Award-winning Hawke's Bay novelists Gareth and Louise Ward - together in everything they do
Home - with Bookshop Detectives: #2 Tea and Cake and Death already on the stands - to prepare #3 for publishing by next April, with what Louise describes as the 'nice piece of paper' that symbolises the award.
One might think it would also portend acceleration past best-seller ranks to those actually making some coin in the novel-writing game.
Fact is that, while they understand Dead Girl Gone was the No 1 best-seller for a New Zealand novel last year, they say it's something more they enjoy doing than expecting to make a fortune.
The couple's fascination with New Zealand started with visits by Louise to her brother, who had emigrated to Hawke's Bay.
They arrived in Havelock North in 2007, finding over the years there were others of the literary enthused who'd moved to Hawke's Bay for similar reasons. Louise reels off a string of award winners, including Charity Norman, whose seventh book, Remember Me, published in 2022, was acclaimed the best novel at the Ngaio Marsh Awards last November.
They opened the first Wardini Bookstore in Havelock North in 2013, and a second in Napier in 2017, and started writing.
The couple went to Auckland at the weekend knowing they were in with a chance, having been 'short-listed' for what was one of 15 categories, in which publisher Penguin also benefited from the book, with the publicity and marketing.
Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke's Bay Today, and has 52 years of journalism experience, 42 of them in Hawke's Bay, in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Spinoff
3 days ago
- The Spinoff
The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending July 25
The top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books' stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 Better the Blood by Michael Bennett (Simon & Schuster, $27) Second week in a row! 2 A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin, $60) The former prime minister's memoir. 3 The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb (Simon & Schuster, $40) Good Readers are mostly digging it, giving this latest Lamb a 4.44 rating on 20,333 votes so far. However sounds like you must brace yourself for the beginning: 'One of the most shocking and heartbreaking first chapters I've ever read,' says one reviewer. 4 Polkinghorne: Inside the Trial of the Century by Steve Braunias (Allen & Unwin, $38) One of the most sensationalised court cases in recent memory. 5 1985 by Dominic Hoey (Penguin, $38) Brilliant, propulsive, warm, generous novel about growing up in Grey Lynn in the 80s. 6 Strange Pictures by Uketsu (Pushkin Press, $37) A murder mystery involving pictures as clues. 7 The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong (Jonathan Cape, $38) Vuong's much-praised, Oprah-approved second novel. 8 The Safe Keep by Yael van der Wouden (Penguin, $26) Rightful winner of this year's Women's Prize for fiction. 9 Mahi A Atua by Mark & Diana Kopua (Huia Publishers, $55) Huia have been busy! Here's the blurb for this latest publication: 'Mahi a Atua is a Māori wellbeing framework based around storytelling. Grounded in a Mori Māori view, this approach is designed to foster transformation and systemic change and indigenise practices, institutions and personal and professional spaces. The knowledge, messages and principles within purākau spark conversations aimed at promoting wellbeing, consciousness raising and healing.' 10 Fulvia by Kaarina Parker (Echo Publishing, $37) Caeden at Unity Books Auckland says that 'this novel brings something bold, new, and refreshing to ancient world retellings. Parker has done her research to make sure her writing is as authentic as possible, while telling a story that's scarily appropriate for the current political moment. An excellent novel of ambition, power, and infamy.' WELLINGTON 1 The Stars Are A Million Glittering Worlds by Gina Butson (Allen & Unwin, $38) 'In January 2023, I wrote a story and named it for a mountain in Guatemala. But the deep-sea root of the story was something my mother told me a year or so before she died. . .' Butson wrote about the various inspirations for her debut novel r ight here on The Spinoff. 2 Stone & Sky #10 The Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch (Orion Books, $38) The latest in the bestselling detective series. 3 A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin, $60) 4 The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38) 'Chidgey's latest novel is uncannily similar to Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go (which she has not read),' writes Claire Mabey in her rave review. 'It takes similar aim at British identity by puncturing its society with the normalisation of skewed medical ethics. What both novels have in common are questions of nature versus nurture and the eternal thought exercise of what does it mean to possess a soul? The two writers share an interest in the dehumanising potential of such questions. Both Ishiguro (one of the greatest novelists of all time) and Chidgey (fast becoming one of the greats herself) investigate how whole societies, entire countries, can enter a path of gross moral corruption one person, one concession, at a time.' 5 M ātauranga Māori by Hirini Moko Mead (Huia Publishers, $45) Everything you need to know about mātauranga from an authority on the subject. 6 Polkinghorne: Inside the Trial of the Century by Steve Braunias (Allen & Unwin, $38) 7 Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams (Macmillan, $40) She's baaackkkkk. Shark attack victim and Zuck victim Wynn-Williams' memoir contains some unsurprising but still fascinating/horrifying perspectives on working for Meta and the people who run it. Read a review of the book on The Spinoff, here. A community of women and a post-apocalyptic world. 9 Is a River Alive? By Robert Macfarlane (Penguin, $65) Acclaimed nature writer Robert Macfarlane explores the nature of rivers and how people relate to them. 10 Pūkeko Who-Keko? by Toby Morris (Puffin, $21) Full of delightful gags, linguistic play and wonderful illustrations, this is a bird book you can get behind. The Spinoff Books section is proudly brought to you by Unity Books and Creative New Zealand. Visit Unity Books online today.
