For nearly 120 years, Hedley’s Books has championed New Zealand stories, hosting intimate author events in the bookshop to full-scale festivals such as our Yarns in Barns: Wairarapa Festival of Reading, we’ve welcomed hundreds of NZ writers through our doors. From literary icons like Dame Fiona Kidman and historical fiction pioneers like Jenny Patrick, to today’s brightest new voices, we’ve watched generations of readers fall in love with books written by some of NZ’s finest authors.
This collection celebrates a small (by no means exhaustive) slice of our favourite homegrown reads. These are books that have shaped our literary landscape, captured our imaginations, and been part of Hedley’s own story. These are books every New Zealander should discover.
Happy reading,
Anna, David and the Hedleys’ team
ABOUT HEDLEY’S BOOKS
A family of book people, since 1907, Hedley’s Books is a fourth-generation, family-owned, independent bookshop based in the Wairarapa. Their founder, William Hedley, began Hedley’s from the back of his bicycle in 1907. When Masterton’s streets were dirt-paved and gas-lit. Little did he know his family would still be sharing their love of reading and books on that same street, almost 120 years later.