About Us

Bridget Williams has been publishing in New Zealand since 1976. Working first for Oxford University Press (Wellington), she produced key titles such as The Oxford History of New Zealand (edited by W.H. Oliver with B.R. Williams), The Collected Poems of James K. Baxter and Maurice Gee's first children's book, Under the Mountain.

With bookseller Roy Parsons and designer Lindsay Missen, Bridget Williams started Port Nicholson Press in 1981, producing a small distinguished list including authors such as Bill Manhire, W.H. Oliver, Lauris Edmond, and Les Molloy. In 1985, Bridget became the managing director of Allen & Unwin New Zealand, and produced a New Zealand list under the imprint Allen & Unwin/Port Nicholson Press.

Under her direction, Allen & Unwin New Zealand was known as a leading publisher of history and politics, with a growing list in Maori titles and women's studies. Titles included The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Claudia Orange's Treaty of Waitangi, Pauline O'Regan's A Changing Order, Colin James's New Territory, Lauris Edmond's autobiographies, Marilyn Waring's Counting for Nothing.

By the time the parent company was sold in the UK, in 1990, Allen & Unwin was publishing 20–30 books a year, making a significant contibution to New Zealand's intellectual life. Bridget Williams bought back the New Zealand list, and formed Bridget Williams Books.

BWB maintained a vigorous presence for six years, as an independent company. More volumes of The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography were published with its companion volumes in te reo, Nga Tangata Taumata Rau; Jane Kelsey's reputation as a political commentator was established; books on women included The Book of New Zealand Women edited by Charlotte Macdonald, Merimeri Penfold and Bridget Williams, and Te Timatanga Tatau Tatau, edited by Dame Mira Szasy and Miria Simpson.

Seeking a more secure long-term future, Bridget Williams joined Auckland University Press in 1995, publishing BWB titles under the joint AUP/BWB imprint. Two books won the Montana Book of the Year Award in successive years – Judith Binney's Redemption Songs and Jessie Munro's The Story of Suzanne Aubert.

BWB emerged as an independent imprint again in 1998. Now a smaller company, BWB continues to publish key titles in history and on contemporary issues. Jane Kelsey's book on Reclaiming the Future has won international acclaim; Histories Power and Loss, edited by Andrew Sharp and Paul McHugh, has made a major contribution to debates about the Treaty of Waitangi; Paul Monin's study of Hauraki in the first hundred years of European settlement is a superb local history (and co-winner of the J.M.Sherrard Award).

Over three decades, Bridget Williams has pursued a passionate interest in New Zealand's history, current issues, and identity through publishing for multinationals, for a university press, and under her own independent imprint. She recently contributed to the development of Te Papa Press as a publishing adviser, and produced a book on Te Papa's collections, Icons Nga Taonga. Her commitment to excellence, to critical debate, and to new challenges in publishing continues today – with books planned on cultural diversity, iwi history, women's history, and change in contemporary New Zealand.

From this small, specialised base, BWB continues to produce pertinent, key titles for New Zealand readers.