June 2025

Haere mai, welcome to our non-fiction newsletter. Discover interesting library events, and books and resources focused on the factual.

Join us in June for exciting free Matariki and Puaka activities and events for you and your whānau to enjoy.

Watch documentaries on Beamafilm.

New For You

Have a taste of home-grown books! Here are some of our best New Zealand new arrivals for this month. Fiction, Biography, Poetry, and more.

Newest additions to the collection that explore history and global issues including politics, media, climate change, racism and more.

Jul 25th | 3:30pm - 4:30pm

Learn Māori weaving techniques using contemporary material and take what you make home. Free, drop in. In support of the TOIORA exhibition.

Jul 26th | 1:00pm - 3:00pm

Three-hour workshop repurposing and reusing left over weaving resources to make contemporary Māori Jewellery. Happening on four dates.

The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards winners were announced on 14 May. Non-fiction winners:

General Non-Fiction Award: Hine Toa: A Story of Bravery Ngāhuia Te Awekōtuku (HarperCollins Publishers Aotearoa New Zealand)
Bookhub Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction: Toi Te Mana: An Indigenous History of Māori Art Deidre Brown and Ngarino Ellis with Jonathan Mane-Wheoki (Auckland University Press)
Mātātuhi Foundation Best First Book Awards:
- Judith Binney Prize for Illustrated Non-Fiction: Sight Lines: Women and Art in Aotearoa Kirsty Baker (Auckland University Press)
- E.H. McCormick Prize for General Non-Fiction: The Chthonic Cycle Una Cruickshank (Te Herenga Waka University Press)