Upstart Press

04/09/2026

📚 Next week! 📚

We have three exciting September titles coming out next week. From Paul Cleave's new novel 'Somebody Always Comes Looking', to 'Like a Revolution' and 'Sitting on the Shoulders of Giants', there's something for everyone.

All books are available to pre-order form upstartpress.co.nz and will all be in bookstores from release day on Thursday!

13/08/2026

'The Burn Card' is out now!

It is the next installment from bestselling author of 'The Slow Roll' Simon Lendrum.

'The Burn Card' features a quasi-PI named O’Malley and his smart, grounded girlfriend Claire, as they navigate the criminal underbelly of Auckland.

Buy 'The Burn Card' in stores and online now 📚

12/08/2026

🍅 Out Now 🍅

'Growing Vegetables' is a completely revised edition of the old classic.

It's is like having an expert at your elbow, sleeves rolled up, ready to lend a hand and offer great advice.

Buy 'Growing Vegetables: A Simple Guide for NZ Gardeners' in all good bookstores and online at upstartpress.co.nz now 📚

11/08/2026

We spy some goodies in there! 👀

Kete book mail is looking varied again! Plenty of crime fiction, horsey non-fiction, essays and a cookbook.

Otago University Press Te Herenga Waka University Press Upstart Press Bateman Books Cloud Ink

30/07/2026

Completely revised edition of the old classic, this is everything a new gardener needs.

Packed with tips and techniques, planning charts, and places to record notes, 'Growing Vegetables' is like having an expert at your elbow, sleeves rolled up, ready to lend a hand and offer great advice.

Pre-order 'Growing Vegetables: A Simple Guide for NZ Gardeners' now!

Available 13 August 2026

19/07/2026

It's great to see our July new release titles out in the wild 📚

'501s: The Reluctant Returnees' & 'Ringside: A Political Memoir' are in stores now!

09/07/2026

Angus Gillies will be joined in conversation by Juliet Speedy and 501-cum-youth worker Mark Talanoa, in what is sure to be a fascinating evening.

They are people who didn't want to come back to New Zealand, and generally had family and lives in Australia that they wanted to continue. Some were hardened criminals, some were people who simply associated with the wrong people, but what they had in common was that they were reluctant returnees.

How did they get to where they were, what happened on their return, and could NZ have done a better job of integrating them back into NZ society? This is the story of the 501s, in their own words.

Angus Gillies is a journalist and television producer and has written both non-fiction and fiction, including the three-book Ngati Dread series on the so-called Ruatoria Troubles and biographies of Matthew Ridge, Adam Parore, Justin Marshall and Sir John Rowles.

Remember to RSVP to [email protected] to attend. (Note the email correction from our previous post!) We look forward to seeing you there.

09/07/2026

📚 Out Now! 📚

They are people who didn’t want to come back to New Zealand, generally had family and lives in Australia that they wanted to continue. Some were hardened criminals, some were people who simply associated with the wrong people, but what they had in common was that they were reluctant returnees.

How did they get to where they were, what happened on their return, and could NZ have done a better job of integrating them back into NZ society?

'501s: The Reluctant Returnees' is the story of the 501s, in their own words.

In stores now – get your copy of '501s' today!

08/07/2026

📚 Out Now 📚

Mike Munro spent nearly 22 years working inside the political domain in Wellington.

In this memoir, Munro provides insights into events and personalities that dominated his time as a political poacher and then gamekeeper: the fall of Muldoon, the rise and then collapse of the Lange government, the ins and outs of press gallery life, the bruising leadership contests, the troubles and then triumphs of the Clark years, the personalities he got to see close up, and the flowering of the Ardern government before it was engulfed by the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s a story that traverses an unfading time in New Zealand politics.

Get your copy of 'Ringside: A Political Memoir' now – it's in stores now!

07/07/2026

Blenheim!

Join us for the launch of '501s: The Reluctant Returnees' at Paper Plus Blenheim on Wednesday the 15th of July at 5.30pm 📚

Don't miss your chance to hear from author Angus Gillies and local returnee Lee Tepuia.

This is a free event – everyone is welcome to attend