Te Herenga Waka University Press

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Te Herenga Waka University Press
Parent company Victoria University of Wellington
Country of originNew Zealand
Headquarters location Wellington
DistributionUpstart Distribution
Key people Fergus Barrowman (Publisher), Ashleigh Young (Managing Editor), Jasmine Sargent (Editor - Māori), Kyleigh Hodgson (Editing and Production), Caoimhe McKeogh (Publicist). [1]
Publication types Books
No. of employees7
Official website teherengawakapress.co.nz

Te Herenga Waka University Press or THWUP (formerly Victoria University Press) is the book publishing arm of Victoria University of Wellington, located in Wellington, New Zealand. It publishes scholarly works, fiction and poetry. [2] As of 2025, the press has published almost 1,000 books [3] and has a core staff of five, plus editorial interns. [2]

Contents

History

Victoria University Press was founded in the early 1970s, with a single staff member. Fergus Barrowman became publisher in 1985 and remains in charge of the press. The press has grown significantly under Barrowman's leadership, expanding from publishing 15 titles annually in 2005 [4] to an average of 32 books per year as of 2025. [3] The press has developed a particular reputation for discovering new writers and publishing experimental and genre-bending work. [3]

In 2019, Victoria University adopted the Māori name Te Herenga Waka ("the mooring place of canoes"), which previously just referred to the university marae. [5] Tthe press changed its name as of 1 January 2022 to Te Herenga Waka University Press. [5] It adopted a new logo, designed by Philip Kelly and Rangi Kipa, which uses the initials THW to evoke a whare whakairo (carved meeting house). [5]

Publications

THWUP is a scholarly publisher specialising in New Zealand history and public affairs. It is also a significant publisher of New Zealand literary fiction and poetry. Works include the novel The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton (2013 Man Booker Prize winner), Elizabeth Knox's The Absolute Book, poet Hera Lindsay Bird's debut Hera Lindsay Bird, and the works of poet Tayi Tibble. It has a backlist of over 400 books in print, and issues 32 new titles a year on average. [4] [1]

Books on Māori topics include collections of writings in Māori by Hirini Moko Mead and Āpirana Ngata, as well as Joan Metge's books on contemporary Māori society and cross-cultural communication. [1]

Relationship with the university

The press receives funding from Victoria University. Barrowman has noted that this is crucial for the press and enables it to "take commercial risks, like first books and short stories". [4]

Notable authors

Poets published by THWUP include:

Fiction writers published by THWUP include:

Non-fiction writers published by THWUP include:

Book series

Book series published by the press have included:

Awards

Books published by THWUP have won Ockham New Zealand Book Awards such as:

References

  1. 1 2 3 "About Us". Te Herenga Waka University Press. Archived from the original on 23 February 2025. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  2. 1 2 "About Us". Te Herenga Waka University Press. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 "Literary excellence on campus—Te Herenga Waka University Press". Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. May 2025. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 Dekker, Diana (28 February 2011). "The Life of a Publisher". The Dominion Post. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 "VUP changes name to Te Herenga Waka University Press". Books+Publishing. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  6. ↑ se:New Zealand Playscripts, worldcat.org. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  7. ↑ THW Classics, teherengawakapress.co.nz. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  8. ↑ se:Victoria University of Wellington Inaugural Addresses, worldcat.org. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  9. ↑ VUP Classics, worldcat.org. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
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