NZ Herald
6 days ago
- NZ Herald
Award-winning Hawke's Bay novelists Gareth and Louise Ward - together in everything they do
On Monday afternoon, they said, together, in keeping with the same-page basis of seemingly everything they do: 'We've only just got home this morning.' Home - with Bookshop Detectives: #2 Tea and Cake and Death already on the stands - to prepare #3 for publishing by next April, with what Louise describes as the 'nice piece of paper' that symbolises the award. One might think it would also portend acceleration past best-seller ranks to those actually making some coin in the novel-writing game. Fact is that, while they understand Dead Girl Gone was the No 1 best-seller for a New Zealand novel last year, they say it's something more they enjoy doing than expecting to make a fortune. The couple's fascination with New Zealand started with visits by Louise to her brother, who had emigrated to Hawke's Bay. They arrived in Havelock North in 2007, finding over the years there were others of the literary enthused who'd moved to Hawke's Bay for similar reasons. Louise reels off a string of award winners, including Charity Norman, whose seventh book, Remember Me, published in 2022, was acclaimed the best novel at the Ngaio Marsh Awards last November. They opened the first Wardini Bookstore in Havelock North in 2013, and a second in Napier in 2017, and started writing. The couple went to Auckland at the weekend knowing they were in with a chance, having been 'short-listed' for what was one of 15 categories, in which publisher Penguin also benefited from the book, with the publicity and marketing. Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke's Bay Today, and has 52 years of journalism experience, 42 of them in Hawke's Bay, in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.
The Spinoff
18-07-2025
- The Spinoff
The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending July 18
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books' stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 Better the Blood by Michael Bennett (Simon & Schuster, $27) Aotearoa writer Michael Bennett's 2023 crime novel boosted his profile overseas with the likes of Val McDermid blurbing it. Curious to see it back up on top this week (and unseating the former prime minister's memoir!). 2 Wonderland by Tracy Farr (Cuba Press, $38) Wellington novelist Tracy Farr cracks Auckland's bestseller list! Here's the blurb: 'Te Motu Kairangi Miramar Peninsula, Wellington 1912. Doctor Matti Loverock spends her days and nights bringing babies into the world, which means her daughters – seven-year-old triplets Ada, Oona and Hanna – have grown up at Wonderland, the once-thriving amusement park owned by their father, Charlie. Then a grieving woman arrives to stay from the other side of the world, in pain and incognito, fleeing scandal. She ignites the triplets' curiosity and brings work for Matti, diverting them all from what is really happening at Wonderland. In a bold reimagining, Marie Curie – famous for her work on radioactivity – comes to Aotearoa and discovers both solace and wonder.' 3 Polkinghorne: Inside the Trial of the Century by Steve Braunias (Allen & Unwin, $38) Australian might be obsessed with the mushroom lady, but we're still hung up on Polk. 4 A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin, $60) Unseated! 5 My Three Rivers by Shirley Metcalfe (Cuba Press, $38) Charming memoir of rural life. 6 Tackling the Hens by Mary McCallum (Cuba Press, $25) Another Wellingtonian! Local hero Mary McCallum's poetry is witty, sharp and warm. 7 Strange Pictures by Uketsu (Pushkin Press, $37) The latest blockbuster to come out of Japan – a chilling murder mystery that readers can't put down. 8 Butter by Asako Yuzuki (4th Estate, $35) The book that paved the way for Strange Pictures, above. 9 The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb (Simon & Schuster, $40) What is the river waiting for? 10 1985 by Dominic Hoey (Penguin, $38) The Spinoff's Lyric Waiwiri-Smith and Claire Mabey had a chat about how much they liked this novel, and why. Here's a snippet: 'I [Lyric] love the love for Grey Lynn that runs through the book as well. He writes about that suburb with so much care, like you know Obi has haunted every street corner and still wholeheartedly believes this is the only place on Earth that feels like home. I can smell the vinegar factory and mildew on the pages. I kind of wonder whether these characters and their shameless habits might be a bit garish for a reader who wants to read some kind of underdog story, where Obi does find the treasure and suddenly everything is fixed, or dad gets his shit together and publishes his poems. But, like Grey Lynn, some things mostly just stay the same forever.' WELLINGTON 1 A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin, $60) 2 A Voice for the Silenced by Harry Walker ($35) A powerful collection of writing by incarcerated people. 3 M ātauranga Māori by Hirini Moko Mead (Huia, $45) An essential book for anyone keen to understand what mātauranga means and how it operates. 4 Stone & Sky #10 Rivers Of London by Ben Aaronvitch (Orion Books, $38) A brand new novel in the bestselling detective series. 5 The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38) A propulsive novel that asks major questions about our very souls – a guaranteed great read. 6 Tūmahi Māori: A Pathway to Understanding Māori Verbs by Hone Waengarangi Morris (Massey University Press, $45) Grammar! A new essential resource for te reo Māori learners. 7 The Safe Keep by Yael van der Wouden (Penguin, $26) Wonderful historical novel about how houses hold histories, and people, too. 8 James by Percival Everett (Picador, $38) This retelling of Huckleberry Finn is one of the biggest novels of the decade. 9 No, I Don't Get Danger Money: Confessions of an Accidental War Correspondent by Lisette Reymer (Allen & Unwin, $38) Absolutely thrilling memoir from Aotearoa's Lisette Reymer. You can get a whiff of it by reading Reymer's edition of My Life in TV right here on The Spinoff. 10 Oceans Between Us: Pacific Peoples and Racism in Aotearoa edited by Sereana Naepi (Auckland University Press, $40) 'Through ten essays rooted in the va – the relational space of story, dialogue and environment – each chapter builds on the next, weaving together lived experiences and sharp Between Us is both a testimony and a call to action. It documents the struggles of Pacific peoples and envisions a world beyond now. A rallying cry for justice, a demand for equity and a catalyst for change, this book is not about survival alone – it' s about thriving.'
