A novel is a marriage. A short story a love affair.
Prominent authors have described short stories as the most disciplined and difficult form of prose writing.
Bronwyn Elsmore’s collection These Islands Here – Short Stories of the South Pacific, includes 32 fictional tales that present the varied facets of living in this part of the world. Most have been published previously, several have won short story competitions.
Reviewers say: "the author has mastered the art of the short story"; "they all have one common factor – they are each beautifully crafted". “The 32 stories in this book are divided into decades, each time period with its own helpful introduction. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll learn more about the recent histories of Aotearoa/New Zealand.”

​*Just search These Islands Here at your library service of choice.

This epic historical adventure tells the story of pre-colonial Aotearoa New Zealand like it's never been told before. A young Māori man, compelled to learn the stories of his ancestors, returns to his family marae on the east coast of the North Island to speak to his elderly grand-uncle, the keeper of the stories. What follows is an enthralling account of the young man's tipuna, the legendary warrior Kaitanga, after whom his marae's whare puni has been named. Tracing the author's own ancestral line, Kāwai: For Such a Time as This reveals a picture of an indigenous Aotearoa in the mid-18th century, through to the first encounters between Māori and Europeans. It describes a culture that is highly sophisticated with an immense knowledge of science, medicine and religion; proud tribes who live harmoniously within the natural world; a highly capable and adaptable people to whom family and legacy are paramount. However, it is also a culture illuminated by a brutal undercurrent of inter-generational vengeance, witchcraft and cannibalism.

​*Just search Kāwai at your library service of choice.