Recs if you like How to Loiter in a Turf War...

Disclaimer: I am not Pacific Islander, but we should all strive to read more Pasifika authors!

The grouping of Pasifika and Asian communities has a complex history. And because of this grouping, Pasifika authors are largely underrepresented.

Check out Pacific Islanders in Publishing (I cannot figure out how to hyperlink, sorry) for more recs!

I have not read all of the books on this list, so please let me know if any are not fit for this list!

Suggestions are always welcome!

Haere Mai, welcome! Here you will find a non-exhaustive list of modern literature that evokes the feeling of what it is like to live in Aotearoa New Zealand today.

All books here are written by New Zealanders and set in modern time New Zealand (or a fictionalised version of).

Very open to recommendations!

Books written by writers from the Pacific islands.

-Micronesia (Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Palau, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, Kosrae, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Kiribati) -Melanesia (Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Makulu Islands, West Papua) -Polynesia (American Samoa, Cook Islands, Easter Island, French Polynesia, Hawai'i, Aotearoa/New Zealand, Niue, Pitcarin Islands, Samoa, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu)

May is AAPI Heritage Month! We weren't able to find titles about Pacific Islanders who are also American, but we do have a short list of books starring queer characters from the Pacific Islands! Check 'um out, and do let us know if you know more. (This list is presented by Duck Prints Press, the indie publisher focused on publishing queer art and stories by queer creators! A group of us collaborate to make these recommendations.)

Whether it be the authors, the characters, the setting, or the country itself, these books are some of the essential reads of Aotearoa New Zealand. Fiction to nonfiction, prose to poetry, the stories of our people and our land are here. This list is ever-growing, and I will continue to add to it as I read more pukapuka from our shores.