Press Release – Hardie Grant Books
Thomas Mayo, a leader of the Yes 23 campaign to constitutionally enshrine a Voice to Parliament in Australia and the co-author of the bestselling book The Voice to Parliament Handbook, has penned an important new book that addresses ‘what next’ … Read more »
Press Release – Phantom Billstickers
Get ready to celebrate the power of poetry, Aotearoa! Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day 2024 is scheduled for Friday 23 August, and a packed programme of close to 100 official events is revealed today, showcasing the nation’s love of poetry. Read more »
News from Tuwhiri
On 25 July 2024, the Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand imprint Tuwhiri launched a Kickstarter campaign to publish Mindful Solidarity: A Secular Buddhist Democratic Socialist Dialogue by Mike Slott. To pre-order this book – helping to ensure its publication – people are encouraged support Tuwhiri’s Kickstarter campaign.
In this book, Mike Slott, a longtime labour activist and a member of the north New Jersey chapter of Democratic Socialists of America, encourages political activists and Buddhist practitioners to connect with and learn from each other. He argues that a secular form of Buddhism and democratic socialist politics are both essential if we want to create a non-exploitative and just society in which everyone has the opportunity to flourish.
Review from Keith Rankin
An important (and widely commented on) book published last year is End Times: Elites, Counter-Elites, and the Path of Political Disintegration, by Perer Turchin. Before reading this book I read his 2007 book War and Peace and War (see my 30 Jan 2024 article Asabiyya), Ages of Discord (2016, an application of Turchin and colleagues’ cliodynamic model to the history of the United States), and the Kindle summary of Secular Cycles (2009).
News from Duffy Books in Homes
2024 marks the 30th Anniversary of the Duffy Books in Homes (DBIH) programme. Since it began in 1994 the programme has given away almost 15 million books. Participation has grown too, with over 560 schools and more than 270 early childhood centres benefitting from the programme each year. In 2024, nearly 100,000 ‘Duffy Kids’ will receive at least six new books of their choice to own, thanks to over 200 funding partners, supporters, and donors. The programme has been so successful, it has inspired offshoot programmes in Australia and the USA.
