WORD writers: Which wave-making book should everyone read?

WORD Christchurch Festival 2026 is on from 1 to 6 September. Ōtautahi Christchurch will be the place to be if you love writing, reading, or ideas!

WORD asked Festival writers and performers the question:

Which wave-making book should everyone in Aotearoa read? Why?

"Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy. A book about a family deeply woven into their environment." Angela Clifford

"I really enjoyed Tina Makereti's award-winning book This Compulsion in Us. It is brave, generous and beautifully crafted. She doesn't hold back from being vulnerable in the sharing of her human experiences, in a way that helps readers to also think about our own lives and the things and people who have shaped us. I also love her novels and essays! I also loved Una Cruikshank's The Chthonic Cycle, and Flora Feltham's Bad Archive." Ariana Tikao

"The Bone People by Keri Hulme. Because it's so beautifully written in its rawness." Barbara Dreaver 

"The Mess of Our Lives by Mary-ann Scott. A raw and thought-provoking read for both YA and adults about struggle, acceptance, heartbreak and hope. And even better, it’s written by a fantastic Kiwi author!" Belinda O'Keefe 

"The Bone People - Keri Hulme. Brannavan Gnanalingam 

"Party Boy Party Boy. It's all there. Lust, love, hatred, trauma, parenting. It's all Dunedin. And it burns pretty fucking bright." Breton Dukes

"Wrong time to ask, it's been a year of reading zines, but what about the poetry of essa may ranapiri. ranapiri was also a Kirikiriroa-based zinester before books became an option. My Goodreads review of ranapiri's Echidna notes, 'I’m always a sucker for poets who mix, not only the sacred and the profane, but the timeless and contemporary. Gods, lizards, fish, and planetary bodies, have to contend with beerpong, RTDs, Denny’s fast food joints." Bryce Galloway

"This Mortal Boy by Fiona Kidman is a standout for me for its historical retelling of the known circumstances of the short life of the second-to-last person executed in Aotearoa, and its compassionate reimagining of further details of Albert Black and his family’s lives. It’s also a scarily relevant story of what can happen during periods of manufactured moral panic and hysteria when fear and prejudice overtake justice, as well as being a disturbing real-life example of the finality of capital punishment, which is still practiced in dozens of countries today, including in our Asia Pacific region. Once a person has paid the ultimate price for a crime, even if they’re later found innocent, there’s no turning back. I write about interviewing the family of a young man in China in my memoir who, like Albert Black, was executed at twenty years old, only to have the verdict overturned posthumously after a two-decade-long fight by his family to clear his name. Fiona Kidman hoped This Mortal Boy would lead to a posthumous pardon for Albert Black, given the complexities of his case that were disregarded. That’s not happened, but Fiona’s book means he’s no longer recorded in history solely as the two-dimensional “jukebox killer”, but rather as a troubled young man with a family far away who loved him very much." Charlotte Glennie  

"Everyone should read as many books, on as many subjects, as they can manage. Fiction, non fiction, I can't think of a particular, single book." Charlotte Grimshaw  

"Bone People by Keri Hulme. I worked with her at a Maori Writers Hui in 1997 - and was inspired to read this magical realism novel - that had been my nanas." Cindy Diver 

"I think everyone's waves are different -- my recent wave-making book would be Night, Ma by Elizabeth Knox because it lays bare extremely difficult things without judgement." Claire Mabey 

"The Valley by Asher Emanuel. There was so much I didn't know about the criminal justice system in Aotearoa, and I guess it was a privilege not to know. It's hard to know where to start when talking about it- on the one hand, it's a book with a great sense of pace, a page-tuner. On the other, I thought to myself so many times while reading it, "gosh, that's so bleak." It's a story about dead ends and gaps, where the expectations of the court system cannot be fulfilled by the organisations that provide the services. About where to go when you have no fixed address, the poverty of having no community to support you when you've got nothing, and how basic things like receiving a benefit work when there's no bank account for it to go to. I think everyone should read it, because it reveals the glaring ways in which we as a country have voted and organised to make life for those with little so much harder, and I hope we will change that." Claudia Herz Jardine 

"Kōtuku Titihuia Nuttall's Tauhou is a book that pushes readers to imagine an Indigenous world. The waves it makes guide us toward each other and push us to solidarity and community, and to dream of new futures beyond the colonial." Damien Levi 

"Night Boat To Tangier, beautiful, funny and very short." Dominic Hoey

"We Can Make a Life by Chessie Henry. It's a beautifully honest book about rebuilding after loss and learning to live well with what what we've got - not trying to fix everything and everyone. She's also my niece! I always go to a friend's bach at Te Onepoto / Taylors Mistake when I've got a new book in me. I can feel my shoulders drop the moment and let out a big sigh every time I arrive. Swimming, walking and sitting with my coffee creates the head space I need to let ideas percolate. I'd go there and write a new book every year if I could - but my team remind me that books have long tails and they need me for other projects too!" Dr Lucy Hone

