Te Herenga Waka University Press
Te Herenga Waka University Press or THWUP (formerly Victoria University Press) is the book publishing arm of Victoria University of Wellington, located in Wellington, New Zealand. It publishes scholarly works, fiction and poetry.
Also recorded as Victoria University Press · VUP Press · THW Press · Victoria University of Wellington Press
Te Herenga Waka University Press
- Founded
- 1970
- Headquarters
- Kelburn
- Part of
- Victoria University of Wellington
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Documentary summary
Te Herenga Waka University Press or THWUP (formerly Victoria University Press) is the book publishing arm of Victoria University of Wellington, located in Wellington, New Zealand. It publishes scholarly works, fiction and poetry.
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wikidata · Q17067645 · wikipedia · Te Herenga Waka University Press
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Parent — Victoria University of Wellington • Country — New Zealand • Headquarters — Wellington • Distribution — Upstart Distribution • Keypeople — Fergus Barrowman (Publisher), Ashleigh Young (Managing Editor), Jasmine Sargent (Editor - Māori), Kyleigh Hodgson (Editing and Production), Caoimhe McKeogh (Publicist). • Publications — Books • Numemployees — 7 • Url — teherengawakapress.co.nz/
History
History
Victoria University Press was founded in the early 1970s, with a single staff member. Fergus Barrowman became publisher in 1985 and remains in charge of the press. The press has grown significantly under Barrowman's leadership, expanding from publishing 15 titles annually in 2005 to an average of 32 books per year as of 2025. The press has developed a particular reputation for discovering new writers and publishing experimental and genre-bending work. In 2019, Victoria University adopted the Māori name Te Herenga Waka ("the mooring place of canoes"), which previously just referred to the university marae. The press changed its name as of 1 January 2022 to Te Herenga Waka University Press. It adopted a new logo, designed by Philip Kelly and Rangi Kipa, which uses the initials THW to evoke a whare whakairo (carved meeting house).
Relationship with the university
Relationship with the university
The press receives funding from Victoria University. Barrowman has noted that this is crucial for the press and enables it to "take commercial risks, like first books and short stories".
Notable authors
Book series
Book series
Book series published by the press have included: • New Zealand Playscripts • THW Classics • Victoria University of Wellington Inaugural Addresses • VUP Classics
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
- New Zealand
Publications
THWUP is a scholarly publisher specialising in New Zealand history and public affairs. It is also a significant publisher of New Zealand literary fiction and poetry. Works include the novel The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton (2013 Man Booker Prize winner), Elizabeth Knox's The Absolute Book, poet Hera Lindsay Bird's debut Hera Lindsay Bird, and the works of poet Tayi Tibble. It has a backlist of over 400 books in print, and issues 32 new titles a year on average. Books on Māori topics include collections of writings in Māori by Hirini Moko Mead and Āpirana Ngata, as well as Joan Metge's books on contemporary Māori society and cross-cultural communication.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Te Herenga Waka University Press”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q17067645: Te Herenga Waka University Press
General reference · Wikidata
Awards
Books published by THWUP have won Ockham New Zealand Book Awards including: • Nafanua Purcell Kersel, Black Sugarcane (2026 Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry) • Damien Wilkins, Delirious (2025 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction) • Michelle Rahurahu, Poorhara (2025 Hubert Church Prize for Best First Book of Fiction) • Una Cruickshank, The Chthonic Cycle (2025 E.H. McCormick Prize for Best First Book of General Non-fiction) • Emma Hislop, Ruin and Other Stories(2024 Hubert Church Prize for Best First Book of Fiction) • Catherine Chidgey, The Axeman's Carnival (2023 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction) • Anthony Lapwood, Home Theatre (2023 Hubert Church Prize for Best First Book of Fiction) • Rebecca K Reilly, Greta & Valdin (2022 Hubert Church Prize for Best First Book of Fiction) • Dave Lowe, The Alarmist: Fifty Years Measuring Climate Change (2022 E H McCormick Best First Book Award for General Non-Fiction) • Airini Beautrais, Bug Week (2021 Jann Medlicott Acorn Foundation Prize for Fiction) • Tusiata Avia, The Savage Coloniser Book (2021 Mary and Peter Biggs Prize for Poetry) • Madison Hamill, Specimen (2021 EH McCormick Prize for General Non-fiction) • Shayne Carter, Dead People I Have Known (2020 General Non-fiction Award winner and Best First Book of Non-fiction Award winner) • Helen Heath, Are Friends Electric? (2019 Mary and Peter Biggs Prize for Poetry) • Pip Adam, The New Animals (2018 Acorn Foundation Prize for Fiction) • Catherine Chidgey, The Wish Child (2017 Acorn Foundation Prize for Fiction) • Ashleigh Young, Can You Tolerate This? (2017 General Non-fiction Award winner) • Andrew Johnston, Fits and Starts (2017 Poetry Award winner) • Annaleese Jochems, Baby (2017 Hubert Church Prize for Fiction) • David Coventry, The Invisible Mile (2016 Hubert Church Prize for Fiction) • Eleanor Catton, The Luminaries (2014 Fiction Prize) • Amy Head, Tough (2014 Hubert Church Prize for Fiction) • Lawrence Patchett, I Got His Blood on Me (2013 Hubert Church Prize for Fiction) • Pip Adam, Everything We Hoped For (2011 Hubert Church Prize for Fiction) • Kate Camp, The Mirror of Simple Annihilated Souls (2011 Poetry Award winner) • Brian Turner, Just This (2010 Poetry Award winner) • Anna Taylor, Relief (2010 NZSA Hubert Church Best First Book of Fiction Award Winner) • Jenny Bornholdt, The Rocky Shore (2009 Poetry category winner) • Richard Boast, Buying the Land, Selling the Land (2009 History category winner) • Eleanor Catton, The Rehearsal (2009 NZSA Hubert Church Best First Book Award for Fiction)
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Te Herenga Waka University Press. About Us.
- 2.Te Herenga Waka University Press. About Us.
- 3.Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. Literary excellence on campus—Te Herenga Waka University Press. May 2025.
- 4.VUP changes name to Te Herenga Waka University Press. Books+Publishing. 2 February 2022.
- 5.Dekker, Diana. The Life of a Publisher. The Dominion Post. 28 February 2011.
- 6.se:New Zealand Playscripts, worldcat.org. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
- 7.THW Classics, teherengawakapress.co.nz. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
- 8.se:Victoria University of Wellington Inaugural Addresses, worldcat.org. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
- 9.VUP Classics, worldcat.org. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
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General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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