Auckland, New Zealand - High Spot Literary Agency is delighted to announce that Scribe Publications have acquired World English language
rights for the multiple award-winning novel Auē by Becky Manawatu.
Auē has been in New Zealand’s bestsellers list every week for over a year, since it won the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize, the
country’s leading fiction prize. And it has been one of the top two fiction titles for all but five of those weeks. This
run shows no sign of abating, with Auē at number 2 last week. (Data according to Nielsen’s BookScan). The novel also won the Ngaio Marsh Award last year and
was longlisted for the Dublin Literary Prize.
“Becky Manawatu’s Auē is a marvellous debut: masterfully structured, compelling, heart-breaking, and ultimately hopeful,” said Marika
Webb-Pullman, Associate Publisher at Scribe Publications. “In its subject matter and refusal to shy away from harsh
realities, it's reminiscent of the work of Keri Hulme and Alan Duff — Manawatu’s voice, though, is entirely her own, and
we at Scribe are thrilled to be taking Auē to an international readership and building upon its incredible New Zealand success”
Becky Manawatu described the news as ‘awesome’. She said: “I wrote Auē in Europe, following my husband Tim’s rugby
career. I wrote it for Tim and for my kids, and when Mākaro Press published it, I thought it would be read by people in
Aotearoa. I never thought it would make its way over to Australia let alone the other side of the world.”
Mākaro Press publisher Mary McCallum said: “Scribe will do a wonderful job. We are sure of that – look at the beautiful
and thought-provoking books they publish – and they’re 100% committed to Auē and the powerful deeply New Zealand story
it tells, which is what we need in an overseas partner.”
Nadine Rubin Nathan of High Spot Literary who brokered the deal on behalf of Mākaro Press said: “We are excited that a
novel that won the top fiction prize in New Zealand will now be available to the global audience it deserves. This is
exactly what High Spot Literary aims to acheive.”
High Spot Literary has also sold French language rights to Au Vent des Îles.
About Scribe Publications: Scribe has offices in Melbourne and London and publishes over 65 nonfiction and fiction titles annually in Australia,
about 60 in the United Kingdom, and as of 2017, about 30 titles in the US.
About High Spot Literary: High Spot Literary, a full-service literary agency, represents authors of adult fiction and non-fiction, YA, middle
grade and picture books. We also represent publishers like Mākaro Press for international and foreign rights sales.