"One book!!? I read so much, but a recent one I narrated for Blind Low Vision NZ, and really admired was The Uncommon Land by Catherine Knight. All about land and colonisation going back many hundreds of years, beyond Aotearoa. it's about stewardship, kaitiakitanga, and environmental degradation but there was still scope for hope for a brighter future. The audio book of The Correspondent also delighted me recently, but there is SO much good stuff to read right now! So much!!!" Elisabeth Easther

"Delirious by Damien Wilkins." Elizabeth Knox 

"Not Given Lightly- A Biography of Chris Knox, by Craig Robertson (my brother)." Grant Robertson  

"Wild Pork and Watercress, by Barry Crump - an example of a cracking yarn told in plain language, and limited narrative perspective." Hazel Phillips

"After the War by Bob Kerr (published 2000 by Mallinson Rendel Publishers). Set between 1945 and the early 2000s, this book shows through its pictures a raft of sociological, economic and geographical changes. It's about a family planting a tree when Dad comes home from the war. I could spend hours comparing the changes in landscape, housing, vehicles, technology, furniture, dress . . . everything. It's more than a history of a place though - it's a circle of life - both for the tree and for the family. I'd love to see an update from the early 2000s to the present day - so much has changed since the book was published!" Heather Haylock 

"I don't have a recommendation for everyone, but for anyone interesting in illustration, Martin Salisbury's 'Drawing for Illustration' really makes waves in your practice." Hilary Jean Tapper  

"There are so many books that I've read over the years but one that I'm connected to is a recent labour of love where we documented the stories of 11 Niue elders that would go on to become a book titled Lotomatala Niue - Vala taha: Ko e Moui Fiafia. Through this book we connect intergenerationally to stories of their lived experiences and perspectives of happiness. It was a gentle reminder about the importance of writing our own stories, shaping the narrative and based on authentic experiences through a Niue lens. Inangaro Vakaafi 

"Unstoppable- by Gilbert Enoka - it has validated my thinking and also has provided me so much confidence to be my authentic self." Jason Tiatia 

"For me the book I needed to read was The Scarecrow by Ronald Hugh Morrieson which I encountered as a teenager. Suddenly, I saw that books, New Zealand books even, could be funny, dark and bizarre all at once. Small towns have never looked the same. Disclaimer: the book that has such an effect on someone else will be different, will need to be their discovery." John Summers

"Elif Shafak - There Are Rivers In The Sky - every chapter contains a treasure." Jon Toogood 

"There's a few. My favourite essays collection in no particular order are all from Aotearoa writers. All Who Live on Islands, Can You Tolerate This?, and Bloody Woman." Joseph Trinidad 

"A book I loved as a kid and love love love now - Watercress Tuna and the Children of Champion street. From the moment Tuna made a koru shaped twist with his tail, and splashed out of Cannons Creek and over the township he started to make waves. Everyone should experience this beautiful and poetic book created by - undoubtedly - this country's best picture book making duo - Patricia Grace AND Robyn Kahukiwa. I mean, what I line up!!!  A book celebrating community, unity, different cultures, heritage, generosity, fun, dance and dancing together. This tuna - he has a plan! Bouncing into each home on Champion Street he starts generously gifting dance items from his magical throat for each child (almost like they have been gifted their own song by him). Each gift is something special from their own culture - something empowering, which, I imagine, gives them confidence and pride. Mīharo!! You can see the smile on Tuna’s face when they all start dancing outside. The faces of the kids are filled with laughter and joy too! THEN they have a street party all day and night and don’t go to bed until the morning… a kid’s dream come true! I have so much more I’d love to say about this wonderful book." Josh Morgan 

"Everyone should read whatever they want, the important thing is to read. I am reading 'The Crisis of Narration' by Byung-Chul Han My daughter is reading 'The Girl I like Forgot Her Glasses' by Koume Fujichika. My youngest is reading 'The Flash' Marvel comic My partner is reading 'Uprising' by Nic Low". Juanita Hepi

"Not into should reads, but I just re-listened to the audio book of The Secret History. I had always remembered it as incredibly compelling, and it really stood up. Absolutely worth re-visiting. And Catherine Chidgey's The Starving Bride is the book I'm most looking forward to reading this year." Kate Camp

"Atholl Anderson's The Welcome of Strangers. A detailed and fascinating insight into Ngāi Tahu prior to and at the time of European arrival in Te Wai Pounamu. The new edition is beautifully illustrated, and so easy to read." Katharine Watson 

"Unsheltered, by Clare Moleta." Laura Borrowdale 

"Hungus by Amber Esau! It's sexy, electrifying, rumbling pasifika poetry." Laura Vincent 

"This Compulsion in Us by Tina Makereti, because it shares something deep about our history and its impacts in Aotearoa, and also because it's beautifully crafted and funny." Lawrence Patchett  

