart-stopping. A
momentous read that you will never forget.
— Bob’s Books Blog
Crosstrees / by Brin Murray
2019 / Paperback / ISBN: 9780995104099 / 248 pages
Book 1, Children of the Furnace, was a finalist in the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults 2019.
A topical and visionary book. A post climate-change world where carbon sequestration is the new fanaticism.
Synopsis
Truth died in the fires. Only through courage can it be born again. “What we won was a small battle,’ says Jace flat. ‘They’ll be coming, fore we can turn this into a war.’
The Revelayshun’s soldiers are riding to hunt down the Midwife. Only she can lead them to Wil’s sister, and the Truth That Will Change Everything.
While Revout Sachs secretly prepares a cruelty so depraved, it will become known as the New Atrocity.
Leah pulls away, and kisses me with soft lips, and whispers: “Ride Wil. Save the Midwife.” And the world too, while I’m about it.
Relationships between characters are complicated and engrossing and the characters themselves are layered and fascinating. A great read and I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel.
— The Sapling
Upon a Time
R.L. Stedman
Published October 2016
Fairy tales reborn! Inside this enchanting collection you’ll find stories that are not-quite familiar. An assassin with a midnight deadline; a store owned by Princeton Charming and a sleeping, ever-so- enchanted beast. These are stories you’ve read a hundred times — but never quite like this.
Written over a year, Upon a Time is more than traditional tales. Each story marks a special day: Valentine’s Day, Halloween, Easter Sunday and more.
In the tales in Upon a Time, history mingles with fiction and myth becomes real.
Upon a Time — stories of fantasy and romance, mixed with just a hint of magic.
ISBN: 9780473374679
195 pages / paper back