Parnell bookstore Lamplight Books was recently crowned Bookshop of the Year at the Aotearoa Book Trade Industry Awards. We asked Melanie and Courtney to give us the inside scoop on their business, what they’re recommending this month, and more! Give…
By Margaret Mahy Margaret Mahy’s classic is given a new lease of life with this new edition of the book, beautifully illustrated by the 2021 winner of the Margaret Mahy Illustration Prize, Minrui Yang. Check out an excerpt below! There’s…
Design is a huge part of what makes good books even better. Design is not just about looking pretty; it’s about guiding the reader’s eye, drawing attention to key features, making text readable, digestible, and accessible. Good design is almost…
It’s the penultimate instalment in our coverage of each category in the NZCYA Awards, and today we’re focusing on the finalists in the Best First Book Award category! Hear from the authors below as they tell us about their writing…
By Jax Calder Six words: A YA queer slowburn summer romance. What more do you need? Here’s an excerpt from the first two chapters from Jax Calder’s latest The Other Brother. It was awarded a 2023 Storylines Notable Book and…
Here at The Sapling, we always love a good behind-the-scenes look into our favourite books. So, as part of our coverage of this year’s NZCYA Awards, we’ve asked the authors of the Te Kura Pounamu Award finalists to spill the…
It’s no secret that we love getting to learn and share publisher insight, so much so that we dedicate a NZCYA Awards finalist category every year to it! This year it’s the Elsie Locke Nonfiction finalists so without further ado,…
We’re thrilled to be continuing our tradition of bringing you the inside scoop with an exclusive look into the illustration process for the finalist titles in this category. Be it character designs, cover concepts, working sketches, magnificent final spreads, or…
A new initiative has come to Aotearoa, spearheaded by author and bookstore owner Kate B. Gordon. The Sapling puts a few questions to Kate to tell us what it’s all about. What is the Kiwi Authors Pen Pal programme? Kiwi…
By Feana Tuʻakoi Check out the opening chapter of Leana Tuʻakoi’s latest junior fiction novel, Lopini the Legend. It was awarded a 2023 Storylines Notable Book, and forms part of our 2023-24 Summer Excerpt Series. Chapter 1: Taha “Ugh!” yelled…