Oratia Books invites submissions of adult non-fiction (history, Māori, Pasifika and illustrated non-fiction), and picture books and non-fiction for children. Explore our website or our catalogue to see if your project matches our list. Most of our authors and illustrators write about life in New Zealand and the South Pacific, and our children’s books reflect the lives of tamariki/children here.
Adult books
We publish New Zealand art and culture, general and illustrated history, with particular interest in te Ao Māori and te reo Māori.
Children’s books
Our picture books are mostly 32 pages in length and under 1000 words. Usually we match a manuscript to an illustrator. For non-fiction, take a look at the NZ Series and Moana Oceania books.
What we don’t publish
We don’t publish fiction, poetry, self-help or business books.
We don’t consider self-published books. For organisations, we offer publishing services; visit the Services page for further information.
We will not respond to submissions in which any content has been generated using Artificial Intelligence (AI).
How to submit your work
Send your work by email to submissions@oratia.co.nz with:
- a covering letter
- a synopsis
- up to three sample chapters, or a full manuscript in the case of children’s works.
By post, send to Submissions, 783 West Coast Road, Oratia, Auckland 0604. Please enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope.
We aim to respond within eight weeks of receiving your submission.
What to submit
Your covering letter should share information about yourself, your publishing history and the work you are submitting. Let us know if you have submitted to other publishers.
Send your work in a single Word document or PDF, not as separate chapters. Don’t apply any special formatting or design to your work, and please don’t attach lots of high-resolution images — you can share these via a platform such as WeTransfer or Dropbox.
If submitting by post, enclose a typed and printed single-sided manuscript on A4 paper, and number your pages.