The 50 best New Zealand books of the past 50 years
This is one of the 759 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.
About this list
Spinoff, 50 Books
To mark the Ockham New Zealand national book awards 50th Anniversary; the Spinoff asked 50 experts – authors, publishers, academics, booksellers – to name the very best New Zealand books published from 1968 - 2018.
This list was originally published in 2018 and was added to this site over 1 year ago.
| Rank | Book | Authors | Year | Country | Language | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2398 | Plumb | Maurice Gee | 1978 | New Zealand | English | |
| 3462 | To The Is Land | Janet Frame | 1957 | New Zealand | English | |
| 1145 | The Bone People | Keri Hulme | 1984 | New Zealand | English | |
| 4898 | Potiki | Patricia Grave | 1986 | New Zealand | English | |
| 4776 | An Angel At My Table | Unknown | 1984 | New Zealand | English | |
| 5736 | Redemption Songs | Judith Binney | 1995 | New Zealand | English | |
| 4639 | The Vintner's Luck | Elizabeth Knox | 1998 | New Zealand | English | |
| 4897 | The Book Of Fame | Lloyd Jones | 2000 | New Zealand | English | |
| 4834 | Other Halves | Sue McCauley | 1983 | New Zealand | English | |
| 4522 | Te Puea | Michael King | 1978 | New Zealand | English | |
| 9142 | Can You Tolerate This? | Ashleigh Young | 2016 | New Zealand | English | |
| 3077 | Once Were Warriors | Alan Duff | 1990 | New Zealand | English | |
| 3272 | The Luminaries | Eleanor Catton | 2013 | New Zealand | English | |
| 8735 | Tangata Whenua | Atholl Anderson, Judith Binney, Aroha Harris | 2014 | New Zealand | English | |
| 4777 | The Life Of Katherine Mansfield | Anthony Alpers | 1980 | New Zealand | English | |
| 5359 | The Treaty Of Waitangi | Claudia Orange | 1987 | New Zealand | English | |
| 4231 | Pounamu, Pounamu | Witi Ihimaera | 1972 | New Zealand | English | |
| 6257 | A Novel About My Wife | Emily Perkins | 2008 | New Zealand | English | |
| 4197 | Smith’s Dream | C. K. Stead | 1971 | New Zealand | English | |
| 4487 | The Sugarbag Years | Tony Simpson | 1974 | New Zealand | English | |
| 6287 | Not Her Real Name, And Other Stories | Emily Perkins | 1996 | New Zealand | English | |
| 5009 | The South Island Of New Zealand From The Road | Robin Morrison | 1981 | New Zealand | English | |
| 9345 | Hera Lindsay Bird | Hera Lindsay Bird | 2016 | New Zealand | English | |
| 7009 | The Trial Of The Cannibal Dog | Anne Salmond | 2003 | New Zealand | English | |
| 9938 | Blue Smoke | Chris Bourk | New Zealand | Unknown | ||
| 4499 | Mister Pip | Lloyd Jones | 2006 | New Zealand | English | |
| 4529 | Tangi | Witi Ihimaera | 1973 | New Zealand | English | |
| 7747 | Lifted | Bill Manhire | 2006 | New Zealand | English | |
| 5684 | Moriori | Michael King | 1989 | New Zealand | English | |
| 8616 | Civilisation | Steve Braunias | 2012 | New Zealand | English | |
| 6483 | The Dictionary Of New Zealand English | Harry Orsman | 1997 | New Zealand | English | |
| 4987 | Living In The Maniototo | Janet Frame | 1979 | New Zealand | English | |
| 4760 | Amiria | Amiria Manutahi Stirling, Anne Salmond | 1976 | New Zealand | English | |
| 5367 | Bread And Roses | Sonja Davies | 1984 | New Zealand | English | |
| 7084 | Shape Shifter | Hone Tuwhare | 2003 | New Zealand | English | |
| 5375 | All Visitors Ashore | C. K. Stead | 1984 | New Zealand | English | |
| 2912 | Tu | Patricia Grace | 2004 | New Zealand | English | |
| 6898 | A City Possessed | Lynley Hood | 2001 | New Zealand | English | |
| 5652 | The Unfortunate Experiment | Sandra Coney | 1988 | New Zealand | English | |
| 6323 | Opportunity | Charlotte Grimshaw | 2007 | New Zealand | English | |
| 6208 | Let The River Stand | Vincent O’Sullivan | 1993 | New Zealand | English | |
| 6804 | The Art Of Grahame Sydney | Grahame Sydney | 2000 | New Zealand | English | |
| 7104 | Māori | Michael King | 2003 | New Zealand | English | |
| 4737 | Trees And Shrubs Of New Zealand | Audrey Eagle | 1975 | New Zealand | English | |
| 8049 | The 10pm Question | Kate De Goldi | 2008 | New Zealand | English | |
| 6141 | Two Worlds | Anne Salmond | 1992 | New Zealand | English | |
| 8051 | Rita Angus | Jill Trevelyan | 2008 | New Zealand | English | |
| 6003 | The Rehearsal | Eleanor Catton | 2008 | New Zealand | English | |
| 5660 | Oracles And Miracles | Stevan Eldred-Grigg | 1988 | New Zealand | English | |
| 8848 | Tragedy At Pike River Mine | Rebecca Macfie | 2013 | New Zealand | English |