Saturday, December 24, 2016

Season's Greetings from Oratia

Meri Kirihimete me ngā mihi o te Tau Hou ki a koutou katoa.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all.

We are now closed for the holidays and will reopen on 9 January 2017.



Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo

Manuia le Kerisimasi, ma le Tausaga Fou

Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année

新年おめでとうございます

Fröhliche Weihnachten
und ein gutes neues Jahr

¡Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo!

Bom Natal e Feliz Ano Novo

聖誕快樂 新年快樂

Monday, December 19, 2016

Jeremy Bliss is Oratia's new South Island sales rep

Changes to South Island representation

Since 2009, Peter Gray has been the sales representative for the South Island for Oratia.

Peter Gray
Our association with Peter goes back to the days of Reed Publishing, and he has been a valued part of our sales team.

Now Peter has decided it is time to retire, and he will be finishing work on 31 December.

Peter’s calm, efficient manner and his dapper fashion sense will be much missed. 

We join with his many friends in the book trade to wish him all the best for the years to come.

Fortunately we are able to welcome a new team member who also has deep experience and a fine reputation in the trade.

Jeremy Bliss will become Oratia’s South Island sales representative from 1 January. 

Jeremy has been a book rep for many years, and works for the Books r us group alongside other clients.

He maintains a monthly cycle of visits to stores around the island from his base in Christchurch.

For any South Island sales enquiries, please contact Jeremy:
027 494 7473
southislandbooks@xtra.co.nz


Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Māui – Sun Catcher, the video




Māui – Sun Catcher
Author: Tim Tipene
Illustrator: Zak Waipara
Translator: Rob Ruha  

ISBN: 978-0-947506-14-8  |  RRP $24.99
Hardback, 270 x 210 mm, 32 pages colour

Click here to find out more about the book



 Rob Ruha
 Tim Tipene

 Zak Waipara

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Belinda Cooke takes on additional role


We're very happy to share the news that Belinda Cooke, our Sales & Marketing Consultant, has been appointed Manager of the New Zealand Book Awards Trust. Belinda works part-time for Oratia, and will balance the two roles with her other sales and marketing consulting: 

Monday, November 14, 2016

Rotorua hosts launch for a special book on Māori tools and carving

Te Toki me te Whao: The Story and Use of Māori Tools was launched at the Te Puia retail store last Friday 11 November.

Author Clive Fugill is the long-standing Master Carver in the carving school at the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute, which forms part of Te Puia.

His book provides the perspective of an esteemed practitioner on the origins, manufacture and use of tools in Māori arts and daily life.

It is also the first book on the subject in over a century.

The title means ‘The Adze and the Chisel’.

Addressing guests at the launch, Māori Arts and Crafts Institute General Manager Eraia Kiel noted that the title is very appropriate, as it highlights the key tools for carving.

Author Clive Fugill (left) being greeted by Eraia Kiel, General Manager
of the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute
The book also covers the place of tools in mythology, usage elsewhere in the Pacific, and modern adaptations.
Clive Fugill (centre) with colleagues from the carving school
It is liberally illustrated with striking drawings by the author, and includes photos by Chris Hoult (who also took the featured launch photos).

Clive acknowledged the endorsement of Te Puia in bringing to fruition the book, which preserves knowledge that he has accumulated since he acquired his first adze at the age of nine.

Te Toki me te Whao  |  ISBN: 978-0-947506-13-1  |  RRP $39.99

Paperback, 250 x 185 mm portrait, 160 pages (8 pages colour)

Publisher Peter Dowling of Oratia Books (left), with Clive Fugill and Eraia Kiel
Clive Fugill signing books at the launch
All photos courtesy Chris Hoult: https://chphotographydotcodotnz.wordpress.com

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

A new take on classic Māui myth hits the bookshops today

How to tell a great traditional story in a way that can connect with young readers today in both Māori and English?

That was the challenge Oratia Books' Peter Dowling put to author Tim Tipene when explaining the concept for a series of books that would honour indigenous stories and languages in a modern context.

Tim’s response forms his tenth book, an imaginative retelling of Māui catching the sun – one of the great foundation myths of Māori culture.

In his version, Māui is a pre-teen who lives with his mum and four older brothers in a city where life is tough, in part because there’s never enough time in the day to get things done.

Māui – Sun Catcher follows Māui devsing a plan, driving with his brothers to the pit where the sun lives, and catching him in ropes of woven flax.

The trickster Māui, who speaks in rhyme, alternately charms and threatens the sun:
My ropes will slow you down.
You will drift across the sky
And people will see my ropes reaching down
Whenever you’re up high.

Bringing the text to life are vivid colour drawings by widely published illustrator and animator Zak Waipara, who has created a feel that is both contemporary and classic in this classy hardback.

The bilingual book features English and Māori in differently shaded type on each spread. Translations are by prominent musician and academic Rob Ruha.

Collaboration has been key to the series, Indigenous Voices – which has developed in part through creative input from a range of international publishers, including Mexican children’s book specialist Miriam Martinez and Oratia’s Editorial Director Carolyn Lagahetau.

So while it stands on its own and will be available across New Zealand, Māui – Sun Catcher is also a pilot for telling indigenous stories to readers worldwide.

Māui – Sun Catcher  |  ISBN: 978-0-947506-14-8  |  RRP $24.99
Hardback, 270 x 210 mm, 32 pages colour

Rob Ruha
Tim Tipene
Zak Waipara






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