Talia Marshall's debut book Whaea Blue (2024) is a force of nature. Abandoning neutral expressions of praise, New Zealand's reviewers have spoken of it in tones of dazed warning: the book is 'stunning', 'haunted', and 'alarming in its honesty'. But while it has its wild moments, it also has notes of humour and gentleness, 'whaea' means mother or aunty...
If there’s one group of people who have already perfected the art of ‘social distancing’, it’s publishers. Like the endangered Ribbon-tailed Astrapias of Papua...
