“These are not the easiest conditions to create within, at all—but they might just be the perfect conditions to find out what we are really made of as artists from Aotearoa New Zealand. Traces of Aotearoa emerges from a world in flux—global, local, personal, political. These voices annex a timeless talanoa of women: visually, literally, forcefully—a searing, tangible hymn of the messy, yearning, beautiful, and fraught miracle of daily life.” Traces of Aotearoa is a multidisciplinary anthology of poetry, prose, and visual art by women writers and artists responding to contemporary life in Aotearoa New Zealand. The collection reflects on the ongoing impacts of the pandemic, environmental uncertainty, and shifting identities, offering a thoughtful archive of women’s creative practice at the southern edge of the Pacific. Contributors include Commonwealth Poet Laureate Selina Tusitala Marsh; leading visual artists Janet Lilo, Ayesha Green, Alex Scott, Fa‘amele Etuale, Penny Howard, and the intergenerational Tongan mother and daughter duo Sulieti Fieme‘a Burrows and Tui Emma Gillies; acclaimed Pacific writer Courtney Sina Meredith; writer and gallerist Kim Meredith; emerging Rotuman/Pākehā voice Jane Lowe; Aotearoa born diaspora writer Shannon Huse Caldwell, based in Houston, Texas; and artist, designer and publisher Sally Greer, whose return to studio practice marks a powerful creative homecoming. Edited by Kim Meredith and Courtney Sina Meredith, Traces of Aotearoa brings together leading and emerging women writers and visual artists to document a period of profound social and cultural change in Aotearoa New Zealand. Spanning poetry, essays, and visual work, the anthology reflects on care, disruption, and continuity in the wake of the pandemic, while centring Māori, Pacific, queer, and diaspora perspectives. The collection serves as both creative reflection and cultural record. RRP $40 Category Non fiction; visual art; poetry ISBN 978-1-0670502-9-0 Publisher Auckland Council Libraries Published September 2026 Page extent 128 Format Hardcover Size 190 x 240 mm