"Everyone should find at least one book they really dig in a genre or style that they are snobby about. Want waves? Leave the waters you already know." Lizzie Tollemache  

"Communion by Bell Hooks. This book changed my brain chemistry. As someone who has just recently moved into their 30s, single, and constantly thinking about what comes next, this book validated so many of my feelings, blessed me with profound insights, gave me hope, and made me want to love more deeply.  Many of my friends have forever spoken to the importance of love, in every facet and form of life. Family, friendships, passions, work, partners, the environment. Love is everything. And I have always felt deeply saddened by the fact that I could not always see or feel love in the same way they practised it. After reading this book, I now understand that my reservations, fears, and overall rejection of love has been a protection mechanism. A way I can mitigate a broken heart, embarrassment, and disappointment. More so, this book has made me realise that my fight to reject love, to allow no vulnerability or the potential for exploration, has upheld harmful and oppressive systems. Communion reminded me of the magic and power that exist within our relationships, the vā between us and the world we live in. " MahMah Timoteo 

"Our young people are naturally gifted wave-makers, so I recommend people of all ages read Jillion, a collection of writing and art by tamariki and rangatahi of Aotearoa published by Charlotte Gibbs, Toitoi. One can’t help but be blown away and inspired by the breadth and depth of talent, raw honesty and hope in these young creatives." Melanie Koster 

"He Told Us." Michal Dziwulski

"Daylight, by Elizabeth Knox. Elizabeth Knox is my favourite New Zealand author, because I love the way she treats fantasy utterly seriously, which makes her worlds feel utterly magical and suffused with sublimity. More people should read Daylight (my favourite of her books) because I want more people to talk about it with." Molly Crighton 

"kitten by Olive Nuttall." pip adam  

"Ursula K Le Guin’s classic sci-fi never goes out of style - I highly rate The Dispossessed and The Word for World is Forest as books that meet the current moment. If we’re talking local, Eleanor Catton’s Birman Wood hits home on every level. Or why not pick up a journal to see what a bunch of the country’s finest minds are up to right now? I highly rate places like Takahē, Landfall, Bloodbath, Symposia, Starling, and of course dear Sweet Mammalian as examples of the liveliness and variety in NZ letters." Rebecca Hawkes  

"Anything by Ursula Le Guin. Maybe start with Lavinia - a whole book giving voice to a woman whom Ovid did not allow to speak at all." Richard Shaw 

"His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet. It shows us the conditional nature of 'truth' in a shocking, but totally compelling, way. It is an antidote to our true crime obsession, and leaves us with questions rather than answers. An important book, that has empathy and understanding at its core." Ruben Miller

"Down the Back of the Chair. It’s a rags to riches romp full of gloriously playful language, fun, fancy, and surprise. For me it’s a picture book that never, ever fails to delight - you can’t help but feel good after reading it!  Written by the one and only Margaret Mahy." Sacha Cotter 

"Owls Do Cry." Saige England  

"The Will To Change by Bell Hooks. This book gave me the lens to see what I had previously been blind to. Patriarchy is not perpetrated only by “bad” or abusive men. Rather, everyone in society (including women) is to various degrees an agent of patriarchy until we decide not to be. I learned that, as a man, society’s patriarchal education had robbed me of access to experiencing a full suite of complex human emotions. I felt stupid, that up till that point, I had accepted going through life in black and white. I think this easy-to-read book is the real red pill many are searching for. " Shariff Burke 

"A book that makes you laugh or cry or take up arms." Tania Roxborogh 

"Being completely biased, I'd have to say The Dead Speak! However, if I'm being more objective, I don't tend to have one favourite book. I'm drawn to true-life stories, biographies, and memoirs—books written by people who have genuinely lived extraordinary experiences. I enjoy gaining an insight into the person behind the public image and discovering what really happened behind closed doors." Thomas Coyle 

"I am tempted to say Katerina Mataira's Ngā Waituhi o Rehua. Most obviously, because it is only available in Te Reo Māori, and I would love to live in that version of Aotearoa where everyone can read it. But also, under the surface of its YA, sci-fi plot are depths I don't understand, as a middle-aged Pākehā man with limited reo ability, but I love the sense of openness it shows to those depths, to another world that is our world. Does that make sense?" Tim Corballis 

"I love The Bomb by Sacha Cotter and Josh Morgan. All their books are fantastic and I highly recommend them, but The Bomb was the first one I saw so it sticks in my mind. So kiwi, so warm hearted and well observed and packed with lovely details, with a simple but recognisable story - literally about making waves! " Toby Morris

"Please Call Me jesus by Samuel te Kani and Tahuri by Ngahuia Te Awekotuku because they are both groundbreaking works that don't pull their punches!" Victor Rodger 

More about WORD Christchurch Festival 2026

• Paper copies of the festival programme are available at libraries, grab a copy or check it out online.
• Visit our WORD Christchurch 2026 page
• Explore WORD Christchurch's website