General

New book tracks the worldwide flight of ‘Kiwi’

Kiwi: A Curious Case of National Identity
Richard Wolfe

How did the Māori name for a flightless bird come to mean a New Zealander and a fruit that originated in China, while morphing into the badge for the national rugby league team and the air force? Not to mention becoming the brand name for everything from rabbit traps to a bank, and a term for pilots who are no longer flying?

Kiwi: A Curious Case of National Identity tracks this unlikely evolution. Diving into the natural history of this unique bird and its significance to Māori, the story spreads its wings to relate how ‘kiwi’ came to symbolise the emerging nation during the First World War – thanks in part to a brand of boot polish originating in Australia.

Read More

Oratia keeps commissioned work to the fore

‘We couldn’t be more thrilled with the book we launched as a celebration of our 50th anniversary… Thank you, Oratia Media — you are an amazing company to work with.’
—    Bruce Pilbrow, CEO, Spirit of Adventure Trust

Oratia Media started life in 2000 as a publishing services business, and along with our own books continues to partner with organisations to bring their stories to publication.

Read More

Chennai International Book Fair fellowship

Attending the second Chennai International Book Fair (CIBF 2024) in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu has been an eye-opening and stimulating start to the year. 

The fair kindly invited me to join along with more than 30 publishers from around the globe, joining hundreds of colleagues from Tamil Nadu and across India.

Read More

Fifty years of the Spirit of Adventure

A Spirit Companion
Celebrating the first 50 years of the Spirit of Adventure Trust
Roger McDonald

Sweeping stories of the sea and personal growth from those who have sailed the iconic Spirit of Adventure

‘All a trainee needed to feel — could not help feeling — was that their feet were on the decks of something pretty big, and change was happening all around them just by the motion that happened when the wind blew.’

Read More