At long last, perhaps as a measure of our awareness that we’ve been a bit quiet of late, the Centre for the Book is pleased to announce that the theme of this year’s symposium is “Books and Silence.” In today’s hurried world, noise is everywhere.  Do you want the chance to have silence to contemplate, […]

Our very own Paul Tankard has been busy reviewing a collection of essay for the ODT.  The book, Every Day I Read by Hwang Bo-Reum, offers an array of angles into how readers engage with books, one of the necessary steps in how books work in the world.  Sample Paul’s review and if you then decide […]

A NZ initiative to improve literacy and life prospects for young children is now available through a charitable program called “Little Libraries” that provides attractive, child-height book stands in the shapes of bushes, trees and rocks.  Making the books available at eye level for children, in upright positions that make the different titles easy to […]

The 2026 World Book Day lecture will be one week from today, on Thursday, 5 March.  Ian Ferguson will speak at 5:30 pm in Burns 2, with a dinner at Ombrellos to follow.  See the Centre’s blog for full details of the lecture and dinner menu information.  If you’d like to join us for the […]

The Centre for the Book is delighted to welcome Dr. Ian Ferguson to deliver the 2026 World Book Day Lecture on “Western Eyes on New and Old Worlds.” Explorers and voyagers, missionaries, traders, soldiers, government officials, settlers, and itinerant visitors all felt the urge to write of their experiences in the wider world. China caught […]

Iain James Sharp (24 April 1953 – 24 January 2026) Librarian, Poet, Bookman Never one to gripe or complain, Iain James Sharp battled courageously, quietly and stoically with a cancer, which he succumbed to on 24 January 2026. With Joy, his wife, he had made Nelson his home, enjoying a peaceful life and involving himself […]

Save the date—Thursday 5 March 2026 will be the annual World Book Day Lecture at 5:30 pm, followed by a dinner. More details to follow in the new year.

It’s not too late to decide to join us for the 2025 BSANZ conference here in Dunedin.  The full details and programme are available online at bsanz2025.wordpress.com.  Or you might just wish to access the recordings afterward–for $25 you can see them all a few weeks after the conference concludes.

A group of enthusiasts is organising the Paul’s Book Arcade 125th Anniversary on Saturday 7th March 2026. It is a celebration of the iconic Hamilton and Auckland bookshops, William Paul family, and Blackwood & Janet Paul publishing. The main event from 10am to 4.30pm is for staff, families, customers, friends, published authors and artists, readers, […]

Only two weeks until the “Whose Work Is It Anyway” conference kicks off with a keynote address at the Athenaeum and Mechanics’ Institute in the Octagon, followed by two days of panel presentations and rounded off with a gathering of Special Collections Librarians to focus on their particular concerns and aims.  You can find out […]