10 Dec 2017

BWB Books

From Standing Room Only, 1:40 pm on 10 December 2017
Tom Rennie from BWB.

Tom Rennie from BWB. Photo: Supplied

Bridget Williams from BWB.

Bridget Williams from BWB. Photo: Bruce Foster

Dire predictions about the death of books and of publishing in this country with the advent of e-books and the amalgamation of big publishing houses have proved to be way off the mark.

One of the standout publishers to have emerged is Wellington's BWB - Bridget Williams' Books - with its focus on New Zealand non-fiction and championing of the topical essay.

Titles in their popular BWB text series include The New Zealand Project by Max Harris, Holly Walker's The Whole Intimate Mess, and Antibiotic Resistance by Dr Siouxsie Wiles. Their latest publications include The Expatriates by expat Martin Edmond, and Paul Gorman's take on the Canterbury Earthquakes - Portacom City.

Lynn Freeman met Bridget Williams and her partner in publishing, Tom Rennie - a tight team who know each other so well, they warned me ahead of our conversation, that they tend to finish each other's sentences.