Here are some of the books I’ve edited over the past few years. For more details on these or other edits, contact me.

Te Hei Tiki: An enduring treasure in a cultural continuum by Dougal Austin (Te Papa Press, 2019). Dougal presents a history and appraisal of the Māori human figure adornments known as hei tiki, drawing chiefly on the outstanding examples in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

I Have Loved Me a Man: The life and times of Mika by Sharon Mazer (Auckland University Press, 2018). Mazer gets up close and personal with the one, the only, the out-and-proud Mika: the ‘queer brown boy from Aotearoa who took on the big white world’.

Tōtara by Philip Simpson (Auckland University Press, 2017). This is one of a succession of ‘tree’ books by Philip, covering every aspect of the tōtara, from botanical and ecological to cultural/historical. The book was shortlisted for the Ockhams Illustrated Non Fiction Award 2018.

Strangers Arrive by Leonard Bell (Auckland University Press, 2017). The lives and careers of some of the artists, photographers, writers, critics and architects who fled totalitarian regimes in Europe for a new start in New Zealand. As others did in the US (Mies, Gropius, etc.), these émigrés added a distinctively ‘other’ flavour to our local culture. Strangers Arrive was shortlisted for the Publishers’ Association NZ Book Design Awards 2018.

Tū Arohae: Interdisciplinary critical thinking by William Fish and Stephen Duffin (Massey University Press, 2017). Bill and Stephen have written what the publisher calls a ‘handy critical-thinking toolbox’ to help enquiring minds test the validity of any statement. It’s a timely book for this era of so-called fake news!