Pav Deconstructed: Pavlova through the eyes of everyday Kiwis

Pav Deconstructed is a luscious, hard-cover, coffee-table-style book about pavlova. While it does contain a recipe from the wonderful Christall Lowe, it is not a recipe book!

The idea for the book started ten years ago at a dinner table when a group of writers discovered they all had a pavlova tale to tell. Over the past two years, Pavlova Press has been on a quest for the real pavlova, the one seen on Kiwi tables, and not just through the photos in a cookbook. 

Pav Deconstructed brings together experiences and imaginings through poetry, story, and art from everyday Kiwis (and some international imposters) in a collection that shows pavlova is not just a dessert, it is community. 

At Pavlova Press we love this idea of community and believe every Kiwi will see a little bit of themselves inside. We have gathered work from over 150 contributors, many of whom have not been published before, and presented it in an anthology unlike any seen before. Part of our ethos is providing a platform for new voices and we believe Pav Deconstructed does just that.

Our vision for this book is to offer something that is uniquely Kiwi and that resonates with our passion for holding on to what is rightfully ours – Phar Lap, Crowded House, the Bledisloe Cup … and pavlova.

Christmas is just around the corner and we want to make sure as many people as possible have this tasty slice of Aotearoa New Zealand under their Christmas tree. 

* Don’t know what to get your mum for Christmas? 
* Struggling to buy that perfect gift for Nana Hazel or Uncle Jim? 
* Tired of having to think about presents for your sister, Lois, who has everything – including your mum’s pavlova recipe? 
* Want something to remember those times making pavlova with Dad? 
* Need that hard-to-find gift to say sorry to Madge?

Whatever gift-giving scenario you find yourself in, Pav Deconstructed will solve it.

Want to know how to get a copy? Very soon we’ll be launching a PledgeMe campaign to get this book out into the world. We’ll give you all the details as soon as we have them.

Announcement of contributors – Kerikeri anthology

Pavlova Press is pleased to announce the upcoming publication of Ngā Ripo Wai | Swirling Waters, an anthology of writing about Kerikeri. 

Noel Jones, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

This multi-genre collection in te reo Māori and English explores the uneven terrain of Kerikeri and its history, from the pā to the store, from the warrior to the gardener, from the chainmail coat to the black singlet to the Māori Battalion tie pin, from the orchards to the river banks, from the airport to the Old Packhouse Market and the galleries. This beautiful, undulating landscape of poems, ultra-short stories, interviews and histories comes from writers with a Kerikeri connection. 

Poet and essayist Lynn Jenner calls the anthology: “… a word painting of this place as it was and as it is now …” and asks, “Is Kerikeri a settled place? Yes and no. That tension is what makes this anthology so much fun to read and so worthwhile to think about.” 

Congratulations to the contributors whose work has been chosen to feature in the anthology, and to Dallon August, whose artwork graces the cover (which will be revealed shortly!). We would also like to acknowledge the valuable input from Andrew Blanshard and Liz Bigwood.

Alistair Tulett
Audrey Lappin
Barbara Wrigley
Bella Booth
Briar Wood
Bruce Hudson
Corralie Betts
Debbie Raphael
Diana Menefy
Elinor Davis
Fiona Kidman
Glenn Colquhoun
Heather McQuillan
Jac Jenkins
Jill Creighton
John Geraets
John O’Hare
Julia Barber
Julia Reinholt
June Pitman-Hayes
K.V. Martins
Kanjini Devi
Kathy Derrick
Kipa Munro
Lesley Marshall
Lilly Marie Hulse
Lucy Spice
Lynette Wrigley-Brown
Lynne Hill
Marino-Moana Begman
Mark Graver
Martin Porter
Mercedes Webb-Pullman
Philippa Campbell
Piet Nieuwland
Rose Wunrow
Sian Williams
Sophie McEntee
Susi Thompson
Tania Aslund
Tūauahiroa Te Kēpa
Vaughan Rapatahana
Vera Dong
Vivian Thonger
Vivienne Plumb