NZ Lit 101: Our Literary Taonga
Let me share with you some of Aotearoa NZโs most important and influential works.
Youโll find these books and authors covered in classrooms. Theyโre classics and represent a portion of Aotearoa's literary taonga (treasure).






Aotearoa New Zealand on the Page
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.






James Tait Black Memorial Prize Winners (Fiction)
One of Britain's oldest literary awards, alongside the Hawthornden Prize. The prize was founded in 1919 and is based at the University of Edinburgh.





