THE GROOVE BOOK REPORT

The WOMAD Aotearoa 2025 family continues to grow, as even more international acts have joined the Ngāmotu / New Plymouth festival's already stellar bill, plus special guests for the World Of Words and STEAM Lab programmes have been officially announced. New musical additions include West African organic-electronic feminist collective Nana Benz Du Togo, genre-melting Jamaican hip hop / soul / jazz / dancehall star Protoje with his group The Indiggnation, UK baritone sax / drums powerhouses O. aka Joe Henwood and Tash Keary, Papua New Guinea songwriting figurehead Telek (of Painim Wok), and Naarm / Melbourne art-rockers Not Drowning, Waving. That's all on top of the announcement of Irish electronic pop artist Róisín Murphy (Ninja Tune) of Moloko earlier this month. The World Of Words and STEAM Lab programmes expand the WOMAD Aotearoa 2025 beyond sound — engaging attendees with a multi-sensory array of poetry slams, author talks, podcasts, comedy and first-hand insight...

Two Randell Cottage alumni have both been shortlisted for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the 2025 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards – Kirsty Gunn for 'Pretty Ugly' and Tina Makereti for 'The Mires'. Historic Randell Cottage in Wellington, New Zealand, has been a writers’ residency for New Zealand and French writers since 2001. Also, the Cottage's July 2025 fellow, Saraid de Silva’s novel AMMA has been longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction in the UK. Pretty Ugly - Kirsty Gunn What is ugly in this collection are the conflicts and secrets that drive each plot: burning wind turbines, mutated salmon and mortal hatred. In stories set in the UK and New Zealand, Kirsty Gunn’s characters confront forces that challenge their capacity to endure. Images of triumph are brought into sharp focus by a masterful wordsmith: memories of a pristine river, a herd of running deer and the shot not fired. 2025 New Zealand Book Awards  The Mires - Tina Makareti  Keri and ...