Book Launch: The Valley of Unlikely Acquaintances by Terri Te Tau

Join artist, writer and professor, Terri Te Tau, to launch her debut novel The Valley of Unlikely Acquaintances (published by Spoor Books). About the book: A remarkable debut that follows one close-knit Māori community and the Wairarapa forest they are fighting to restore. Tīria is a revolutionary scientist—or so she likes to think. Her work at the whānau-led Kōpuaranga Research Centre has transformed the valley’s reforestation efforts. But not everyone is convinced that genetically edited cats belong in the ngahere. While Tīria juggles disciplinary hearings and romantic field trips, her best friend Lydia is left trying to hold the hapori together. When human remains are found in a nearby cave, the valley is drawn into speculation. What begins as an isolated discovery soon reveals unsettling ties to the 1800s, when the region’s ecological devastation first began. As rumours spread and tensions escalate, Lydia and Tīria are pulled into a history that promises to redefine not only the research centre, but the future of the community and the forest they call home. About the author: Terri Te Tau (Ngāti Kahungunu, Rangitāne ki Wairarapa) is an artist and writer based in the Manawatū. She's a member of the art collective Mataaho — Arts Foundation Laureates and winners of the 2021 Walters Art Prize. Terri’s research is centred around connections between indigenous knowledge systems, science, speculative fiction and the environment. She completed a PhD in Creative Arts from Massey University in 2015 before becoming a postdoctoral fellow at the Center of Culture-Centred Approach to Research and Evaluation at Massey University.