Gecko Press is an independent publisher of children's books based in

Wellington, New Zealand Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

. The company was founded in 2005 by Julia Marshall, formerly of Appelberg Publishing Agency, winner of the Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal 2021. Gecko Press publishes English translations of popular books from countries including France, Taiwan, Sweden, Japan, Germany, Poland and the Netherlands. Gecko Press also publish 2–4 original titles each year.

Authors and illustrators

Gecko Press has published and translated a wide range of children's book authors and illustrators. These include: *

Barbro Lindgren Barbro Lindgren (born 18 March 1937) is a Swedish writer of children's books and books for adult readers. For her lasting contribution as a children's writer, Lindgren was a finalist for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in ...

* Dorothée de Monfreid * Eva Eriksson *

Frida Nilsson Frida Nilsson (born 1979) is a Swedish children’s writer whose first book was published in 2004. She has won numerous international shortlistings and prizes, including the August Prize, the German Youth Literature Prize, Expressens Heffaklump ...

Gavin Bishop Gavin John Bishop (born 1946) is an author and illustrator, from Invercargill, New Zealand. He is known for illustrating books from prominent New Zealand authors, including Joy Cowley and Margaret Mahy. Bishop's first published picture book was ...

* Gitte Spee *

Grégoire Solotareff Grégoire Solotareff (born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1953) is a French artist, writer and illustrator of children's books. Solotareff practiced as a doctor from 1978 to 1985, before beginning his career as an illustrator with Hatier. The publication ...

Joy Cowley Cassia Joy Cowley (; born 7 August 1936) is a New Zealand author best known for her children's fiction, including the popular series of books Mrs. Wishy-Washy. Cowley started out writing novels for adults, and her first book, ''Nest in a Fal ...

Kate De Goldi Kate De Goldi (born 1959) is a New Zealand novelist, children's writer and short story writer. Her early work was published under the pseudonym Kate Flannery. Early life De Goldi was born in Christchurch in 1959. She is of mixed Irish and Italia ...

Margaret Mahy Margaret Mahy (21 March 1936 – 23 July 2012) was a New Zealand author of children's and young adult books. Many of her story plots have strong supernatural elements but her writing concentrates on the themes of human relationships and growi ...

Michal Shalev Michal Shalev (Hebrew: מיכל שלו) is an Israeli author and illustrator of children's books. She has an MA in children's book illustration from the Cambridge School of Art Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is a public university in East An ...

* Rose Lagercrantz * Stéphanie Blake *

Timo Parvela Timo Parvela (born 19 May 1964 in Jyväskylä) is a Finnish author of juvenile fiction. Parvela matriculated from secondary school in 1983 and graduated from Jyväskylä Teacher Training College in 1988.

* Ulf Nilsson *

Ulf Stark Ulf Gottfrid Stark (12 July 1944 – 13 June 2017) was a Swedish author and screenwriter (he adapted several of his own books for film and wrote the screenplay for the 1999 film '' Tsatsiki, morsan och polisen''). Stark has collaborated with th ...

Books

Gecko Press publishes fiction and non-fiction books for children. Some of its most successful books to date include:

Duck, Death and the Tulip ''Duck, Death and the Tulip'' (German title: ''Ente, Tod und Tulpe'') is a 2007 children's book by German author and illustrator Wolf Erlbruch. The book, which deals with death and the afterlife, has been translated into various languages, inclu ...

, which has also been adapted as a stage production and short film, and Poo Bum by Stéphanie Blake.

Awards

Since it was established, Gecko Press has been internationally recognised. Prizes include: *2018 – Shortlisted, New Zealand Book Awardsfor Children and Young Adults - ''The Longest Breakfast'' *2017 – Best Publisher winner at the New Zealand Book Industry Awards *2017 – Winner, Best Picture book at the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, for ''That's Not A Hippopotamus!'' *2016 – Nominated for

Marsh Award for Children's Literature in Translation The Marsh Award for Children's Literature in Translation was a literary prize awarded in the United Kingdom from 1996 until 2017 to the translator of an outstanding work of fiction for young readers translated into English. The award was given e ...

for ''Detective Gordon: The First Case'' *2013 – Best Children's Publisher of the Year in Oceania at

Bologna Children's Book Fair The Bologna Children's Book Fair or La fiera del libro per ragazzi is the leading professional fair for children's books in the world. Since 1963, it is held yearly for four days in March or April in Bologna, Italy. It is the meeting place for al ...

*2012, 2011 – Finalist, New Zealand Thorpe-Bowker Publisher of the Year *2010 – Runner up, New Zealand Thorpe-Bower Publisher of the Year *2010 –

New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are a series of literary awards presented annually to recognise excellence in children and young adult's literature in New Zealand. The awards began in 1982 as the New Zealand Governme ...

Children's Choice Junior Fiction award for ''Friends: Snake and Lizard'', by Joy Cowley *2010 – Winner Creative Gold Wellington regional business Gold Awards *2009 – Finalist, Wellington regional business Gold Awards *2008 – Winner, New Zealand Thorpe-Bowker Publisher of the Year *2008 – Sunday Star-Times NZ Children's Publisher of the Year *2008 –

Book of the Year for ''Snake and Lizard'' by Joy Cowley

References

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External links

Official Gecko Press website
Children's book publishers Publishing companies established in 2005 Book publishing companies of New Zealand New Zealand companies established in 2005